Men's Basketball Defeats Howard 74-67

Bronx, N.Y. – On this Gaudete Sunday Fordham junior guard Antwon Portley gave Ram fans plenty to rejoice about as he scored a season-high 22 points to lead Fordham to a 74-67 win over Howard University in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 8-3 on the season while Howard falls to 6-5.
 
Portley shot 7-for-14 from the field and 5-for-9 from behind the arc, while also grabbing seven rebounds and adding four assists and three steals. Freshman guards Jalen Cobb (13) and Nick Honor (11) also finished in double figures for the Rams.
 
Even though Fordham led for most of the game, the picture was never as rosy as the vestments worn by the clergy today. The Rams jumped out to a 10-2 lead four minutes into the game before the Bison scored 14 straight points to take a 16-10 lead with 8:52 left in the half.
 
The Rams battled back, eventually taking a 29-26 lead into intermission and then opened the second half with a 10-4 run to take a 39-30 lead with 16:24 remaining.
 
Fordham would get the lead to as many as 12, 53-41, on a Chuba Ohams jumper in the lane but Howard would not go away, cutting the Rams' lead to five, 66-61, with just over a minute left but that was as close as they would get.
 
Takeaways
• Freshman guard Nick Honor has scored in double figures in all eleven games this year.
 
• Freshman guard Ty Perry made his first career start for the Rams, finishing with eight points and three rebounds.
 
• Howard guard R.J. Cole scored his 1,000th career point in the game.
 
• The Rams are now 5-0 this year in day games and 3-0 on Sundays.
 
• Fordham improves to 26-6 in non-conference home games over the past four years.
 
• Fordham improves to 3-0 all-time against Howard and 9-3 all-time against schools currently in the MEAC.

• Basketball Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley was in attendance.
 
By the Numbers
7 – Rebounds by Antwon Portley, a season-high.
 
9 – Rebounds by Chuba Ohams, a team-high.
 
10 – Steals by the Rams, tying their season-high set at Maine.
 
22 – Points scored off turnovers by Fordham (compared to just six for Howard).
 
23.1% - Three-point field goal percentage for Howard, a season-low for a Fordham opponent.
 
26 – Bench points scored by the Rams, led by 13 from Jalen Cobb.
 
39.3% - Field goal shooting percentage for Howard, the sixth Fordham opponent this year that shot under 40 percent.
 
645 – All-time wins in the Rose Hill Gym for the Rams.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams will host the James Madison University Dukes in the Rose Hill Gym on Thursday, December 20, at 7:00 p.m.
 
• It will be the third meeting between Fordham and James Madison on the hardwood.
 
• The Dukes took the first two meetings, 73-53, on November 30, 2008 in the Rose Hill Gym, and 85-73, on December 23, 2009, in Harrisonburg.
 
• The Rams are 21-17 all-time against teams currently in the Colonia Athletic Conference (CAA).