Men’s Basketball Knocks off UMass on the Road

Amherst, Mass. – The Fordham University men's basketball squad was the epitome of resilience today as the Rams rebounded from a last second three-pointer that sent the game in overtime, outscoring the University of Massachusetts 15-9 in the extra session, for a 78-72 Atlantic 10 win in the Mullins Center.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 12-8 overall, 3-6 in the Atlantic 10, while UMass falls to 8-12 overall, 1-7 in the conference. The win snaps a seven-game Atlantic 10 road losing streak for the Rams and is the 200th career coaching win for Fordham head coach Jeff Neubauer, who won 188 games in ten years at Eastern Kentucky before arriving at Rose Hill.
 

The Rams were led by their youth today with freshman guard Joseph Chartouny recording his third double-double of the year with a team-high 18 points to go with ten rebounds and seven assists, tying his season-high, while fellow freshman David Pekarek added a season-high eleven points and he also grabbed four boards.
 
The Rams also won with defense, holding the Minutemen to shooting 18.5 percent (5-27) from behind the arc while also recording ten steals. The Rams' defense was especially strong in the second half and overtime, holding UMass to shooting 11-31 (35.5 percent) from the field and 1-13 from three-point range.
 
Fordham led by three, 63-60, following an Antwoine Anderson free throw with 19 seconds left in regulation. UMass moved the ball around on offense, eventually getting it Donte Clark who hit a corner three in front of the Massachusetts bench to tie the game at 63 with nine seconds left.
 
Nemanja Zarkovic had a chance to win the game for the Rams in regulation but his three-pointer just before the buzzer went in-and-out.
 
The Minutemen took a 65-63 lead on a pair of free throws 1:15 into the extra session before Chartouny tied it with a driving layup 13 seconds later.
 
Anderson gave Fordham the lead for good with two charity shots at the 2:49 mark and the Rams led by two again with 1:52 left when Christian Sengfelder buried a corner three to put Fordham up five, 72-67 with 52 second left.
 
The Rams hit six of their eight free throws over the final 36 seconds to secure the win.
 
The game was close over the first 8:30 with the Rams knotting the game at 14 on a Pekarek three with 11:28 left in the half. Fordham then used a 13-3 run to take its biggest lead of the day, 27-17, following a Ryan Rhoomes free throw with 7:44 on the clock.
 
But Massachusetts closed out the half with a 15-5 spurt to tie the game at 32 at the break on a three-quarters court three-pointer at the halftime buzzer from Antwan Space.
 
The second half started slowly and was close throughout with seven ties and neither team holding more than a three point lead.
 
Sengfelder and Anderson each added nine points for the Rams while Mandell Thomas, Jon Severe and Zarkovic finished with eight. Rhoomes led all rebounders with 12 for Fordham
 
The Rams will have a week off before returning to action next Saturday, February 6, as they host the Saint Joseph's University Hawks in an Atlantic 10 contest in the Rose Hill Gym at 2:00 p.m.
 
Notes
Fordham now has three Atlantic 10 wins at UMass, the most road wins for the Rams at any A-10 opponent (the Rams picked up their first ever Atlantic 10 road win at UMass on January 26, 1999).
 
The two teams meet again on February 17 in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
Thomas' eight points brings his career total to 1,345, 14th on the Fordham career scoring list.
 
Rhoomes' 12 rebounds brings his career rebounding total to 803, moving him ahead of Damon Lopez (1988-1991) and into eighth on the school's all-time rebounding list.
 
Rhoomes failed to reach double figures in scoring for just the second time this year.
 
Pekarek's previous season-high was ten, originally set against George Washington and tied at Rhode Island on Wednesday night.
 
The game was the tenth game with ten or more steals for Fordham in 2015-2016.
 
The Rams are 2-0 in overtime games this season.
 
The Fordham coaching staff wore sneakers during the game as part of Suits and Sneakers Week to raise awareness about the fight against cancer.
 
Not only did he wear sneakers during the game, but Fordham head coach Jeff Neubauer kept his sports coat on the entire game for the first time all season.
 
The two teams combined for 53 fouls and attempted 61 free throws.