Almost every roller coaster boasts moments that are sure to spark either dread or adrenaline. Fordham Men’s Basketball may have experienced both feelings in the past week alone.
The Rams fell to the mighty University of Richmond Spiders 83-69 on Wednesday night, but rebounded with a lionhearted 67-65 road win over the Saint Louis University Billikens.
Entering Wednesday’s contest against the Rams, Richmond held a 7-0 record in conference play and was coming off of a momentous victory against the University of Dayton, who held an undefeated A-10 record at the time. While Fordham competed early against the group from Virginia, they never seemed to gain full control.
Sophomore Will Richardson scored a team-high of 16 points on a nifty 5-11 shooting night. Fellow second-year student Elijah Gray gutted out 14 points and 6 boards on a 3-11 night from the field. Kyle Rose brought his usual brand of tenacity while collecting 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Rams only trailed by three points after a Romad Dean three-pointer made it a 21-18 game with 7:14 to play in the first half, but Richmond then went on a 21-11 run to take a 42-29 lead with under a minute remaining in the half.
The Spiders played a holistically clean game and shot almost 59% from the field as a team. Additionally, they buried eight three-pointers and collected 14 assists. Graduate guard Jordan King put up a game-high of 29 points on a sizzling 8-10 clip from the field. Dji Bailey and Delonnie Hunt posted 14 and 12 points, respectively, but it may have been Richmond’s big man who gave Fordham the most strategic trouble.
Seven-foot center Neal Quinn earned 10 points, four rebounds and six assists while serving as the Spiders’ primary facilitator. The New Jersey native made more than a few shifty passes and spaced the floor in a fashion that forced the Rams to make challenging defensive reads.
A 10-2 Fordham run fueled by timely shooting and defense made it a four-point game with 14:42 left to play in regulation. But, Richmond scored the next eight points to take a 55-43 lead 2:20 later and would get the lead to as many as 20 points before grabbing the 14-point win.
“I think we’ve allowed the offensive end to dictate a little bit of our effort on the defensive end,” said Rams head coach Keith Urgo. “And that’s not what we’ve done here the last couple years, so we need to get back to not letting it dictate our effort.”
Senior Japhet Medor and sophomore Josh Rivera were quiet against the Spiders. The two combined for only 12 points; given each player has dealt with injuries this season, it’s worth wondering what the contrast may have looked like if both individuals were in an established groove prior to the game.
Entering this past Saturday’s affair in St. Louis, Fordham held a 3-5 conference record, and had lost two straight. Additionally, the program had not won in “the 314” since the two sides first faced each other during the 1971-72 campaign.
The Billikens have largely struggled in A-10 play and were nursing a 1-7 conference mark prior to Saturday’s game against Fordham. The Rams led 41-32 at halftime thanks to a plucky defensive effort and an excellent showing from Rose.
The boys from the Bronx did a commendable job of slowing down their opponents in the first half. St. Louis’ leading scorer, Gibson Jimerson, only tallied three points over 30 minutes. Without him, the Billikens were forced to look elsewhere for points.
On the other end, Rose ensured that Fordham stayed competitive through some half-hazard offensive sets. The Maryland native put up a career-high 26 points while shooting 9-15 from the field and also adding four assists and three steals. His outing could best be described as “workmanlike.”
“He’s loyal,” Urgo said of Rose after the game. “In today’s world, that’s not what you see all the time. He continues to fight and grind. He does everything we ask him to do and is becoming a better leader — more vocal. He embodies everything we ever dream of a Fordham basketball player being.”
Bradley Ezewiro led the St. Louis attack. The junior’s size and strength created numerous matchup problems for Abdou Tsimbila, Gray and just about any Ram who touched the painted area. Ezewiro scored a team-high 15 points while also swiping six boards.
SLU standouts Sincere Parker, Terrance Hargrove Jr. and Larry Hughes III began to make an impact in the second half. The trio combined for 36 points, and the team shot roughly 52% from the field over the last 20 minutes.
Timely shooting helped the Billikens fight their way to a 65-63 lead with 1:17 to play. Two free throws from Rose tied the game, and a St. Louis turnover granted the Rams a chance to win. Richardson missed an initial chance to win the game, but,after a clean inbound, Gray drilled a mid-range fadeaway to give the men in maroon a 67-65 lead with mere seconds left on the clock.
“We have seen a bunch of those types of shots,” Urgo said. “Obviously, that’s a big one for our team and a big one for him.”
The Billikens had the last shot, but not enough time to get a clean look at the basket. Parker missed a three from the left arc, and the Rams stole the program’s first win in St. Louis.
The victory moved Fordham to a 4-5 conference record, and while there are still numerous questions surrounding the group’s ability to make a legitimate A-10 run, their latest pair of contests illustrated the roller-coaster nature of this season.
“There’s just nothing but positive reinforcement amongst our staff and our players, and in team meetings, just heartfelt conversations,” Urgo said after the win. “We had plenty of them this past week and to come out and put forth the effort, it had nothing to do with winning or losing. Obviously, winning was fun. Regardless of whether or not we won this game, we got back to playing our brand of basketball.”
