Fordham Men’s Basketball scored a season-high 37 points in the first half of Wednesday’s game against St. Bonaventure University, but the Rams could not sustain their offensive production, going scoreless for the last 5:13 of regulation and falling to the Bonnies, 68-54.

St. Bonaventure junior guard Jaren Holmes led all scorers with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while junior guard Kyle Loften added 14 points and six assists for the Bonnies. 

On the Rams side, sophomore forward Joel Soriano had a team-high 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds, earning his eighth double-double in his last eleven games dating back to last year. Sophomore guard Chris Austin scored in double-figures for the third straight game with 10 points and chipped in three assists. Junior guard Jalen Cobb finished with nine points, five assists, a steal and a block in 39 minutes of action. 

The loss drops Fordham to 1-4 overall this season and 1-4 in Atlantic 10 Conference play. As for St. Bonaventure, they improve to 5-1 on the year and are now 3-1 in conference.

Considering that the game these two teams played last season needed overtime before St. Bonaventure ultimately prevailed, 62-55, many assumed Wednesday’s contest would be a defensive-minded chess match between head coaches Jeff Neubauer and Mark Schmidt. However, the first half saw quite the opposite. Fordham and St. Bonaventure each enjoyed success on the offensive end, with both teams shooting 47% from the floor. After a woeful game shooting the ball from beyond the arc at Duquesne University last time out, the Rams bounced back in a big way by knocking down a season-high seven three-point shots in the first half alone.

The two teams entered halftime tied at 37 and seemed evenly-matched going into the second half. The Bonnies asserted themselves early in the half by going on an 8-2 run to take a 45-40 lead at the 16:33 mark. Fordham cut the deficit back to two, 45-43, following a Rose jumper before St. Bonaventure scored six straight points. The Bonnies took a 51-43 lead and never looked back. Offensively, the Rams were held to just 17 points in the second half on 6-of-22 shooting (27%). Two made free-throws by Rose were the last points Fordham put on the scoreboard before being held scoreless for the last 5:13 of regulation.

Neubauer lauded his team’s efforts offensively, especially after a season-high output of 54 points. “Offensively, this is certainly the best game that we’ve had, and the ball moved better for us in this game than in any game we’ve played,” Neubauer said.

Neubauer went on to say that the team’s best possessions came when the ball was in the post, crediting Soriano and junior forward Onyi Eyisi for their passing ability in creating open perimeter shots. When talking about what ultimately defined the game’s outcome, Neubauer cited St. Bonaventure’s activity on the boards, where the Bonnies outrebounded the Rams 43-24. 15 of those rebounds came on the offensive end. 

“When you miss 31 shots and then go get 15 of them [offensive rebounds], and most of those rebounds were by guards, it’s tough to win.”

Fordham Men’s Basketball will look to bounce back this Sunday, Jan 17, when the Rams host the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. The Minutemen lead the all-time series, 30-17, which started in the 1967-68 season. Sunday’s game will be broadcasted nationally on NBC Sports Network and can be heard on WFUV 90.7 FM with tipoff scheduled for 2:30 P.M.