Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Temple at Fordham

by Ray Floriani

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - They showed the reason, or reasons, they are the front runner in the Atlantic Ten. Temple defeated Fordham 70-51 at the Izod Center in the A-10 opener for both teams

Outside the Izod
on a chilly night

The early seven point lead enjoyed by the Rams due to a fast start and some hot three point shooting, soon dissipated. Fordham cooled off from the field and Temple made a concerted effort on go inside. At the half the Owls enjoyed a significant 22-8 edge in points in the paint. Chris Gaston, the Rams main and arguably only inside threat, had a very ordinary 4 point half on 2 of 5 shooting. Halftime saw a 35-27 Temple advantage. The Owls used 37 possessions, Fordham 36. Temple enjoyed a clear cut 95-75 offensive efficiency edge at intermission.

The first four minutes of the second half saw Temple go on a 11-2 run, extending the lead to 46-29. The Owls attacked inside and out while Fordham's only basket was on a transition dunk by Chris Gaston.

The remainder of the second half was all Temple. The Owls were dominant and never seriously challenged the rest of the way.

The efficiency numbers:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Temple	71	99
Fordham	68	75

The Four Factors:

		FTA
	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Temple	49	16	46	25
Fordham	46	2	21	25

Temple's dominance on the inside game is reflected in the numbers. The Owls pounded the offensive glass, held a 38-18 points in the paint edge and as Fordham's free throw rate shows, did not allow the Rams to set up a post up game that could get them to the line.

Temple shot 52% (24 of 46) from two point range while Fordham was 35% (13 of 37).

Game action Temple vs. Fordham

Both teams were 25% on the TO rate. A fact not overlooked by Temple, a team that entered the contest with a sterling 18% TO rate.

Final Numbers.
Temple had four players in double figures. Reflecting their inside/outside offensive philosophy there were two interior and perimeter players among the four. Lavoy allen (12 points) and Micheal Eric (14 points 11 boards) did the job in the paint while Juan Fernandez and Ramone Moore had 15 apiece at the guard spot.

Branden Frazier, a freshman guard, paced Fordham with 16 points. Chris Gaston was defended very well and the Ram sophomore settled for 8 points, 5 rebounds on the night. Gaston shot 4 of 7 from the floor and struggled to get a decent look all night.

The 'Manley formula' efficiency leaders:

	Efficiency
Michael Eric, Temple	22
Branden Frazier, Fordham	18
Juan Fernandez, Temple	17
Ramone Moore, Temple	16

Temple is 10-3 (1-0 A-10) while the Rams are 6-7 (0-1).

Temple coach Fran Dunphy
has the Owls the class of the A-10