By Andrew Posadas

On Saturday, Fordham Men’s Basketball showcased their defensive prowess by locking down the Alabama A&M Bulldogs. After last weekend’s success in the Johnny Bach Classic, head coach Jeff Neubauer said the team’s focus moving forward will be improving defensively.

Both squads exchanged baskets in the first minute before Fordham began clicking on both sides of the court. The Rams went on to outscore A&M 33-16 for the rest of the first-half play. Fordham led comfortably by 17 at halftime, limiting the Bulldogs to a woeful 22 percent shooting from the field.
If defense was Fordham’s driving force early on, the second half made way for their offense to start cooking. The Rams dropped 20 points in the first seven minutes after Jalen Cobb’s jumper with 13:13 on the clock put Fordham up by 30.

The dynamic freshman duo of Jalen Cobb and Nick Honor continued to impress. Coming off his buzzerbeater against Columbia, Cobb followed up with 13 points, adding two rebounds and two steals.

Honor’s stellar performance in the Johnny Bach Classic earned him A-10 Rookie of the Week. Quickly taking on the role of floor general, Honor is also Fordham’s leading scorer at 19 points a game.

Honor went an efficient seven of 13 from the field for a game-high 17 points. The Rams as a team shot a scorching 56 percent in the second half and at one point led by as many as 34. In addition, it seems Fordham’s offense has a calling card: the trifecta.

Fordham drained 11 shots from beyond the arc, marking their fourth game with double-digit three pointers so far this season. A perfect storm of offense and defense gave the Rams a decisive 77-46 win, their fourth straight. The victory keeps Fordham’s finest undefeated in the Rose Hill Gym at 5-0. Alabama A&M’s 46 points is its season-low in six games and Fordham’s season-best in points allowed.

Neubauer has lauded his squad’s start to the early season, citing the team’s determination to learn and improve. Neubauer hopes his young guys like Honor and Cobb continue having the mindset of a “Froshman”, citing “eagerness and naiveness can be good traits to have at times [as a young player].”

A combination of upstart underclassmen alongside seasoned upperclassmen like senior Jesse Bunting and junior Chuba Ohams give Fordham Men’s Basketball a healthy balance. Moving forward, Neubauer believes the most important aspect of their current four-game winning streak is the squad’s continuing growth.

“The idea is that our guys understand who we are today needs to be a different thing a week from now, a month from now,” said Neubauer.

Auspicious start aside, Neubauer made it clear winning a few games now does not indicate who they will ultimately become down the road. An undefeated homestand now makes way for a brief two-game road trip.

Fordham takes on Manhattan College this Saturday evening in the “Battle of the Bronx” as the Rams look to extend their win streak to five.