Late Miami Basket Downs Men's Basketball, 55-54

Bronx, N.Y – After hitting 17 three-pointers in an exhibition win last week, Fordham men's basketball fans were excited for the 2017-2018 season opener tonight against Miami (OH) University. Unfortunately the Rams couldn't carry that momentum into tonight's game as Fordham connected on just three long-distance shots and the RedHawks scored with just over three seconds left to hand the Rams a 55-54 defeat in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
Will Tavares led the Rams with 15 points and seven rebounds while Joseph Chartouny added 14 points, six rebounds and five steals.
 
The Fordham defense did its job tonight, holding Miami to just 55 points and allowing the RedHawks to shoot just 33.9 percent (20-59) from the field while forcing 21 turnovers, including 13 Fordham steals. But the Ram offense couldn't get on track as the Rams shot just 3-for-24 from three-point range.
 
The Rams scored eleven unanswered points to turn a 29-28 lead into a 40-28 advantage on a Tavares layup with 13:16 remaining.
 
Miami whittled away at the Fordham lead, eventually getting it down to two, 50-48, with 3:14 on the clock. But back-to-back Chartouny baskets bumped the Fordham lead back to six, 54-48, with 2:10 left before a Jake Wright three with 1:31 remaining and a Logan McLane layup with 42 ticks on the clock made it a one-point game, 54-53.
 
Tavares missed a three with 15 seconds left and the RedHawks moved the ball up court quickly, finding Jalen Adaway under the basket for a lay in with just over three seconds left.
 
The Rams had one last chance for the win but a Tre Evans three at the buzzer was off target.
 

Takeaways
 
The Rams have dropped their last two season-openers and are now 74-35 (.679) in season openers since 1908, 79-19 (.806) in home openers.
 
Friday night's contest was the second meeting between Fordham and Miami on the hardwood. The Rams took the first matchup, 67-60, on December 21, 1956 in Cincinnati, Ohio, in a first round game of the University of Cincinnati Tournament.
 
Fordham is 1-7 all-time against teams currently in the Mid-American Conference (1-1 against Miami, 0-2 vs. Bowling Green, 0-2 vs. Western Michigan, 0-1 against Kent State and 0-1 versus Ohio).
 
Over the past three years, Fordham is 19-5 in non-conference home games (5-2 in 2013-14, 9-0 last year and 5-2 this year). Overall, the Rams are 22-15 at home over the past two years.
 
The game was part of the 2017 Jamaica Classic.
 
 
By the Numbers
5 – Assists by Tre Evans, a team-high
 
7 – Rebounds by Will Tavares, a career-high (previous high was five which he did twice last year).
 
13 – Steals recorded by Fordham, who recorded double digit steal totals in 18 of the 32 games last year.
 
24 – Points scored by the Rams off turnovers.
 
155 – Career steals for Joseph Chartouny, who had five tonight, moving him ahead of Kevin Anderson (2004-2008) and into ninth place on the Fordham career list.
 
What's Next?
 
The Rams will host the Long Island University Blackbirds in the Rose Hill Gym on Monday night, November 13, at 7:00 p.m.
 
The game will be a part of the 2017 Jamaica Classic.
 
It will be the 14th meeting between Fordham and LIU with the Rams leading the all-time series, 9-4.
 
The last time the two teams met was on December 23, 2010, when the Blackbirds defeated the Rams, 82-70, in the Rose Hill Gym.