Fordham Men’s Basketball played arguably its best first half of the season against Davidson College on Sunday afternoon, but it would not be enough as the Wildcats dominated the second half en route to a 74-62 win in Rose Hill Gymnasium. Sophomore forward Onyi Eyisi enjoyed an efficient day for the Rams, scoring a career-high 17 points to go along with three steals and two blocks in the loss.

Earlier in the week, the Rams came awfully close to winning their first Atlantic 10 conference game this season. Fordham went on the road and gave Duquesne University everything it could handle, ultimately losing in overtime 58-56. Head coach Jeff Neubauer’s squad came into Sunday on a four-game losing streak, and without three of its top four scorers.

Redshirt junior forward Chuba Ohams was ruled out for the season after suffering a leg injury during warmups of Fordham’s game against La Salle University back on Jan. 5. Senior guard Erten Gazi was still unavailable to play, missing his third consecutive game due to a concussion sustained against Virginia Commonwealth University. The Rams have also been without senior guard and captain Antwon Portley, who injured his leg in the team’s loss to James Madison University last month and is considered day-to-day moving forward.

As for Davidson, head coach Bob McKillop’s team came into this season predicted to finish second in the A-10 preseason poll. However, the Wildcats have gotten off to a slow start since conference play began. Davidson dropped to 1-3 in the A-10 after losing a home game to the University of Richmond by double digits. Even so, the dynamic duo of senior guard Jon Axl Gudmundsson and junior guard Kellen Grady can be devastatingly potent on offense.

In the last nine games, Fordham’s first half woes on offense have been well documented. In that span, the Rams averaged just 26 points in the first half and 34% shooting as a team. Fortunately, Fordham’s offense was surprisingly ready to roll from the opening tip. The Rams shot a scorching 55% from the field behind 6-of-7 shooting from Eyisi. The efficient interior scoring opened up great shots from beyond the arc, with Fordham knocking down five three-pointers.

Fordham would lead by as many as nine in the first half, and went into halftime sporting a four-point advantage, 41-37.

Then the second half began, and inconsistency reared its ugly head for the Rams again. The offense would come out cold to start the half, allowing Davidson to play a quicker tempo and get its offense cooking. Specifically, Gudmundsson was able to get in a groove shooting the ball. Last year’s A-10 Player of the Year scored 16 of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes of regulation. Additionally, his eight assists on Sunday brought him over 500 assists for his career, making him the fourth player in school history to do so.

Davidson knocked down eight three-pointers in the second half and never looked back, shooting 56% as a team in the process. Sputtering, the Rams offense was not able to keep pace with Davidson’s efficient offense. Fordham shot 8-of-25 from the field in the second half, as it watched a four-point halftime lead evolve into a 12-point defeat.

With the loss, Fordham falls to 7-9 on the season, and still looks for its first A-10 win at 0-5. Sophomore guard Ty Perry scored 13 points and added four assists in the loss. The Rams next game will be on Jan. 22, when the team welcomes George Washington University to the historic Rose Hill Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and can be viewed exclusively on ESPN+.