NEW YORK – Eric Paschall, in his first collegiate game, scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Fordham past New York Institute of Technology 94-77 in the season opener for both teams Friday night.
Ryan Rhoomes added 12 points and 13 rebounds and Chris Sengfelder chipped in with 17 points and seven boards for Fordham, which scored 22 points off of 14 NYIT turnovers and held a 45-24 rebounding edge.
Fordham took an 11-0 lead fewer than 2 minutes into the game, but an 8-0 run by NYIT cut its deficit to 3.
That is when Paschall got hot, scoring 12 of the next 22 points and pushing Rams' lead back into double-digits.
The Bears pulled within 36-34 with 5 minutes left in the half before a 15-4 Fordham run made it 51-38 at the break.
Fordham never trailed and led by as many as 28 in the second half.