When you hear Branden Frazier speak, it is hard to imagine the soft-spoken Brooklyn native can transform instantly into a ruthless floor general.
The crowd at Rose Hill Gym got to see that transformation first-hand as the point guard scored 16 points to go along with a career-high 13 assists in helping power Fordham to an 82-75 win over Duquesne Wednesday night.
“I think this was his best game as a floor general,” Fordham coach Tom Pecora said. “This is the kind of balance we need. Thirteen assists and one turnover, you can’t ask for more than that out of your point guard.”
For Frazier, it was his second career double-double. His last came against Siena earlier this season, also a home contest. When asked what was clicking for him, Frazier did some more dishing, only this time it was compliments to his teammates, not the ball.
“I was just trying to get guys open,” Frazier said. “It was the guys, they were finding open spots, I was kicking [it to them] and they were making [shots].”
Frazier, a junior, has assumed the role as the team’s co-leader alongside senior forward Chris Gaston who, for the majority of his time at Fordham, has had to do the heavy lifting for the Rams.
“He’s a great floor general,” Gaston said. “He’s always doing something right. During the game he’s telling people what they have to do. It’s so much easier having him by my side on the court.”
Though Frazier was the key cog, the Rams (5-11, 1-0 Atlantic 10) played as complete a game as they have all season. In particular, Fordham was able to dominate the paint against the undersized Dukes (7-8, 0-1).
“I thought it was a total team effort,” Pecora said. “We’re simplifying things a little bit, they’re getting to know the offense better.I think we did a good job of controlling tempo.”
The Rams’ frontcourt, led by Gaston (18 points) and sophomore center Ryan Canty (12 points) outrebounded Duquesne 49-34 and had 44 points in the paint compared with the Dukes’ 28.
“This was the first game Chris and Ryan both had big games together,” Pecora said. “I thought we had a great presence inside.”
Fordham received another strong defensive showing from freshman guard Mandell Thomas (eight points), who has developed a flair for the dramatic. With Fordham leading 79-71 with under a minute to play Thomas swatted a Sean Johnson 3-point attempt out of play that helped preserve the Rams’ lead.
“He’s a big time athlete,” Pecora said. “He’s becoming a good defender. I thought Mandell really toughed it out.”
The win was the first time Fordham has won its Atlantic 10 opener since 2005, when it beat Dayton 66-56 at Rose Hill.
“Everybody was fired up during warm-ups,” Gaston said. “It’s our time now, we’re going to start getting wins against [A-10] teams.”