Fordham's Balanced Attack, a Formula It Hopes to Repeat, Leads to Win

Fordham head coach Tom Pecora reiterates the Rams' formula for success every time he speaks to the media after a game.

Win or lose, Pecora talks about the need for his veterans to step up and lead the way.

In Sunday's 74-59 win over Howard in front of 1,568 at the Rose Hill Gym, it was the play of two juniors and three freshmen that secured Fordham's fourth win of the season and its first since Dec. 10.

Junior Mandell Thomas had his best game of the season, scoring 17 points and adding seven assists and six rebounds. Ryan Rhoomes, also a junior, had 11 points and nine rebounds.

Meanwhile, freshman Christian Sengfelder scored a team-high 19 points, all in the second half, while fellow rookies Eric Paschall (15 points) and Antwoine Anderson (nine assists) had strong games.

Fordham will need that type of production going forward in its final nonconference game Wednesday and when conference play gets underway Sunday.

"I think we have good balance," Pecora said after last night's win. "Good teams have four or five guys in double digits. It's a brush fire and you can't put it out—somebody is always picking somebody else up. Balance is a good thing."

Thomas' performance stands out. He didn't have the thunderous dunk that Rhoomes had in the second half, which gave the Rams a 63-45 lead, nor did he have the acrobatic slam that Paschall turned in that sent Fordham into the break ahead by two.

What he did was knock down shots, distribute the ball and rebound. There were no highlight-reel dunks, but Thomas consistently made plays that teams need players to make in order to win games.

"It's important for me to get the freshmen going and get them comfortable," Thomas said, recalling that he was a freshman not too long ago. "I also have to stay aggressive. That's what I did tonight."

It may be unfair, and perhaps premature, to say this was his coming-out party. Thomas is in his third year, and he's had big games before. But it was by far his best game of the season, a reminder that, while the Rams are young and building for the future, he's going to play a big part in what happens over the next couple of years at Rose Hill.

"We need to have that veteran leadership," Pecora said. "That will lift up these young guys tremendously, and it will allow them to play with less pressure."

Sengfelder, who is coming on strong as conference play approaches, said the three upperclassmen—Rhoomes, Thomas, and senior Bryan Smith—have helped out a lot.

"[They] give us advice and make us feel more comfortable to make the right decisions," he said.

Against Howard, Fordham led 28-26 at halftime but went on a 10-0 run early in the second half to take a commanding 40-30 lead. The Rams led by as many as 20, and for the first time this year, they could breathe easy—or easier—down the stretch.

"We have to play back-to-back halves like we did in the second half tonight to beat South Carolina State [Wednesday] and to build off of that and go into A-10 play and get some wins, which I anticipate us doing," Pecora said.

"I expect us to continue to get better. We just have to keep working on the little things, and we're going to be OK."

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. A full archive of his articles can be found here. Follow him on Twitter: @CFCostello