Philadelphia, Pa. – Today's Atlantic 10 men's basketball game between Fordham and Saint Joseph's was played as part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight, one of more than 80 contests this year between Jesuit institutions. But the Hawks didn't show much in the form of men and women for others as they upended the Rams, 80-55, in the Hagan Arena.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 10-6 overall, 1-4 in the Atlantic 10, while Saint Joseph's improves to 14-3 overall, 4-1 in the conference.
The Rams were cold from the field today, shooting 41.1 percent (23-56), including 23.1 percent from behind the arc (6-26), and were outrebounded by the Hawks, 41-27.
Christian Sengfelder and
Jon Severe led the Rams with 13 points each, with Sengfelder adding seven rebounds, while
Ryan Rhoomes added ten points and six boards.
Fordham got off to a slow start, trailing Saint Joseph's 11-2 five minutes into the contest before a Rhoomes put back started a 9-4 run as the Rams pulled within four, 15-11, following an
Antwoine Anderson three with 10:52 left in the half.
The Rams were down five, 23-18, after a Thomas basket at the 7:21 mark when Saint Joseph's used an 11-2 spurt to take a 34-20 lead with 3:24 remaining.
Fordham got the deficit down to 12 at the break, 38-26, but the Hawks opened the second half with a 10-2 run to make it a 48-28 game with 14:18 left.
After a Thomas layup at 12:57, the Fordham offense went cold as Saint Joseph's scored 13 of the next 14 points to take a commanding 61-31 lead with 8:50 on the clock. The closest the Rams would get from that point would be the final, 80-55.
The Rams return to action on Wednesday, January 20, as they host the George Mason University Patriots in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m.
NotesRhoomes' six rebounds bring his career total to 767, good for ninth on the Fordham career rebounding list.
Rhoomes also had a block today to bring his career total to 123, fifth all-time for the Rams.
Rhoomes has scored in double figures in 15 of the 16 games this year.
Mandell Thomas scored eight points to bring his career scoring total to 1,302, placing him 15th on the Fordham all-time list.
Nemanja Zarkovic fouled out for just the second time in his career.
Fordham was outscored 15-3 from the free throw line.
The Rams have dropped their past 15 games in Philadelphia and are now 188-203 all-time against other Jesuit schools.
