Bronx, N.Y. – The last time Fordham accomplished what they accomplished today none of the current players were born and head coach
Jeff Neubauer was in high school. The feat in question is the last time the Rams won an in-season tournament. That changed today as Fordham defeated Lipscomb University, 85-69, on day three of the Johnny Bach Classic to finish the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record.
With the win, Fordham's fourth straight the Rams improve to 4-1 while Lipscomb falls to 2-4.
Fordham was led by junior forward
Christian Sengfelder who scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed five rebounds, while sophomore guard
Joseph Chartouny added 22 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the field, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
In what was a common theme in the Classic, Fordham used a stifling defensive effort for the win. The Rams forced the Bison to commit 23 turnovers and Fordham recorded 15 steals for the second straight game.
The Rams led by just three at the break, 35-32, and the Bison tied the game at 35 on a Josh Williams three-pointer 20 seconds into the second half. But that three seemed to waken the Fordham offense, which went on a 13-1 run, led by ten points from Chartouny, to take a 48-36 lead on a Chartouny three-pointer with 15:37 remaining.
Lipscomb managed to get the Fordham lead down to six later in the half, 62-56, with 7:17 left, when the Rams answered with a 10-2 spurt to take a 14-point lead, 72-58, following a Sengfelder three-pointer at the 5:11 mark.
A George Brammier dunk cut the Lipscomb deficit to 12, 72-60, 26 seconds later but an 8-1 Fordham run helped the Rams take their biggest lead of the day, 80-61, on a pair of Sengfelder free throws with 2:12 remaining.
Antwoine Anderson added 15 points for the Rams while
Nemanja Zarkovic added nine points, five rebounds and two steals.
The Rams return to action on Wednesday, November 23, as they host the Rider University Broncs in the Rose Hill Gym at 2:00 p.m.
Notes
The last time the Rams won an in-season tournament was the Chaminade Tournament in 1987.
The game was the first ever meeting between Fordham and Lipscomb.
Chartouny's 22 points were two shy of his career high, set against Davidson last year.
Chartouny averaged 15.7 ppg over the three-game classic, shooting 68.0 percent (17-25) with 14 assists and 13 steals.
The Rams outscored the Bison 25-12 at the charity stripe.
