Pecora still optimistic after narrow, season-ending loss
Fordham coach Tom Pecora said his team knew what it would take to defeat VCU following its openinground win over George Mason in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
He discussed limiting turnovers to keep VCU out of its transition game, beating the press and punishing VCU for any defensive lapses. While Fordham did everything it needed to over the first 20 minutes, holding a lead as large as five, the squad could not close the deal.
Fifthseeded VCU made the winning plays when it needed to, ending Fordham’s season with a 6357 victory in the second round of the conference tournament at Barclays Center. VCU (239 (126) hauled in 20 offensive rebounds, marking the difference in the game.
“We talked about their ability to hurt you on the offensive glass,” Pecora said. “They have 18 second chance point to our 12, and it was a sixpoint game. ... We competed.”
Fordham felt the heat early from VCU’s “havoc” defense, turning the ball over on three of its first four offensive possessions. However, Pecora’s crew would recover when forward Ryan Rhoomes slipped a screen at the top of the key and rolled to the basket for an easy layin to give Fordham 1021 (414) the first points of the contest.
Then, after a quick 50 VCU spurt fueled by Bronx native Terry Larrier, Mandell Thomas made his own mark. The junior Fordham guard who had 71 steals this season entering the contest — the fourthbest total in program history — swiped an entry pass and went in for a layup. Then, Christian Sengfelder nailed a corner 2 and Thomas added a pullup jumper, giving the Rams a 95 lead by the first media timeout.
Nearing the half, Fordham extended its lead after backtoback 3s from Bryan Smith to take a fivepoint advantage. But it would be short lived, as VCU’s Treveon Graham closed out the first half on a personal 50 run to enter the locker room tied at 30.
“I wanted to keep the game in the 60s,” Pecora said. “I was fine with using a little clock because if it gets to the 80s, it’s not good for us.”
In the second half, VCU looked to put the game away. Rice High School product Melvin Johnson nailed a wing 3pointer to take a fivepoint advantage, forcing a timeout. But Fordham’s Jon Severe answered with a 3 of his own, finishing with a teamhigh 14 points, followed by a Manny Suarez layin to tie the game at 40.
VCU would retake the lead on a thunderous Mo AlieCox dunk and Fordham could never recover. Nonetheless, Pecora still is hopeful about the team’s future.
“When you are building a program, there are stages of winning,” Pecora said. “We didn’t get blown out of many games in the Atlantic 10. ... I can see it coming.”