The road to March is a treacherous path. By the time conference tournaments roll around, many teams have already snapped and accepted the reality that they may not be destined for the big dance.
Regardless of how Fordham Men’s Basketball may have felt within the confines of their locker room, they never seemed to play like a team whose resolve had been entirely broken.
This was on full display during the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center where the Rams defeated the Davidson College Wildcats 71-63 in overtime and pushed the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams to their limit before ultimately falling 69-62 in the second round matchup.
Prior to last Tuesday’s first round matchup, Fordham had not beaten Davidson this season. The Rams lost by 10 or more points in both of their regular season contests against the crew from North Carolina, and seemed to be on a similar trajectory in the first half of their third meeting.
Fordham struggled to generate offense early on. They made only two of their first 16 field goal attempts and connected on only seven of the first 31 attempts across the opening 20 minutes. The Cats held a 27-19 advantage at halftime. Fordham whittled the deficit down to five to begin the second act, but an 8-0 Davidson run gave the Wildcats a 13-point lead with just over five minutes gone in the period.
The Wildcats received stellar showings from sophomore Reed Bailey and seniors Grant Huffman and Connor Kochera. Bailey provided 11 points, three rebounds and two assists while Huffman collected 12 points, five rebounds and five assists while playing through some rather obvious discomfort.
“He’s one of the toughest kids I’ve seen in my coaching career,” Rams head coach Keith Urgo said of Huffman.
Kochera may have been the trio’s best. The 6-foot-5 guard tallied a game-high 24 points, and even though he committed six turnovers, the Wildcats would not have been in a position to possibly advance without him.
Trailing by 13 points with 11 minutes left in regulation, Fordham unleashed an 11-1 run over the following two minutes and made it a one-possession game. Even though Davidson eventually extended their lead to 6 points, the Rams rattled off six straight to tie the game at 52 with 3:34 remaining.
The sophomore combination of Will Richardson and Joshua Rivera was largely responsible for Fordham’s late resurgence. Richardson put up a season-high 20 points on a 6-14 shooting day that included a 3-8 clip from range.
“All season my teammates and my coaches have had the utmost confidence in me,” Richardson said after the game. “Knowing I haven’t had the best season and have not been playing my best, they just kept encouraging me and giving me the confidence to be the best I can be.”
Rivera was similarly fierce. He supplied 14 points on a 6-7 day from the field. Additionally, seniors Abdou Tsimbila and Antrell Chartlon were noteworthy for Fordham. Tsimbila swiped a team-high 10 rebounds while Charlton scored 9 points, dished four assists and grabbed six rebounds.
As a unit, Fordham forced 20 Davidson turnovers on the game, shattering the Wildcats’ previous season high of 15.
“I thought our defense was absolutely fantastic,” Urgo said. “These guys were connected. They were talking the entire time.”
Regulation went down to the wire. Bailey drilled one of two free throws to give Davidson a 61-59 lead. After a timeout, Fordham got the ball to senior Kyle Rose on the wing with six seconds remaining. The Maryland native drove to his left and banked a shot off the glass to knot the score at 61 and send the contest into overtime. The make was one of the bright spots in an otherwise subpar game from Rose. He collected six rebounds and four assists, but was a mere 2-11 from the field.
It was all Rams from there. On the opening possession of the extra period, Charlton drilled a corner three to put Fordham ahead 64-61. It was their first lead since the score was 2-0, and the first phase of what would be a 7-0 Rams run to begin overtime.
The Cats missed their first six field goal attempts in overtime, and could not find the sort of offensive rhythm needed to keep their season alive. Fordham outscored the opposition 10-2 in the extra period to grant the program its first overtime win in the A-10 Tournament.
One day later, the men in maroon were back in Brooklyn for a second round matchup against the VCU Rams. The squads played each other earlier this season at Rose Hill, and while Fordham only trailed by one point at halftime, the visitors outscored them 43-29 across the final 20 minutes en route to the win.
Last Wednesday’s contest at the Barclays Center was competitive for the entire 40 minutes of play. Neither team led by more than seven at any point in the game.
Seniors Max Shulga and Zeb Jackson led the way for VCU. Shulga posted a team-high 14 points on a perfect 4-4 from the field and 4-4 from the line. He also earned seven rebounds and dished four assists. Jackson scored 10 points and nabbed four rebounds.
Fordham led 38-37 at halftime, and even boasted a 57-56 lead with 6:26 to play thanks in large part to the combined play of Rose, Tsimbila and sophomore Romad Dean. Rose scored a game-high 19 points while also grabbing three rebounds and making one steal. Tsimbila was a forceful defensive presence in the paint all game, with 10 points and three rebounds. Dean showed maturity, collecting 7 points, a team-high six rebounds and one steal in 23 minutes.
Often, playoff games are decided by details, and this affair was no different. The boys from the Bronx held VCU without a field goal for the final 8:41 of the contest. During those final minutes though, the Rams from Richmond went 15-18 from the charity stripe and iced the game.
VCU made 27 of their 39 total free throw attempts. More than half of their trips to the charity occurred in the second half due to Fordham’s inability to stay out of foul trouble. Additionally, Charlton, Richardson, Rivera and senior Japhet Medor all struggled to score in a game where a secondary breakout performance was needed. Charlton and Rivera were held scoreless while Medor and Richardson could only combine for 14 points. Sophomore Elijah Gray tallied 8 points, but only saw 19 minutes of action.
Despite putting up a valiant effort, the Rams could not play spoiler and turn the A-10 on its head. Fordham ended their season with a 13-20 overall record and one conference tournament victory.
It’s debatable as to whether or not this year’s Fordham squad lived up to their own potential, but Urgo is clearly focused on the larger picture. The loss to VCU marked the final collegiate game of Rose and Charlton’s noted tenures, but their presence will continue to make an impact even as they bid farewell to the Bronx.
“Now nobody wants to play Fordham,” Urgo said. “We’re trending upwards and I don’t expect to ever turn back.”
