Fordham 83, Loyola (Chicago) 69
Fordham rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to blow past Loyola (Chicago) in the second half on the way to an 83-69 non-conference victory on Monday afternoon at Rose Hill Gym in New York.
The victory was the Rams' 600th all-time at their historic Bronx home, which opened in 1925 and is the oldest arena still in use by an NCAA Division I program.
The Ramblers (5-7) trailed 66-62 with 3:06 to play, but the Rams (7-4) pulled away with a 17-7 surge behind nine points from freshman guard Jon Severe.
Severe led a balanced Fordham attack with a game-high 23 points, guard Bryan Smith had 17. Guard Branden Frazier and forward Ryan Rhoomes added 16 and 14 points, respectively.
The loss was the second straight for Loyola and came on the heels of a similar second-half letdown in a 55-49 home defeat Wednesday against Northern Illinois.
Reserve guard Devon Turk topped Loyola with 17 points. Forward Christian Thomas had 12, and center Cody Johnson scored 11 for the Ramblers.
Monday's game was just the second between the Jesuit-affiliated schools. Loyola claimed a 64-50 decision over Fordham on Nov. 26, 2011.
The Ramblers are idle until Jan. 1, when they open their first Missouri Valley Conference season at Indiana State. Fordham closes the year with a Saturday home game against Harvard, then plays Monday at Siena.
