By Drew Casey
Fordham Men’s Basketball has won four consecutive home games for the first time since 2010.
After dropping their season opener on the road at the University of Texas at Arlington and rattling off back-to-back home wins, the Rams stayed hot at the Rose Hill Gym during the Thanksgiving break. The squad took down Colgate 84-58 on Tuesday, Nov. 24, before blowing out Manhattan 87-64 on Saturday in the annual “Battle of the Bronx.”
“Our guys are playing the right way,” first-year head coach Jeff Neubauer said. “We have a long, long way to go. Our defense is going to get better and our guys are doing a lot of good things.”
On Tuesday, following the women’s basketball team’s 61-49 victory over Lafayette at the Rose Hill Gym, the Rams got off to a quick start against Colgate. The team jumped out to a 7-0 lead behind two quick buckets from recently named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Joseph Chartouny and never looked back.
With a balanced scoring attack throughout, Fordham led 18-8 later in the first half, but a 14-6 Colgate run cut the Fordham lead to just two at 24-22 with 5:19 left in the first frame.
The Rams answered with a 14-5 run of their own, including three consecutive three-pointers, to hold a 38-27 advantage at the halftime break.
Senior guard Mandell Thomas and Chartouny led the way at the intermission with 10 points each, while sophomore forward Christian Sengfelder collected six first half rebounds.
Fordham extended their lead to as many as 18 early in the second stanza before Colgate climbed within single digits with 11:11 left in regulation. Minutes later, the Rams went back up by 17, and the final result appeared abundantly clear.
In the final 8:15, Colgate did not climb within 14 of the Rams as they dropped their third contest of the season. Fordham ended the game on a 23-11 run.
Four Rams finished in double-digit scoring as 11 players saw action in the matchup. Senior forward Ryan Rhoomes led the way with 18 points and just missed a double-double, grabbing nine rebounds. Thomas finished with 17 points, five assists and three steals, while Chartouny poured in 15 points and collected 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Sengfelder finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
“We talk about balance, and we’re going to be balanced,” Neubauer said. “We’ve got really good basketball players on this team, but it’s not one individual. It’s about guys just playing together.”
Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the Rams turned in another impressive performance against cross-borough rival Manhattan.
The nearby Jaspers came into the contest with just seven players, but that did not faze the MAAC opponent early on as they led Fordham 23-20 with 7:30 left in the first half. From that point on, Fordham took over. Concluding the half on a 22-10 run that featured six points from both Rhoomes and Sengfelder, the Rams took a nine-point edge, 42-33, into the locker room.
“In the first half, we turned it over too many times,” Neubauer said. “We had 14 turnovers and that’s not who we are. In the second half, we played more like who we’ve been and who we’re going to be, meaning we only had five turnovers and we were still throwing the ball in the post.”
Fordham kept its foot on the gas right from the start of the second half jumping out to a 16-point lead just over five minutes into the period, largely in part due to Thomas, who scored nine of the team’s first 13 points in the second frame. Once again, the Rams never looked back as they cruised to their third straight twenty-plus-point victory.
As one would expect, “The Battle of the Bronx” did not end quietly. On a breakaway layup, Thomas was taken down from behind by Zane Waterman. Waterman was ejected after being assessed a flagrant two, and tensions rose in the nearly packed Rose Hill Gym. Fordham sophomore guard Nemanja Zarkovic and four additional Ram bench players were also ejected in the incident for leaving the bench area.
The game concluded without any additional altercation as Manhattan did not record a made field goal in the final 4:19 of regulation. Rich Williams led the Jaspers with 24 points as the team fell to 1-3.
Five Rams ended the early evening in double-digits with Thomas, the Mike Cohen MVP, leading the way with a season-high 26 points.
“I’ve been part of this [for] four years,” Thomas said. “This has always been intense, Fordham-Manhattan, a rivalry game, this year, another intense game, so it’s fun being out there. The crowd gets into it and it’s even better when we win, so it’s always a good time.”
Rhoomes added 20 points of his own, while Sengfelder contributed 16. Chartouny poured in 11, while Anderson netted 10 off the bench. The team put up staggering shooting numbers, netting 56-percent of their field goal attempts and nearly 53 percent of their shots from three-point range. The Rams also bested the Jaspers on the boards 39-27.
Next up for the Rams is another rivalry matchup as the Saint John’s Red Storm will travel to the Rose Hill Gym for the first time since 2010. The teams will meet for the 87th time on Wednesday night.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Thomas said. “It’s been a while since Fordham won four straight so I’m looking forward to Saint John’s, another big team we’re playing on Wednesday. Hopefully we’ll get another ‘W.’”
Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday and students are urged to be at the Rose Hill Gym before 6:30 p.m. Students who arrive later than 6:30 p.m. will be turned away, because all other tickets are sold out.
