Men’s Basketball Comes up Short at GW

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Washington, D.C. – After a 9-2 nonconference slate, the 2015-2016 Fordham men's basketball team showed that it will be a squad to be reckoned with in conference play as the Rams battled back from a 17-pont first half deficit before coming up just short, falling to George Washington University, 69-63, in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams at the Smith Center.
 
With the loss, Fordham falls to 9-3 overall while George Washington, who was picked to finish fourth in the conference by the preseason prognosticators, improves to 12-2.
 

For the second straight game, Fordham played well enough to win defensively but lacked the offense to back it up. Tonight the Rams scored 19 first half points, shooting 22.6 percent (7-31), before netting 44 second half points when they shot a sizzling 60.0 percent (18-30).
 
Mandell Thomas and Antwoine Anderson led the Rams with 13 points each, with Thomas adding six rebounds and Anderson three steals, while Ryan Rhoomes was a rebound shy of a double-double, scoring 12 points and adding nine boards.
 
The largest Fordham deficit was 17, 32-15, with 1:30 left in the first half and the Rams trailed by 15 at the break, 34-19.
 
The Rams scored the first seven points of the second half to trim the George Washington advantage to eight, 34-26, on a David Pekarek layup off an Anderson steal 2:30 into the period.
 
The Colonials got their lead back to double digits, 38-28, a minute later but an Anderson layup and Pekarek three cut the Fordham deficit to five, 38-33, with 15:24 left.
 
George Washington managed to build its lead to eleven three times over the next seven minutes, the final at 54-43 with 8:54 on the clock when an Anderson basket started a 10-3 Fordham spurt as the Rams made it a four-point game, 57-53, following a Rhoomes put back with 4:19 remaining.
 
Tyler Cavanaugh boosted the Colonials leads to six twenty seconds later but an Anderson jumper and Rhoomes free throw brought the Rams within three, 59-56, with 2:54 left. But that was as close as Fordham would get as Cavanaugh made it a five-point game with a bucket at the 2:36 mark and the Colonials hit all eight of their free throws over the final 1:25.
 
Pekarek also finished in double figures for the Rams with ten points.
 
Fordham returns to action on Wednesday night, January 6, as they host the La Salle University Explorers in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m.
 
Notes
Thomas' 13 points brings his career total to 1,255, good for 16^th on the Fordham career scoring list.
 
Rhoomes' nine rebounds brings his career total to 727, good for eleventh on the school's career rebounding list.
 
The Rams recorded ten steals in the contest, the ninth time this season Fordham has notched ten or more steals in a game.
 
Fordham was outscored 25-8 from the charity stripe.
 
The Rams were without the services of guard Joseph Chartouny, due to injury, and center Ryan Canty, due to illness.
 
Fordham was coming off a 12-day break, the longest time between games for the Rams since the 1965-1966 season.
 
Assistant coach Tony Chiles celebrated a birthday on Sunday.
 
Former Ram Dan Blaine, FCRH '07, and CIA Director John O. Brennan, FCRH '77, were in attendance.