Men's Basketball Falls at George Mason, 73-67

Fairfax, Va. – Exactly one week ago, the Fordham men's basketball squad erased a 15-point deficit at Saint Joseph's, defeating the Hawks, 96-83 in double overtime. Tonight at George Mason the Rams again faced a 15-point discrepancy and managed to get the Patriots' lead down to one late in the game but a second comeback win wasn't in the cards for Fordham as the Rams fell to George Mason, 73-67, in an Atlantic 10 game at EagleBank Arena.
 
With the loss, Fordham falls to 10-15 overall, 4-8 in the Atlantic 10, while George Mason improves to 17-8 overall, 7-5 in the conference.
 
The Rams fell despite a game-high 21 points from sophomore guard Joseph Chartouny, who also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out five assists and had three steals. Redshirt junior guard Antwoine Anderson (14) and junior forward Christian Sengfelder (11) also finished in double figures for Fordham with Anderson adding six assists and three steals.
 
After trailing by 15 in the first half, the Rams faced a 14-point deficit, 59-45, midway through the second following a pair of Patriot free throws. The Rams then went on a 15-2 run to make it a one-point game, 61-60, on back-to-back Chartouny three-pointers, the second coming with 2:15 remaining.
 
Otis Livingston II was fouled going to the basket with 1:43 left and made both free throws to up the Patriots lead to three, 63-60. But Livingston was called for a foul on Anderson 25 seconds later and Anderson buried both charity shots to make it a one-point game again, 63-62.
 
On George Mason's ensuing possession, Jalen Jenkins missed a layup for George Mason but was able to grab the rebound and put it back for a three-point Patriot lead, 65-62, with a minute on the clock.
 
The Rams then worked the ball around the perimeter, finding Sengfelder who got off a three that bounced in and out and the Patriots grabbed the rebound.
 
Fordham was forced to foul George Mason over the final 30 seconds and the Patriots hit all eight free throws over that period while the Rams could only manage a Chartouny three with four seconds remaining that made it a 71-67 game.
 
The Rams opened the game with an 8-5 lead four minutes in but George Mason outscored the Rams 12-5 over the next four minutes to take a 17-10 lead with 11:55 left in the period and built the lead to as many as 15, 29-14, with 5:59 remaining.
 
Fordham then used a 12-3 spurt to cut the deficit to six, 32-26, on an Anderson three-pointer with 2:32 on the clock and the Rams trailed by seven, 36-29, at the break.
 
The Rams return to action on Wednesday, February 15, as they travel to Kingston, R.I., to face the University of Rhode Island Rams for an Atlantic 10 contest in the Ryan Center at 7:00 p.m.
 
Notes
The game was the first ever win for the Patriots over the Rams in the seventh meeting of the two teams.
 
The Rams recorded 14 steals as a team, one shy of their season-high.
 
The Rams recorded their 16th double digit steal total on the year.
 
Fordham was outrebounded by George Mason, 44-24.
 
The Rams committed fewer turnovers than their opponent for the 21st time this year.
 
Sengfelder's eleven points brings his career total to 972 as he attempts to become the 37th member of the Fordham 1,000-point club.
 
Chartouny's three steals increases his school single season record to 83.
 
Chartouny's 21 points and eight rebounds were both one shy of his season-high.
 
The game featured eight jump balls.