Tom Pecora is not one to make excuses, so his team should not either.
Pecora, in his third season as Fordham’s coach, told his players before Thursday night’s 65-58 loss to Manhattan in The Battle of the Bronx, that they cannot play the victim.
“I’m not making excuses,” Pecora said. “I told these guys in the locker room. ‘We’re not young, we’re not inexperienced.’ I don’t want to hear that garbage. We’re six games into a season, we have to find a way to win basketball games.”
If it wanted to, Fordham could credit a number of factors that have deterred them early on this season, including against the Jaspers. The Rams (1-5) will have played just one of their first 11 contests at Rose Hill Gym, a place that they had a winning non-conference home record in last season. Fordham does not return to The Bronx for a home game until Dec. 23, when it faces Siena.
“I don’t like losing at all, but if it’s possible I dislike it even more if it’s at home,” Pecora said. “We practice here, we sweat here every day and you can’t allow people to come in here and [beat you]. It’s a crazy schedule, you’ll never see a schedule like this again.”
In addition to a schedule that has seen Fordham travel to Texas State, Pittsburgh and Lehigh, it is without its best player and one of just three upper classmen in Chris Gaston, who is expected to miss another two-plus weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee.
Fordham was outrebounded 42-22, with Gaston, the team’s leading rebounder for the past three seasons, watching from the bench.
“Chris is a big part of everything we do, obviously,” Pecora said. “I don’t think we are going to get outrebounded by 20 if Chris Gaston is in the game because he’s a double-double machine. We’re missing his experience, but so what. It’s opportunities for someone else. You can’t sit there and wait and say we’re not going to win until then.”
Pecora’s small lineup couldn’t be to blame either. As he has done for his entire coaching career, Pecora played three guards, with Jermaine Myers, Jeff Short and Branden Frazier getting the bulk of the minutes. The trio combined for 29 points on 8-of-32 shooting.
“I’m looking at our guards, we’re trying to play small and [Mandel Thomas] has one rebound in 20 minutes,” Pecora said. “He’s not the only culprit; Bryan Smith only had one rebound. I’ve played three guards my whole career as a coach and we’ve never had rebounding issues, they were tough. Maybe that has to change with this group.”
The lone bright spot for the Rams came from an unlikely source. Sophomore center Ryan Canty continuously ignited the Rose Hill Gym with momentum-shifting baskets and finished with a career-high 18 points and added four blocks before fouling out.
“I think Ryan Canty did a very good job,” Pecora said. “I was enthused by his big, physical presence on the floor. [Trayvion] Leonard and [Ryan] Rhoomes have got to see that and they have to follow suit.”
Canty answered the call and led by example, something that the Rams needed on a night where they could have made excuses but there were none to be had.
“It’s time to step up,” Canty said. “ I tried to do it tonight and play hard.”