BLOOMFIELD, NJ (February 12, 2011) - The men's basketball team improved to 15-7 overall and 12-2 in CACC play Saturday afternoon, as they used another extraordinary shooting performance to top the Philadelphia University Rams 95-82 in a home victory. The loss dropped Philadelphia to 13-9 overall and 8-6 in conference play.
The Rams were able to keep pace with the vaunted Bloomfield attack in the early stages of the contest, but the backcourt duo of Gage Daye and rookie sharpshooter Steve Henderson proved to be too much for the visitors to handle. Henderson came off the bench scorching, draining his first five three-point attempts to lift the Bloomfield faithful and lift his team to a double-digit advantage. Both guards netted 18 points in the half, leaving the shell-shocked Rams with a 55-43 deficit heading into the break.
A third Bloomfield guard got into the act in the final 20 minutes of play, with Ryan Rodrigues catching fire after a quiet first half to pour in 13 points to keep the Rams at bay. The trio of perimeter scorers would prove to be all the Deacons would need to hold off Philadelphia, as Bloomfield finished the day shooting an outstanding 58% from the field and 59% from beyond the arc to cruise to the double-digit victory.
“Our guards played outstanding today,” Bloomfield head coach Gerald Holmes said. “Steve coming off the bench shooting the way he did gave us a huge lift. We've been shooting the ball really well the past couple of games, so hopefully it can continue as we head into this week.”
Daye finished the afternoon with a game-high 27 points, going 9-14 from the floor to key the onslaught. Henderson finished with 23 points in reserve, converting six of his seven three-point tries. Rodrigues concluded the day with 20 points, while Ahmad Harris notched eight points and five rebounds to go with a pair of steals. Four Rams finished the day in double-figures, with Jimmy Connolly matching Daye's 27 points in the loss. Corey Francisco tallied 23 points, while Temi Adebayo totaled 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Deacons return to action Tuesday, February 15 when they travel to take on CACC North Division rival Post University. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM.
