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...

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 executive order that imposes changes in the nation’s immigration policies.

Seeking to streamline the process of becoming a naturalized citizen, the President has urged those who are undocumented to step forward and pay their share.

With a plan to strengthen border security and introduce earned citizenship among other guidelines, residents were questioned on this allocation of the nation’s resources.

Some were frank about the issue, commenting on what they believe are backwards policies in the United States.

“Politicians complain about immigrants, yet they hire them,” noted Ursuline Lindsey. “They’re here, and they work; we should make a pathway for them to contribute to the tax system.” Expressing a desire for greater accommodation, she added, “We have to secure borders, but we shouldn’t be sending people back home.”

“If they want to work, they should be widely accepted and represented,” asserted G. Tanya Clarke. Positing that the influx of workers will positively affect the economy, she claimed “We can put the labor to good use.”

Erol Ford, an immigrant himself, echoed these sentiments. “Whatever we’re afraid of is already here,” he opined. “I agree with the President’s spending.”

Others were in support, albeit skeptical. “I think I need to understand more. However these are progressive statements when people are too quick to marginalize,” commented Matthew Thompkins. “I have mixed feelings. We’ll have to see.”

The policies were also met with criticism from some.

“Everybody has the right to come here, but why should they receive rights we can’t?” shareholder Sheryl Parker lamented in dissent. “We should be worried about ISIS.”

Koi Germany, a sophomore at Hunter College who lives in Co­op City, is a contributing writer for the News.

#ImmigrationReform #Obama #Amnesty #Bronxnews

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fordham Loses Final Home Game

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fordham Loses Final Home Game: Fordham Loses Final Home Game   By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 6- The Fordham Rams (9‐19, 4‐13) hosted their final game of...

Fordham Loses Final Home Game

Fordham Loses Final Home Game  

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 6- The Fordham Rams (9‐19, 4‐13) hosted their final game of the season at the Rose Hill Gym on their campus in the Bronx on Wednesday evening. The visitors, the Duquesne Dukes (11‐17, 6‐11) were contesting Fordham for a better seeding in the following week’s Atlantic‐10 Conference Championship.

Prior to the contest’s start, Fordham’s basketball seniors were saluted on the court. Two, Halilaj and Gaitley, of the four players underwent the difficult task of making the team as walk‐ons. Erando Halilaj, a Bronx native, joined the team this year and saw action in five games. DC Gaitley, son of Fordham’s women’s coach, played in six games. The communications major suffered several injuries which curtailed his playing time at Fordham. Nihad Musovic, a Fordham Prep grad, played in 11 contests in his four years at the university.

Bryan Smith played 113 games during his career at Fordham. The Brooklyn native is completing his college career very impressively. He appeared in every game this season, and started the last 13 at guard. Smith averaged 11 points per game in his latest nine contests. He scored his season high of 17 points against Duquesne.

Seniors Lauren Hutt, student assistant, and Nick Stanaj, team manager, were also honored for their service to the basketball program.

The Rams spurted to an early 7‐2 lead during the first two minutes of action. Eight unanswered points by the visitors gave the Dukes a 10‐7 advantage two minutes later. A 16‐11 lead by Duquesne was turned around as the Rams scored 14 straight points, keeping the Dukes scoreless for nearly seven minutes to move ahead, 25‐16 at 6:56. Fordham’s first double digit lead, 29‐18, at 6:04 evaporated by the close of the first half as the Dukes outscored Fordham, 20‐6, to lead 38‐35, at the half.

The Dukes began the second stanza almost exactly as they closed the first with a 20‐7 scoring run to take their largest lead of the game, 58‐42, with 10:58 remaining in the game. The 40‐13 scoring differential those 15 minutes decided the outcome as the Rams cut the advantage to single figures only once in the final 11 minutes. The Dukes were victorious, 81‐66.

Both teams had balanced scoring. Five of the Dukes scored in double figures; each of four players netted 16 points including L. G. Hill who came off the bench and in only 18 minutes scored 16 and grabbed seven rebounds. Four of Fordham’s starters scored in double digits paced by Smith who led with 17.

Fordham’s 17 offensive rebounds gave them access to 12 second chance points contrasted to two for the Dukes. The 12 Fordham turnovers allowed the Dukes to score 17 points from turnovers while Fordham only scored two.

Fordham’s coach Tom Pecora explained his disappointment with his team’s lack of effort during their final home game of the season, “We probably lost it yesterday during practice” where he felt his players were resistant to putting in sufficient effort. He told reporters, “Whether there’s two inches or two feet of snow, we’ll practice tomorrow.”

He also noted the same insufficient effort during the contest, “They [Duquesne] went to the foul line 25 times and we went eight. That shows you who played harder. Effort should be a given.”

Another reason Pecora cited for the loss was the absence of Eric Paschall. The freshman is fourth in the conference in scoring with an average of 16.5 points per game. Pecora stated that he was not replaced, “We lost our bounce without Eric.”

Both teams play one more regular season contests before entering the Atlantic‐10 Championship on March 12 at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn.

#Fordham #Rams #Basketball #Bronxnews