Men's Basketball Knocks Off St. Francis, 76-68

Bronx, N.Y. – It was quote appropriate that today was Star Wars Day in the Rose Hill Gym because at times, Fordham like Luke Skywalker, buzzing through the Death Star. Every time Luke felt as if he were pulling away from the Imperial Army in his bid to destroy the orb, he would look behind him only to see the enemy fast approaching. Such was the case today as the Rams built large leads only to see St. Francis College get close, but in the end the Force was with Fordham as the Rams managed to knock off the Terriers, 76-68.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 4-5 on the year while St. Francis falls to 2-7.
 
Fordham was paced today by senior Will Tavares, who matched his career-high with 21 points, shooting 9-for-14, from the field, and he added six rebounds and two steals, while junior guard Joseph Chartouny added 19 points, six assists and three steals, and junior forward Prokop Slanina chipped in with 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
 
Unlike the Harvard loss on Wednesday night, the Rams led for the entire game (except for the first minute when it was tied) and had the lead to as many as 21 in the second half.
 
Leading by ten at the break, 35-25, Fordham opened the second half with eleven unanswered points, five of those from Tavares, to take the 21-point lead, 46-25, on a pair of Slanina free throws with 16:54 left.
 
But the Terriers wouldn't go away, using a 21-8 run to cut the Fordham lead to eight, 54-46, with 8:20 remaining.
 
The Rams responded with eight straight points to take a 62-46 lead on a Perris Hicks steal and layup with 5:24 on the clock before St. Francis again got the Fordham lead down to eight, 72-64, with just over a minute left but as close as the Terriers would get.
 
Takeaways
Will Tavares has scored in double figures in each of the first nine games this year.
 

Prokop Slanina has netted double figures in each of the past four games and five times overall this year.
 
Fordham entered the game leading the Atlantic 10 and ranking fourth in in the NCAA in steals, averaging 11.3/game, and recorded 13 today.
 
The Rams have recorded double-digit steal totals in six of the nine games this year.
 
The Rams outrebounded the Terriers, 35-29, the first time this year that Fordham outrebounded its opponent.
 
Over the past three years, Fordham is 23-7 in non-conference home games (5-2 in 2013-14, 9-0 in 2014-2015, 5-2 last year and 4-3 this season).
 
Overall, the Rams are 26-17 at home over the past two years.
 
Fordham has taken the past three meetings with St. Francis and now lead the hall-time series, 24-11.
 
The Rams are now 63-28 all-time against teams currently in the Northeast Conference, including a win over LIU earlier this year.
 
By the Numbers
6 – Different players to record a steal for the Rams.
 
7-for-10 – Shooting percentage for Prokop Slanina, who entered the game leading the Rams in field goal percentage, shooting .492 (31-63)(he is now shooting .521, 38-73).
 
8 – Rebounds by David Pekárek, tying his career-high which he accomplished twice, the last time at La Salle in 2016.
 
10 - Points scored by David Pekárek, a season-high.
 
21 - Points scored by Will Tavares, matching his career-high set earlier this year against East Tennessee State.
 
184 – Career steals by Joseph Chartouny, good for seventh on the Fordham career list.
 
338 – Career assists for Joseph Chartouny, good for tenth on the Fordham all-time list.
 
What's Next?
The Rams take to the road for their first true road game of 2017-2018, traveling down to Piscataway, N.J., to face the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights in the RAC on Tuesday, December 12, at 7:00 p.m.
 
The game will be the 54th meeting between the two schools on the hardwood with the Rams leading the all-time series, 27-26.
 
The Scarlet Knights have taken the past four meetings, including a 68-53 win last December in Madison Square Garden.