Men's Basketball Takes Down Youngstown State, 67-61

Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham University men's basketball coaching staff hopes to see a lot of the Honor family this year for it seems that with them in attendance, freshman guard Nick Honor enjoys his best games. After scoring a season-high 28 points last night, Honor netted 17 today and added five rebounds and five assists to lead the Rams to a 67-61 win over Youngstown State University on day two of the Johnny Bach Classic in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 3-1 on the season while Youngstown State falls to 2-3.
 
Honor scored eleven of his 17 points in the second half as the Rams rallied from a 34-28 halftime deficit.
 
Trailing by three, 38-35, with 16:32 left Fordham ran off seven straight points to take a 42-38 lead with 13:10 remaining following an Honor layup.
 
The Penguins would get the Fordham lead down to one twice over the next six minutes and would trail the Rams by two, 55-53, with 5:15 on the clock when the Rams sored six unanswered points to take a 61-53 lead at the 2:23 mark.
 
Youngstown State pulled within two, 63-61, with 47 seconds left but Honor nailed four free throws over the final 18 seconds to secure the win.
 
Takeaways
• The Rams improve to 6-0 all-time in games played as part of the Johnny Bach Classic.
 
• Youngstown State was averaging 80.5 ppg entering the contest and were held to a season-low 61 by the Rams.
 
• It was the first ever meeting between the two teams.
 
• Youngstown State outrebounded Fordham, 39-35, the first time this year that the Rams have been outrebounded in a game.
 
• The Rams held the Panthers to shooting just 14.3 percent from behind the arc in the second half (2-14.
 
• Fordham opens a season with a 3-1 record for the third time over the past four years.
 
By the Numbers
8 – Points for sophomore Ivan Raut, who was a perfect 3-for-3 from the file, including 2-for-2 from behind the arc.
 
12 – Points for junior guard Antwon Portley, who added six rebounds and three assists.
 
13-for-13 – Free throw shooting for Honor over his first four collegiate games.
 
17 – Consecutive free throws made by senior forward Jesse Bunting who was 2-for-2 tonight.
 
+17 – Freshman Jalen Cobb's +/- for the game, a team-high.
 
91.7 – Free throw shooting percentage by the Rams in the second half (11-12).
 
What's Next
• The Rams will face the Columbia University Lions on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. on day three of the Johnny Bach Classic.
 
• It will be the 78th meeting between Fordham and Columbia on the hardwood.
 
• Fordham leads the all-time series, 51-26, and have taken three of the past four meetings.