Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fordham Ends 2014 with a Win

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fordham Ends 2014 with a Win: Fordham Ends 2014 with a Win #Fordham #Basketball By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 2- The Fordham Rams men’s basketball team (5-6) ...

Fordham Ends 2014 with a Win

Fordham Ends 2014 with a Win

#Fordham #Basketball

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 2- The Fordham Rams men’s basketball team (5-6) ended 2014 by achieving their most one-sided victory of the season. The 74-54 win over the South Carolina State Bulldogs (4-11) was their second straight win over a team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) within four days.

The visitors scored the first five points. A jumper by Fordham freshman Chris Sengfelder at 16:45 gave the Rams their first lead of the game. The advantage remained in effect for little more than one minute. The next Fordham lead did not come until more than 10 minutes later, also on a basket by Sengfelder. The half ended with Fordham leading 37-32 after concluding the half with an 18-8 scoring run. Sengfelder’s 12 points on 5 of 7 from the floor were the only double figure performance in the half.

After the half-time break, the Rams continued their onslaught by scoring the first 12 points of the second half to increase their advantage to 17 points, 49-32, with 15:33 left in the contest. The lead never again fell below 14. An end of the game scoring run of 8-2 gave the Rams a decisive win, 74-54.

The disparity in shooting percentage between the two teams deepened in the second half. Fordham’s rose from 48.4 to 56.5 while the Rams’ defense affected a decline in the shootings of the Bulldogs from 40.6 to 29.6.

Sengfelder led all scorers with his career high of 22 points. The native of Germany shot 9 of 13 from the floor and 4 of 5 from the free throw line. As 6 of his 9 baskets were layups, the 6-8 forward gave credit for his high point total to the Fordham guards, “The point guards do a great job of finding me.” 

Fordham’s superiority under the boards was reflected in their 42 points in the paint contrasted with 22 by the Bulldogs. Fordham’s coach Tom Pecora discussed the improvement of the guards on his team, “The guards are doing a better job finding the bigger guys where they can more easily score. It was the second game in a row with 20 assists”

The Atlantic 10 Conference schedule begins on the following weekend. One of the better teams in the conference, VCU, begins 2015 against the Rams at the Rose Hill Gym on January 4. 

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Grandma Killed on New Years

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Grandma Killed on New Years: Grandma Killed on New Years Grandson has Standoff with Cops #NYPD #Standoff (Photo by David Greene) By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, JANU...

Grandma Killed on New Years

Grandma Killed on New Years

Grandson has Standoff with Cops

#NYPD #Standoff

(Photo by David Greene)

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 2- A deranged man shattered a peaceful Throggs Neck street when he created a standoff with police after allegedly killing his 87-year-old grandmother.

Celebratory balloons were still hanging on a staircase of a Hollywood Avenue home as a small army of police confronted a deranged man who held police at bay for nearly 90 minutes on New Year's morning.

Officers from the 45th Precinct were called to 633 Hollywood Avenue at just before 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 1, and were met by the suspect who pelted them with household items including several chairs, dishes, even a blow-dryer.

Several squads of the elite Emergency Service Unit and an armored vehicle, as well as members of the NYPD's Hostage Negotiation Team, were called to the scene as police climbed through fences and backyards surrounding the two-story home.

Residents were ordered back into their homes as police confronted the combative man, only dressed in a pair of shorts-- across the street from I.S. 192, which was closed for the holiday.

One 52-year resident of the block was in shock as she walked out of her home and witnessed the chaotic scene. "No I've never seen anything like this. This is sick, what is this world coming to."

As police attempted to negotiate with the man, three people who escaped from inside the home were transported to Jacobi Hospital in stable condition.

Police say a 67-year-old female was treated for an arm injury, a 55 year-old male suffered head trauma and a 56 year-old female sustained a laceration to her face.

Unconfirmed reports stated that the man was quoting scripture and ranting about the coming apocalypse-- as he tossed items off the balcony at police.

Upon entry to the bedroom where the suspect remained barricaded, police apparently used a stun-gun to subdue the suspect and he was placed into a waiting ambulance where paramedics treated him for a leg injury.

Once inside police discovered the body of the suspect’s grandmother, identified as 87 year-old Alice Durso. Police had reported that a shotgun may have been in the home, but one police source stated that Durso had suffered severe head trauma and may have been killed with the broken leg of a wooden table.

The still-unidentified 48-year-old suspect remains in police custody at Jacobi Hospital where he will undergo psychiatric evaluation.

Inside the ambulance the suspect told paramedics he is bipolar.

Durso's husband Vincent, 75, made headlines after he disappeared on April 20, 2010, after a day of tennis in Crotona Park. Police recovered his 1997 Honda Accord, but his body was never found.

Durso's murder in Throggs Neck was not the first murder in New York City in 2015, that distinction went to Melrose where Herb Huntley, 26, was shot to death inside the lobby of a building at St. Mary's Houses.   

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Princeton Tops Fordham in Holiday Classic

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Princeton Tops Fordham in Holiday Classic: Princeton Tops Fordham in Holiday Classic #Fordham #Princeton By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 31- Fordham hosted the eighth ann...

Princeton Tops Fordham in Holiday Classic

Princeton Tops Fordham in Holiday Classic

#Fordham #Princeton

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 31- Fordham hosted the eighth annual edition of the Fordham Holiday Classic on December 29 and 30. The invited teams for the end of the year women’s basketball tournament in the Bronx were the Hartford Hawks (6-8), the Princeton Tigers (15-0) and the Savannah State Lady Tigers ((4-7).

In the opening game of the tourney the hosts, Fordham Rams (8-5), were not overly hospitable to the visitors from Georgia. Neither team scored during the first 33 seconds of the contest, but Fordham’s first basket, a three by Hannah Missry, was a harbinger of what was to come. The Rams held the lead and built upon it throughout the game. Missry continued her pinpoint shooting from beyond the arc as she netted 5 of 9 to tie her career high of 15 points. The Rams took its first double digit lead, 12-2, at 15:21.

Despite the passage of 15 days since their last game, the Fordham defense held the visitors to a shooting percentage of only 24.1 while controlling the boards (24-14) in the first half. Fordham coach Stephanie Gaitley commented on the reasons for her team’s victory, “Our defense was a strong one. Outrebounding our opponent is a big part for us.”

The Lady Tiger’s one point advantage in the second half did not cut the deficit to single figures as Fordham moved to the tournament final with a 63-53 win. Fordham could not stop one player, Ezinne Kalu, who scored 26. Gaitley admitted her pre-game plan for the pre-season MEAC Player of the Year “was to not let her touch it [the ball].”

The other first round game on Monday was similar to the first game. The superiority of the undefeated Princeton Tigers in the first half could not be overcome by the resurgence by Hartford in the second half. Neither team scored for the first 32 seconds. Blake Dietrick’s basket gave the Tigers a lead that was never relinquished. Dietrick was the game’s high scorer with 27 points in 27 minutes on court during the contest. 

Two one-sided scoring runs gave the Tigers a 25 point advantage at the end of the first half. They scored 12 unanswered points to take a 23-7 lead at 11:51. Later in the half they scored 15 straight points to go up by 25 points, 41-16, at 2:29. The Tigers shot 59.4% while holding the Hawks to 27.6 percent in the first half.

The shooting percentages of the two teams were reversed in the second half as Hartford made a comeback attempt. Hartford shot 57.1 percent and held Princeton to 26.1 percent, but the seven-point advantage on the second period only cut the final score lead to 18 points for Princeton.

The consolation game that began Tuesday’s action was an exciting comeback win for Hartford. Savannah State’s defense kept the Hawks to only seven field goals on 33.35 shooting.

Three Hawks, Amber Bepko, Cherelle Moore and Morgan Lumb, showed energy, ability and leadership as they accounted for 38 of the 40 second half points scored by their team. The 52  percent shooting allowed the Hawks to make a late game run to win by four, 59-55. The absence of Kalu from the Savannah State lineup was also a factor in the result.

The Princeton Tigers showed their undefeated record this season deserves respect as they did not allow a second half surge by the Rams to nullify their victory. The final of the three lead changes took place mid-way through the first half during a run of 10 unanswered points scored by the Tigers. As the half neared its end, sight straight points by Princeton gave them a double figure advantage that remained through the first half.

The Rams, held to 25 percent shooting in the first half moved to a sterling 56 percent in the second. Gaitley remarked, “In the second half, we settled down and shot the ball well.” Despite cutting the deficit to single figures, 10 unanswered points by the Tigers raised the lead to a game-high 19 points at 4:11. The visitors won the two-day tourney with a 67-53 win. 

The knowledgeable and gracious Fordham coach spoke highly of her opponent, “They’re [Princeton] a top 25 team. They’re a very sound defensive team. They move the ball up the court very quickly.” The Tigers were 11-0 over the Rams in fast break points. 

Blake Dietrick of Princeton led the Tigers with 14 points and 7 assists. She was named the Tournament MVP. Gaitley spoke words of praise, “She’s a very good decision make. You don’t know how good she is until you play her.”

Fordham graduate student Tiffany Ruffin was the only Ram with double figures in each game and on the tournament team. Of her, Gaitley said, “Tiff’s the key to how far we will go.”

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Lehman Hoops Raise $ for a Good Cause

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Lehman Hoops Raise $ for a Good Cause: Lehman Hoops Raise $ for a Good Cause By Gary Quintal BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 31- On December 29th and 30th, Lehman College played host...