After a four-game suspension, Head Coach Keith Urgo returned to the sidelines to lead Fordham to their third Atlantic 10 win in stirring fashion. To conclude the home battle against the University of Rhode Island Rams (URI) on Wednesday, Feb. 5, graduate student forward Matt Zona put back graduate student guard Japhet Medor’s missed layup with 2.3 seconds on the clock to give Fordham the lead. While URI still had enough time on the clock to delay Fordham’s celebrations, their star guard Sebastian Thomas fell short of his half-court shot. Fordham advanced to 11-12 overall, 3-7 in the Atlantic 10 and Rhode Island dropped to 15-7 overall and 4-6 in the conference.
Fordham began the first half strong with a 7-0 run until URI put their first points on the board with 16:20 on the clock. They gained the following five, cutting Fordham’s lead to two, 7-5. Fordham later led by four but, around the halfway point, went on a 14-3 run fueled by senior guard Jackie Johnson III and junior forward Josh Rivera, comprising two three-point shots in quick succession on two separate occasions. With 7:32 left, Fordham doubled URI’s points, 30-15. Fordham’s physicality on defense, ability to find the right shots at the right time and URI’s opening disorderly offense allowed them to remain in control for the early minutes of the matchup.
However, with around five minutes left in the first half, Fordham went cold from behind the arc, and in two minutes, URI went on a 9-0 scoring run led by forced turnovers and transition buckets to bring the game back within five, 34-29. Fordham held onto their lead, but this point marked the beginning of URI’s persistently successful responses to Fordham’s game despite their initially slow start. The half ended with Fordham up 39-37.
To start the second half, Johnson III earned an immediate three for Fordham, but URI mirrored their combativeness; around 17:42, senior forward David Green scored a layup to give Rhode Island their first lead of the night, 43-42. URI began to take control as they responded to Fordham’s growing number of mistakes on offense, however, Fordham knocked down shots when they needed the momentum most. Medor assisted two consecutive two-hand dunks by Rivera and junior forward Romad Dean in the paint to reclaim their lead and energy with 9:20 left.
For the remainder of the half, the game stayed toe-to-toe, but a 9-2 Rhode Island run permitted them a multiple-possession lead until a Johnson III three brought it back to a three-point game, 73-70, with about four minutes left to play. Later, with 1:56 on the clock, a controversial block call gave URI’s Thomas two free throw points to improve their lead to 75-70. Directly after, Rivera hit a three, URI’s senior guard Jaden House hit his own and Johnson III drove for a lay-up to make the score 77-75.
With around 50 seconds on the clock, senior guard Zach Riley aided in tipping the ball out of bounds off of URI, stripping them of a pivotal possession. After a missed Fordham three and free-throw attempt, the fouling began. Rivera fouled out on Thomas with 15.5 seconds left, and for the first time of the night, Thomas missed from the line. Medor called a timeout with less than ten seconds in the game. For their final play, the ball was impounded to Medor in the backcourt, who drove up through the paint for a layup, and as it rolled off the rim, Zona placed in back for the one-point lead. After the final miss from Thomas, the game ended 80-79.
Johnson III led Fordham with a game-high 25 points, Rivera added 19 points and Medor finished with 17. Rivera and Dean lead in rebounds, securing a combined 16.
Each team played a game that, at different points, forced them to chip away at the other’s lead. However, the Fordham Rams outlasted the opposing Rams. When Associate Head Coach Tray Woodall took control of the team, he succeeded in bringing Fordham their first two conference wins. Now, with Urgo back, they continue, and with much stimulus for more. On Wednesday, Feb. 12, the Rams will host the University of Dayton at home, and travel to Virginia for their Saturday, Feb. 15 matchup against the University of Richmond.
