NEW YORK (January 26, 2005) – The year was 1981. Ronald Reagan was beginning his first term as president and most of the current Fordham University men’s basketball squad wasn’t even born. It was also the year that Fordham defeated Temple, 74-60, in the Rose Hill Gym, the last time the Rams would be victorious over the Owls, until tonight.
Jermaine Anderson scored a career-high 20 points to lead Fordham to a 54-47 win over Temple (8-8, 4-1), breaking a 20-game losing streak against the Owls. The win is Fordham’s third straight at home and third in its last four games.
With the win, Fordham advances to 8-10 overall, 4-3 in the Atlantic 10 while Temple falls to 8-8, 4-1 in the conference. The eight overall wins is the most in a season for a Fordham team since the 2001-02 team finished 8-20 while the four conference wins is the most for the Rams since the that same team went 4-12 in the conference.
Fordham held the Owls to 15 points in the first half as the Rams took a 24-15 lead into the intermission. Fordham was able to build that lead thanks to a 13-0 run that turned an 8-8 tie into a 21-8 Fordham lead with 4:55 left in the half. Mushon Ya’akosi led the run with six points as the Rams held Temple scoreless for more than nine minutes.
A three-pointer from Jermaine Anderson 1:21 into the second half gave the Rams their biggest lead of the night, 27-15, before the Owls came back, scoring eight straight points to cut the deficit to four, 27-23, on an Antywane Robinson jumper with 16:16 remaining.
A Bryant Dunston basket and another three from Jermaine Anderson bumped the lead back to nine for Fordham, 32-23, just over two minutes later, but Temple responded with eight straight points, four from Dustin Salisbury, to make it a one-point game, 32-31, with 12:10 left.
But the Rams wouldn’t give up the lead, going on a 13-4 run, led by six points from Marcus Stout on a pair of three-pointers, to take a 45-35 lead with just over six minutes remaining.The Owls were able to get as close as two, 49-47, on a Wayne Marshall free throw but that was as close as they would get as the Rams hit five of their six free throws over the final 34 seconds for the win.
Stout finished with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds for Fordham while Ya’akosi added eight points and nine rebounds and Dunston chipped in with seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Mardy Collins led Temple with 17 points while Salisbury added eight points and seven rebounds.
For more information about Fordham Athletics, go to www.fordham.edu/athletics.
Click here to read about the Rams’ victory in the Daily News (“Rams Thrill Rose Hill”) and the New York Post (“Fordham Pulls Off Shocker”).
