Puzzles can be enjoyable for those who embrace that each piece must connect to a certain compatible part. But for those who do not have time to sort and find what fits where, the exercise could become a frustrating endeavor.
Fordham Men’s Basketball dropped an 87-65 home game against St. Bonaventure University on Wednesday, and then fell to the prolific University of Dayton Flyers in a tight 78-70 Saturday matinee on the road. The losses marked the Ram’s second and third consecutive defeats, and also underscored the ways in which they’ve failed to mesh during conference play.
The Rams beat St. Bonaventure earlier this season on the road, but failed to show the same chutzpah this past week. The Bonnies outscored Fordham 44-27 in the first half. A 6-1 Ram run made it 45-33 1:04 into the second act, but that was as close as the men in maroon would get.
“They were prepared,” said head coach Keith Urgo after the loss to St. Bonaventure. “Obviously a lot more prepared than we had our team.”
Senior Kyle Rose and sophomore Will Richardson combined for 20 points, but an 8-25 clip from range put the Rams at a disadvantage. Additionally, seniors Antrell Chartlon and Japhet Medor and sophomores Elijah Gray and Romad Dean failed to reach double figure scoring marks.
Sophomore Assa Essamvous collected a team-high 23 points for the Bonnies and drilled 7-7 3-pointers. Redshirt junior Chad Venning poured in 15 points. Redshirt junior Noel Brown posted 18 points off the bench with an efficient 7-8 clip from the field, and graduate student Mika Adams-Woods totaled a team-high 10 assists.
Fordham fought back in the second frame and was only outscored 41-40 over the final 20 minutes. But, Bonaventure had already built up a big enough lead to survive the surge.
“They kind of punched us in the mouth,” said Urgo. “And we didn’t know how to respond.”
The Dayton Flyers were ranked 16th in the nation entering Saturday’s contest against the Rams. With a talent like junior Da’Ron Holmes II, who’s expected to one day play in the NBA, they have designs on not only winning the Atlantic 10, but making a run in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite the pedigree Dayton boasts, Fordham competed honorably in a hostile environment. Neither team held more than a 3-point lead over the first nine minutes of the game. A Rose 3-pointer made it a 1-point game with 9:22 on the clock, but 10 consecutive Dayton points gave the Flyers a 35-25 lead four minutes later.
Dayton went into the break with a healthy 44-35 edge, but Fordham outscored Dayton 12-4 over the first four minutes to make it a 48-47 game. Medor accounted for 10 of those 12 points, and was aggressive with the ball to start the final frame. The Florida native ended his afternoon with 17 points on a 4-9 shooting performance, and was mainly responsible for Fordham’s initial second-half surge.
The Rams took a 49-48 lead with 15:05 to play after a senior Abdou Tsimnila jumper, but could not grow their lead further.
Holmes later nailed a fadeaway with 5:51 left to break a 66-66 tie and put the Flyers ahead for good. Arizona ended his day with a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds.
“I hope he wins player of the year not just in our league, but certainly in the country because I think he might be the most dynamic player in the country,” Urgo said of Holmes after the loss to Dayton. “There’s very few guys at his size and with his ability that can do what he can do.”
The big man was not the only reason why the Rams could not best the Flyers. Nate Santos, Javon Bennett and Enoch Cheeks posted 11 points, 14 points and 12 points, respectively. Dayton shot roughly 57% from the field as a team and made Fordham’s offense look stagnant during multiple critical moments.
Rose totaled 17 points and six rebounds, while Charlton totaled 10 points. Gray put up seven points on a 3-9 shooting clip and Dean scored four points on a 1-4 afternoon. Fordham’s 70 total points were the most for an A-10 opponent this year at the UD Arena, but they could not find enough offensive rhythm or defensive continuity to match the Flyers’ talent.
A Medor driving layup made it 69-68 with 3:42 remaining, but that was as close as the boys from the Bronx would get. Despite out-rebounding the Flyers 31-29, and out scoring them 35-34 in the second half, Fordham could not play spoiler.
The men in maroon now hold a grim 4-8 conference record and are in 12th place. It’s evident that Fordham boasts a number of talented pieces. But, with six regular season games remaining, they may not have enough time to see what fits where.
“We need more consistency from everybody across the board and I think we’re starting to see that,” said Urgo. “These guys know and they repeat it. Our goal is to be the best team we can be by the end of the year.”
