Men's Basketball Defeats James Madison, 75-48

Bronx, N.Y. – It's a little known fact that at 5-feet, 4-inches and barely 100 pounds, James Madison was America's smallest president. But even if he were seven-feet tall he probably would not have helped the Dukes tonight as Fordham played a complete game, leading from start to finish, defeating James Madison, 75-48, in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 9-3 on the year, matching last season's win total, while James Madison falls to 7-6.
 
Junior guard Antwon Portley scored a season-high 22 points in Fordham's last game, a win over Howard last Sunday. Tonight, on his birthday, Portley netted a game-high 13 points while his teammates gifted him another 62 points in the win. Freshman guard Nick Honor also scored 13 points while senior forward David Pekarek added a season-high ten points to go along with five rebounds.
 
The Rams dominated on both sides of the ball, especially on the defensive end where they held James Madison to its second lowest point total of the season, allowing the Dukes to shoot just 30.8 percent (16-52) from the field and blocking seven shots.
 
Fordham jumped out to a 12-5 lead five minutes into the game and, after a James Madison three, used a 10-3 run to take an eleven-point lead, 22-11, following a Jesse Bunting basket in the paint.
 
After the Dukes shaved the Fordham lead to five, 22-17, the Rams exploded with 13 straight points to take a commanding 35-17 on another Bunting basket in the lane. The closest the Dukes would get from that point would be 13 early in the second half.
 
Takeaways
• Nick Honor has scored in double figures in all 12 games this year while Antwon Portley has scored in double figures in five of the past six games.
 
• In his 12th game, Ty Perry finally shot his first collegiate free throw (he was 4-for-4).
 
• Fordham outrebounded the Dukes, 39-31, and are now 4-2 on the year when outrebounding its opponent.
 
• The Rams improved to 3-0 in games decided by 20 or more points and 5-1 when Fordham scored 70-79 points.
 
• It was Fordham's first win over James Madison in three tries.
 
By the Numbers
 
.929 – Fordham's free throw shooting percentage (13-14), a season-high.
 
3 – Charges drawn by Jesse Bunting.
 
3-for-3 – Ivan Raut's three-point shooting in the game.
 
6 – Blocks by Onyi Eyisi, a season-high for the freshman and the Rams (previous personal high was four vs. CCNY and team-high was four by Eyisi and Chuba Ohams).
 
6 – Offensive rebounds for Onyi Eyisi, tying a Fordham season-high.
 
7 – Blocks by Fordham, one shy of the season-high for the Rams.
 
11 – Rebounds by Onyi Eyisi, a season-high for the freshman (previous high was eight vs. Alabama A&M).
 
14 – Offensive rebounds for the Rams, tying their season-high (vs. CCNY).
 
48 – Points scored by James Madison, its second lowest output of the season (lowest was 42 vs. Old Dominion).
 
646 - All-time win total for Fordham in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams will take some time off for Christmas before returning to action on Sunday, December 30, as they host the Long Island University Blackbirds in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m. in the final non-conference game of the year for Fordham.
 
• It will be the 15th meeting between Fordham and LIU on the hardwood.
 
• The Rams lead the all-times series, 10-4, and have taken seven of the last eight meetings, including an 81-68 win the last time the two schools met in 2017 in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
• The Rams are 63-28 all-time against teams currently in the Northeast Conference.