Published: March 4, 2010

The snowstorm that hit New York on Feb. 24 matched the white out that took place inside the Rose Hill Gym the previous night. Fordham handed out white basketball jerseys before the Rams’ game against St. Bonaventure and the student section was packed full of fans hoping to see the struggling team head in a new direction.

The Rams (2-24) were defeated 73-68 by the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (12-14), and while they didn’t get a win, they did get what Fordham forward Fahro Alihodzic, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’13, referred to as “a great effort, all around.”

As has been the case for many of Fordham’s games this season, the contest was close throughout the first half, with neither team leading by more than five at any point. Although the Rams were trailing more often than not, they continued to stay in the game.

“We didn’t quit; our kids kept fighting,” said interim head coach Jared Grasso. Though they trailed for much of the first half, a last-second three-pointer from guard Herb Tanner, FCRH ’11, in his first start of the season, gave Fordham the lead going into the break. The shot came with much approval from the crowd and a few simple nods of his head from Tanner as he ran up the sideline and headed back into the locker room for halftime.

With defensive back Kelvin Colbert, FCRH ’10, of the Fordham football team on hand to be honored for leading the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in passes defended last fall, the basketball team showed that they could play just as physically as the football team. In particular, forward Chris Gaston, FCRH ’13, showed off his ability to hit a hole like a running back while breaking towards the basket, along with the ability to take a few hits on the way in.

Guard Brenton Butler, FCRH ’10, who Grasso, after the game, referred to as “the epitome of a Fordham student-athlete” led the team in scoring. Grasso also gave a lofty post-game prediction.

“Coming back next year he’s going to end up probably one of the top 10 [Fordham] scorers of all time. I think next year when we bring in another point guard he’ll be even better.” Butler is currently 26th on the list of all-time Fordham scorers, with 1,197 career points.

Butler scored the last 20 of those points against the Bonnies, while Chris Gaston added 18 points and 13 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the year, which keeps him tied with Kentucky’s Demarcus Cousins for the most double-doubles by a freshman in the NCAA this season. Gaston is also slowly climbing the list of best rebounders in the NCAA. He is currently seventh in rebounds per game.

Although the game began to get out of reach in the second half, the Rams continued to fight on. With a little over three minutes left on the clock, the Rams were down by 11 but managed to play their way back to at least make the game competitive in the final minutes. Grasso praised the team’s effort, despite the defeat.

“Maybe St. Bonaventure had better players than us, but they didn’t play harder than us they didn’t compete harder than us,” Grasso said.

Fordham had taken eight of the last 10 matchups in this series, although the Bonnies lead the all-time series 15-14. The Bonnies also won the first match this season between these two 72-61 on Feb. 10 at St. Bonaventure’s Reilly Center. The Rams have now lost 19 straight and are 0-14 in Atlantic 10 play.

Fordham has two games left on their schedule, Xavier (20-7) at the Rose Hill Gym on Wed. March 3 and Duquesne (15-12) at Duquene’s A.J Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh, PA on Tue. March 9.