Published: April 3, 2008

The Fordham University men’s basketball team bowed out of the Atlantic 10 tournament in the first round on March 12 by way of an 80-62 loss to St. Joseph’s University. The quick exit signaled the end of the Fordham careers of five players: guard Kevin Anderson, FCRH ’08; forward Michael Binns, FCRH ’08; forward Bryant Dunston, FCRH ’08; forward Sebastian Greene, FCRH ’08, and guard Marcus Stout, FCRH ’08.

Three Rams scored in double-digits, including 17 for Dunston, 13 for Stout and a surprising 15 from Binns. Still, Fordham’s offense could not keep up with the red-hot shooting of St. Joe’s, who hit five three-pointers in the first half alone. Guard Pat Calathes led his team with 23 points, three of those coming on a basket that stretched the Hawks’ lead to 27 points four minutes into the second half. From there, Fordham made little headway in reducing the deficit.

Initially, the game was close, with Fordham down just three points with nine minutes remaining in the first half. St. Joe’s ignited for a 21-3 run, though, and Fordham soon trailed 40-19. The Rams would muster just 25 first half points in a game where they recorded more turnovers (13) than assists (12).

“We gave up too many easy baskets,” said Dereck Whittenburg, Fordham head coach, following the loss. “They took advantage of our turnovers, and once they had that run, we couldn’t make shots that would get us back into the game.”

The five Fordham seniors did notch at least one big win this year, claiming a 69-62 victory over St. Bonaventure University on March 8 that clinched an Atlantic 10 tournament birth. Stout led all scorers with 21 points over a full 40 minutes, and Dunston contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds for his conference-best 15th double-double of the season.

The two squads traded leads throughout the first half and St. Bonaventure headed to the locker room with a two-point advantage, but a Dunston dunk with 10:27 remaining in the game gave the Rams a two-point edge of their own. Fordham refused to relinquish that lead and would not trail again.

Stout got off to a quiet start, scoring just six points in the first half. He compensated for the rough early shooting with a second half onslaught, including six straight points coming with under three minutes to play.

“In the first half, I was trying to penetrate, but they were clogging the lane,” Stout said. “So in the second half, I told myself I had to start pulling up over them instead of trying to get to the rim.”

The Rams end their 2007-2008 season with a record of 12-17, 6-10 in Atlantic 10 play.