Some losses sting more than others. Sometimes, losses sting all the same, but for different reasons — that was the story for Fordham in week six of the conference season.
On the heels of its two biggest wins of the season, Fordham Men’s Basketball dropped a pair of heartbreakers at home last week. Late-game miscues have haunted Fordham in Atlantic 10 (A-10) play, and the 3-8 Rams saw their fair share of them as two winnable games became losses.
The Rams’ 63-59 defeat at the hands of A-10 juggernaut Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) last Tuesday was familiar: a squandered opportunity to take down one of the best but an effort to be proud of nonetheless.
“Credit to our guys for battling and making that a game,” reflected Rams Head Coach Mike Magpayo postgame. “I was proud of them to come out in the second half and find a way.”
Fordham was able to overcome a 16-point second-half deficit after falling behind 35-22 at the half. The Rams relied on their defense — now ranked 17th in the NCAA — to hang around. Fordham held VCU to 36.8% shooting from the field in the second half. The Rams did this without their starting center, sophomore Jack Whitbourn, who missed the second half due to back spasms.
Senior guard Dae Dae Reaves swiped his season-high four steals amid a 21-point outburst, furthering his A-10 lead in scoring. With Reaves tallying six of Fordham’s last eight, the Rams clawed all the way up to within two points, 61-59, with 0:33 to go.
Fouling with 0:14 remaining, Fordham had a baseline inbound down 63-59. Senior Chris Henry looked to get it in, found no one and called a timeout — Fordham had no timeouts. As a penalty, the team was charged with a technical foul. Off of a missed free throw and a deadball rebound, VCU’s press defense forced another Henry turnover to seal the game.
“It’s something to build off,” said Magpayo, citing the team’s improvement after a dormant offensive first half. The Rams sought to do just that against St. Bonaventure University on Saturday, but the Bonnies had redemption on their mind.
When the teams first met, Reaves dropped a career-high 31 points to lead Fordham to its first A-10 win, 81-77, in enemy territory. Reaves’ Bonnies counterpart, explosive junior guard Buddy Simmons II, got his revenge in the rematch.
Playing the full 40 minutes, Simmons dropped 23 points and five assists, including a 14-foot floater to put the game away in its final minute.
After a Reaves triple gave Fordham a 67-63 edge, the Bonnies forced three crucial turnovers and held Fordham scoreless for the final 4:51 of regulation.
Fordham trailed 70-67 with 1.3 seconds, needing to fire off an overtime-forcing three. Henry feathered an inbounds pass to junior Akira Jacobs in the left-side corner, who jumped to receive the pass, landed, lifted and fired a wild three that went halfway down the basket before bunny-hopping out — the final penstroke of a poetically backbreaking loss.
It was a tough setback for a Rams team that had seemingly just turned a corner the week prior. But for a Fordham team now 2-6 in A-10 games decided by single digits, this setback feels more surmountable than those before it.
“One thing this team has done is learn. And we’ve grown,” said Magpayo, highlighting how much better the team has gotten at responding to tough losses.
Assuming Whitbourn, who missed Saturday’s contest, will be back soon, the team should be as healthy as it’s been all year as it barrels towards March. As they aim to peak at the right time, the Rams benefit from a number of individual contributors on an upward trajectory.
Chief among these risers is graduate wing Louis Lesmond. Once 0-for-16 from three during a long stretch of the season and hindered by a back ailment, Lesmond took months to blossom into the 3-and-D player Magpayo touted him as transferring from Harvard College. In recent weeks, he’s become that and more. The France native dropped 10 points on Saturday, including two triples and a reverse alley-oop jam from Henry.
Also blooming is freshman Roor Akhuar. After missing most of the first half of the A-10 campaign with an ankle injury, the 18-year-old has displayed what Magpayo calls the perfect blend of “fearlessness and naiveté.” Akhuar drilled four three-pointers in a career-best 16-point performance Against St. Bonaventure.
Fellow Australian freshman redshirt Abass Bodija has also rounded out his game in recent weeks. Bodija chipped in 11 points and five rebounds in Whitbourn’s absence Saturday. Once a pure post scorer, Bodija has begun to show no hesitancy in launching from long-range, even attacking closeouts and using his athletic 6-foot-10 frame to get downhill.
Until then, Fordham has other priorities to tend to. The Rams head east to Kingston, Rhode Island, for a 12 p.m. Valentine’s Day duel with the University of Rhode Island on Saturday.
