Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fordham Falls in Round 2

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fordham Falls in Round 2: Fordham Falls in Round 2 By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 14- The men’s basketball season of the Fordham Rams (10‐21) ended...

Fordham Falls in Round 2

Fordham Falls in Round 2

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 14- The men’s basketball season of the Fordham Rams (10‐21) ended after they were defeated by the VCU Rams (23‐9), 63‐57, in the second round of the Atlantic‐10 Championship at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. After advancing to the second round of the championship for the second straight year, Fordham’s season ended in round two.

VCU, the team from Richmond, Virginia, were the overwhelming favorites of the crowd of 6,806 in Brooklyn. The VCU coach, Shaka Smart, spoke with appreciation of the strong support of the crowd, “Our crowd is terrific, and our fans, we’re always appreciative of them coming up to Brooklyn and supporting us. I don’t know what the numbers are but it seems like every time we come up here, we have as many fans as anybody, or more.”

The fan support has certainly not hurt as VCU is 7‐3 at Barclays in the past two seasons.

The crowd, whether for or against VCU, saw a surprisingly exciting and competitive game between a 12th seed, Fordham, and a 5th seed, VCU. The score was knotted three times and the lead changed hands on four occasions during the first half. The highest advantage achieved by either team in the half was five, three time by Fordham. The five final points of the period by VCU’s high scorer of the year, Treveon Graham, tied the score at 30 at the end of the half.

The second half was just as competitive as the first with three ties and five lead changes. Fordham’s final lead, 52‐50, came on a three by freshman Manny Suarez with 6:07 on the clock. Fordham’s chances for a victory evaporated during the final six minutes as the VCU Rams outscored the Rams of the Bronx, 13‐5, to get the win and advance to the quarter‐finals. 

After the contest, Smart spoke of those final minutes, “I thought our guys did a good job of being the more aggressive team the last six minutes.”

VCU’s control of the offensive boards was a major factor in achieving the win. Fordham coach Tom Pecora remarked, “They had 18 second‐chance points and we had 12 in a six‐point game...Their 20 offensive rebounds hurt us a great deal.”

Several players stood out for each team. Suarez scored 13 points contrasted with his previous high of three. During the post‐game press conference, Pecora commented on the freshman, “From a basketball standpoint, Manny has always had great talent. It’s just a matter of his maturation process but I’m very pleased with the way he’s played the last couple weeks...I’m excited about him...He’s going to be a major contributor next year.”

Brooklyn natives Jon Severe (14) and Bryan Smith (11) scored in double digits.

Treveon Graham led the victors with 22 points and nine rebounds. The leading scorer of VCU talked of his effort late in the contest, “Toward the end of the game, I just tried to attack the glass and do what I need to do for the team.”

Although it certainly gave no solace to Fordham, the other two double digit scorers for VCU are natives of the Bronx. Freshman Terry Larrier scored 0 and grabbed seven boards. Junior Melvin Johnson scored 16 and had six rebounds. Johnson was especially effective from beyond the arc, netting four 3’s of seven attempts.

Both teams played without their most valuable player. VCU’s Briante Weber, the A‐10 Defensive Player of the Year, and Eric Paschall of Fordham, the A‐10 Rookie of the Year, were out of action due to injuries.

The VCU Rams advanced to the quarter‐finals to face the Richmond Spiders.

#Fordham #Rams #VCU #Atlantic10 #MarchMadness #Bronxnews

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fordham Kicks Off Atlantic‐10 Championship with a ...

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fordham Kicks Off Atlantic‐10 Championship with a ...: Fordham Kicks Off Atlantic‐10 Championship with a Win  By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 12- March Madness has arrived. The four mo...

Fordham Kicks Off Atlantic‐10 Championship with a Win

Fordham Kicks Off Atlantic‐10 Championship with a Win 

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 12- March Madness has arrived. The four months of the regular college basketball season has concluded. Conference championships are currently underway or have recently ended. Next week, college basketball teams will be selected and seeded for the national tournaments.

Two days prior to the start of The Atlantic‐10 Championship, which began at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday night, the Manhattan Jaspers, Fordham’s Bronx rival, defeated the Iona Gaels to capture the MAAC Championship and automatically qualify for the NCAA National Tournament. The Fordham Rams (10‐20) and the George Mason Patriots (9‐22) clashed in the first game played of the A‐10 tourney at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The two teams had previously met four times with Fordham the victor in each encounter. They last met exactly three weeks earlier with Fordham winning, 80‐68. The result of Wednesday’s Atlantic 10 Championship opener was in accordance of the previous history between the two teams as Fordham was victorious by a score of 71‐65.

The first half of the contest was extremely competitive. The lead changed hands six times and the game was tied on seven occasions in the first 17 minutes. A layup by freshman Chris Sengfelder with 2:59 remaining in the first half gave the Rams a 30‐28 advantage, which they never surrendered. Another layup by the talented freshman and a jumper by senior Bryan Smith accounted for Fordham’s six point lead at the half, 34‐28. Sengfelder’s three rebounds in the final 1:42 of the first stanza helped protect the lead for Fordham. The frosh from Germany was the only player to score in double figures during the half with 15 points.

Fordham maintained its lead throughout the second half, but never reached a double digit advantage during the game. Each team scored 37 points in the second half on impressive 50 percent accuracy in shooting from the floor. In the first half, each squad netted 13 of 28 shots from the floor.

A three by Patrick Holloway of the Patriots the Fordham lead to two with 19 seconds on the clock, but two free throws by Smith and two by Sengfelder brought the Rams a six point win, 71‐65.

The Rams effectiveness of getting to the charity stripe was crucial to their victory. The netted 20 of 27 attempts while the Patriots sunk 11 of 15 free throws. The Rams scored their final nine points from the free throw line.

An injury caused Atlantic‐10 Rookie of the Year Eric Paschall to only play 11 minutes and score one point, but his absence was made up for by the spectacular efforts and talent of Sengfelder. The German native scored a career high of 27 points. Both coaches praised the freshman. Patriots’ coach Paul Hewitt remarked, “Sengfelder just played a great basketball game.” Tom Pecora commented, “He [Sengfelder] keeps getting better and better. He’s a lot of fun to coach.”

Brooklyn native Bryan Smith, a senior, received a lot of credit from his coach. Pecora said, “The job he has done has allowed Christian and Eric to develop a lot quicker than some of our freshmen have in the past.”

Smith was on the court for all but one minute of the game and scored 12 points. He described his elation of contributing to the victory in his home neighborhood, “It’s a great feeling. I have a lot of my friends and family here cheering me on and cheering the team on. I get to win in front of them, especially 10 minutes from where I live.”

The Rams, the 12th seed, move on to the next round to face VCU, the fifth seed, on Thursday afternoon.

#Fordham #Rams #Atlantic‐10Championship #Bronxnews

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Dim Bulb Pointed Laser at Cops, Planes

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Dim Bulb Pointed Laser at Cops, Planes: Dim Bulb Pointed Laser at Cops, Planes By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 10- All signs point to a true dim bulb. ...

Dim Bulb Pointed Laser at Cops, Planes

Dim Bulb Pointed Laser at Cops, Planes

By
Dan Gesslein

BRONX,
NEW YORK, MARCH 10-
All signs point to a true dim bulb.

Cops
arrested a Pelham Bay man they said had been targeting commercial planes with a
laser pointer affecting the pilots’ vision. He was charged with assaulting
police pilots.

Members
of the NYPD Aviation Unit canvassed Pelham Bay Monday night after receiving a
report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that someone was
targeting commercial airline pilots with a laser pointer. Investigators said
that three pilots on two separate occasions suffered eye injuries. Two of those
pilots were officers operating a police helicopter. The officers were treated
for their injuries at Mount Sinai Hospital. In another incident, a pilot from
an Air Canada commercial airliner suffered eye injuries.

On
March 9, a police helicopter spotted the beam from a laser pointer from inside
2801 Coddington Avenue, Apartment 3. Officers from the 45^th Precinct
responded. While conducting an investigation police observed a black tubular
device labeled "Laser 303" on top of the refrigerator. While
interviewing Frank Egan, 36, the resident of the apartment admitted the laser
pointer was his and that he had used it that night.

Police
arrested Egan and charged him with the following: assault on a police officer
(2 counts), felony assault (3 counts), menacing a police officer (2 counts),
reckless endangerment (3 counts) and three counts of criminal possession of a
weapon.

#NYPD
#LaserPointer #Airplane #Bronxnews

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Support for Bam’s immigration plan here

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Support for Bam’s immigration plan here: Support for Bam’s immigration plan here By Koi Germany BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 9- Bronx residents appear to support President Obama’s execu...