Fordham rams Mullin’s Storm
Losing to St. John’s has been a problem lately for Fordham. The Red Storm had won the last four meetings and has a 43-game edge in the series that started in 1909.
On Wednesday night at Rose Hill Gymnasium, things were different. Very different.
Ryan Rhoomes notched a career-high 26 points and a season-high 12 rebounds to lead Fordham to a 73-57 victory over Chris Mullin’s Johnnies, extending their winning streak to five games.
“It’s been fun,” Rhoomes said about the winning streak. “It finally feels good to be a Ram.”
Fordham (5-1), using a variety of defenses, took control early with pressure on the guards, forcing turnovers and picking up easy points.
Mandell Thomas and Jon Severe scored 14 points each for the Rams. Felix Balamou led the Red Storm (4-3) with 14 points.
KOBE’S WIZARDRY
Kobe Bryant scored 12 of his season-high 31 points in the fourth quarter of his final game in Washington to help the Lakers beat the Wizards, 108-104.
Julius Randle collected 15 points and a career-best 19 rebounds for the Lakers (3-15), who snapped a seven-game losing streak.
It was Bryant’s second game since announcing his plans to retire after this season, his 20th in the NBA. He left the Verizon Center floor to thunderous applause from what remained from a crowd of 20,356.
John Wall had 34 points and 11 assists for Washington.
SIMMONS IS SHAQ-LIKE
Ben Simmons scored 43 points in LSU’s 119-108 victory over North Florida, hitting 15 of 20 shots from the field and making 13 of 15 free throws.
The 43 points were the most for a Tigers player since Shaquille O’Neal scored 43 against Northern Arizona on Dec. 28, 1991.
HURRICANES HIRE COACH
Former Miami QB Mark Richt has reached an agreement to be the Hurricanes’ next coach, a source told The Associated Press. Richt spent the last 15 seasons as the head coach at Georgia, leading the Bulldogs to a pair of Southeastern Conference championships. He is a South Florida native and played for Howard Schnellenberger at Miami, graduating in 1982 when the Hurricanes were just becoming the program that would win five national championships in a 19-season span.