Here are highlights of Dereck Whittenburg’s interview earlier today on WFUV:

On Wednesday’s 67-65 win at St. Bonaventure:

“All the guys contributed in different ways. It was a nice team win. Long overdue, but we’re a young team trying to find a way to win and we did.”

On the team’s shooting, which has been poor this year but improved to 48.4 percent Wednesday night:

“If you’re a basketball player then you worry about what it takes to win. The focus needs to be on the total game. If they don’t make a shot they get down. You still have to play hard, you have to defend, you have to rebound, and then the shots will come.”

On the 89-68 loss to Duquesne last Sunday:

“If you look at the Duquesne game, they (Duquesne) just made shots. It’s as simple as that. It’s a real simple game. It’s really not rocket science. It’s just that they made shots and we didn’t. Because of our lack of shooting our guys forgot that we had to defend. It had nothing to do with style of play. It’s really our mindset with what we have to do to be successful.”

On what went right against the Bonnies:

“I think we needed to focus more on getting the ball inside and driving to the basket. We got to the basket and we played excellent defense. We took better shots and we ran some offense and you saw the results.”

On the minutes his players receive each game:

“You earn your playing time. Everyone wants to put everything on the coach. You have to own up. If you play well the coach leaves you in the game. When you don’t have your head in the game the coach doesn’t leave you in the game. If you come ready to play and contribute on both ends the result of that is that you have an excellent game.”

On the status of freshman Trey Blue, back home in Illinois dealing with a family issue. Blue will miss tonight’s game and is expected to rejoin the team late tomorrow or early Monday:

“It’s a very tough time for him and another thing we have had to endure this year. I think our guys have handled it well. Trey Blue had an excellent game at St. Bonaventure. So we had a big emotional win on the road and Trey Blue was in tears because he’s thinking about his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with him. Sometimes other things like family are a lot more important than basketball.”

On the 23 shots taken by point guard Jio Fontan in Wednesday’s win:

“The game dictated that. He had a lot of great opportunities. It wasn’t like he was just hoisting up a lot of outside shots. His teammates look for him. In the second half of that game (against St. Bonaventure) he put us on his back. He really ran and quarterbacked our offense and defense. It was probably his best performance overall all year.”

On the play of senior walk-on Zach Wing:

“He’s really tough in there. He’s so unselfish. He gives his body up and he gives us everythign he has. He’s really come on and given us some big minutes. Now he’s starting to get confidence and making some offensive plays which we didn’t expect. The guy came in with a ponytail and long hair and told me he wanted to make the team. Before he joined the team he’d be out there shooting the basketball all by himself. This kid used to stay in Queens. He used to get up to be at practice around three in the morning to take trains and buses to get to practice. He exemplifies what it means to be a great teammate.”

On tonight’s game against Rick Majerus and the Saint Louis Billikens:

“We have to build off of what we accomplished a few days ago. I think if our guys continue to buy in and defend, keep them off the free throw line [we'll be successful]. We’re taking better shots and we’re playing better defense. We just have to continue to improve and finish the game. We have to continue to fight for 40 minutes. They (St. Louis) like to play a slow style of play. They’re also very young. All in all they like to play a slow paced game. [We need to] keep them out of the paint and contest shots and rebound the basketball. We do have an advantage inside but I think they’re going to give us the outside shot and we need to make the shots.”

GAME RESULTS

(Statistics and game results posted on ESPN.com)

On any given night, Dereck Whittenburg believes his team is capable of winning, regardless of who the Rams play. Wednesday night at St. Bonaventure, Fordham defeated the Bonnies, 67-65, for their first Atlantic 10 win of the season. (Photo courtesy of Joe DiBari, Fordham University's Sports Information Director)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

It’s been a trademark of Dereck Whittenburg’s press conferences since the beginning of the season. The head coach has been consistent in his approach to each game, and in the perspective he preaches to his team. On any given night in college basketball, any given team, with the right mindset and execution, can win, regardless of the opponent.

Whittenburg isn’t alone here. It’s a belief echoed by visiting coaches who’ve made their way to the Rose Hill Gym this year. Wednesday night in Olean, New York, Whittenburg’s words proved to be prophetic.

Trey Blue converted on a reverse layup with under a minute to play, a basket that broke a 65-65 tie, as the Rams went on to defeat the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 67-55. It was Fordham’s first Atlantic 10 win this year, and the fourth straight time that the Rams have beaten the Bonnies in Olean. With the win, the Rams avenged an earlier loss to St. Bonaventure back on Jan. 7 in the Bronx. Following two lackluster performances, the upset comes at just the right time.

“This is a gutsy win for my guys,” Whittenburg said after the game, as reported on fordhamsports.com. “When I look out on the court and see three or four freshmen, a sophomore, and a walk-on, you’ve got to be impressed with their play tonight.”

One of those freshmen, Jio Fontan, scored a game-high 25 points, knocking down 11 field goals and dishing out four assists. Trey Blue, another freshman, scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Meanwhile, senior Chris Bethel scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. The Rams shot 48.4 percent from the floor. They turned the ball over just seven times while forcing 16 St. Bonaventure turnovers. Fordham scored 15 points off those turnovers. Fordham’s bench outscored the Bonnies’ bench, 31-11. While the Rams led by as many as nine in the first half at 15-6, and took a 34-27 lead into the break, the Bonnies would take a 57-52 lead with 6:34 left in the game. But Fontan, Blue, and Bethel led the way down the stretch and Fordham held on late for the win.

“Upsets can happen all the time,” St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt told the Olean Times Herald on Monday, two days before his words would ring true. “(In conference play) no matter what conference you’re in, if you’re not ready to play, you’re going to lose.”

Time to start listening to these coaches.

Freshman Jio Fontan and the Fordham Rams dropped to 0-5 in conference play with an 89-68 loss to Duquesne Sunday at the Rose Hill Gym. (Photo courtesy of Joe DiBari, Fordham University's Sports Information Director)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

No, Bob Hill was not inducted into the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame Sunday. But eight former Rams were in a halftime ceremony that ended up being the highlight of the day inside the historic walls of the Rose Hill Gym.

Playing for the first time since last Sunday’s disappointing performance at Rhode Island, a major setback for the Rams coming off their near upset at Dayton, Fordham (2-15, 0-6) was in search of their first Atlantic 10 win.

Despite the halftime ceremonies and one of the better crowds of the year (2,468), the Rams once again struggled shooting the basketball and fell to the Duquesne Dukes, 89-68.

The second half had that odd, lethargic feel to it, the one manufactured so many times before in the Rose Hill Gym. Down by 16 at 43-27 heading into the break, the Rams trailed by about 20 for most of the second half, though they did make one run midway through the half that cut the lead to 16 at 65-49 with 9:29 to play in the game. But Duquesne (13-6, 4-2) pulled away from there, as Fordham was unable to make a run like the one they made two weeks earlier against Xavier, a run that had fans and the team thinking upset. There would be no such thoughts today.

“They (Xavier) came in and really shot the ball well at key times,” Whittenburg said. “It came down to whether we were going to make those three-point shots or they were. When you’re at home you can’t miss 15 free throws (Fordham shot 18-of-33 from the line). When you’re at home you can’t go 2-for-23 (from three-point range). You can say a lot of things about the game,  but it really comes down to whether or not we can make shots. If we don’t make those shots we’re not going to be in those games. The difference is, when they had open shots they made them and we didn’t.”

For Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart , the primary focus coming into today’s game was on Fordham’s perimeter shooting, getting out and defending against the likes of Jio Fontan, Mike Moore, Alberto Estwick, and Trey Blue, players who have shown the ability at times this year of knocking down the outside shot.

“I was very excited about the way we got out and defended Fordham’s three-point shooters,” Everhart said. “Dereck does an unbelievably good job of getting their guys to share the ball and move it around on offense. We were very concerned coming in. We thought it was an urgent matter to take away Estwick and Blue and try to contain Fontan as best we could. We challenged a lot of their shots. We limited their three-point attempts. We really got out and contested them hard. I was very excited about the way we defended on the perimeter today.”

Duquesne appeared frustrated and out of sync on offense in the early stages of the game, but that didn’t last for long. Fordham took an early 9-6 lead when Chris Bethel, who had just entered the game, scored from the low post. Soon after, however, the Dukes would go on a 10-0 run to take a 23-10 lead. The Rams shot 9-of-29 in the first half, 1-of-12 from three-point range, and turned the ball over 10 times. The Dukes scored 18 points in the paint and 17 points off Fordham turnovers. Duquesne led by as many as 19 in the half. It’s of little importance now, given the outcome, but the Rams did lead early on. With Zach Wing getting the start, the senior forward scored Fordham’s first four points. Fontan and Moore kept Fordham in the game early, but not for long. Duquesne’s Bill Clark scored 16 first half points, helping the Dukes amass their halftime lead. Clark finished the day with a game-high 22 points.

“If we make timely shots within their runs, then maybe they have to take the ball out and they don’t make a run,” Whittenburg said. ”Even if you’re shooting bad, you’ve got to be able to make those timely shots. When guys who are capable of making shots don’t make shots, (then you’re) trying to catch up.”

Punctuated by a Melquan Bolding dunk on a breakaway with 22 seconds left, the Rams remain winless in conference play and have now lost eight games in a row. Bolding had 19 points and Jason Duty scored 18 points for the Dukes. Aaron Jackson had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. For Fordham, Moore had a team high 18 points while Fontan and Bethel had 16 points apiece. Bethel had a team-high 11 rebounds. Duquesne shot 50.8 percent from the floor while Fordham shot just 39.3 percent for the game.

“They have always been, and always will be, with Dereck a very good defensive team,” Everhart said. “To come in here and score 89 points is a very tough thing to do.”

GAME RESULTS

(Statistics and game results posted on ESPN.com)