Pittsburgh, Pa. – On the 78th anniversary of the debut of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Tom and Jerry, it was the Fordham University men's basketball team that played the role of the clever mouse to the unfortunate cat of Duquesne University as each time the Dukes thought they had the Rams cornered, the Rams managed to find a way out. Fordham's quick decision-making and sharp-shooting helped the Rams upend Duquesne, 80-57, in an Atlantic 10 game played in the A.J. Palumbo Center.
With the win, Fordham's third in the past four games, the Rams improved to 9-15 overall, 4-8 in the Atlantic 10, while Duquesne falls to 15-11 overall, 6-7 in the conference.
The Rams were led by freshman guard/forward
Ivan Raut, who scored a season and game-high 25 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the field including 4-for-7 from behind the arc, while senior guard
Will Tavares and junior forward Propkop Slanina each notched a double-double with Tavares scoring 15 points and adding ten rebounds and Slanina netting 13 points and grabbing eleven boards while also blocking four shots.
What a difference 35 days makes. On January 6, the Dukes came into the Rose Hill Gym and left with a 64-41 win as the Rams shot just 32 percent from the field. Today it was the Dukes who were held in check as the Fordham defense held the home squad to shooting 31.7 percent (19-60), including 16.7 percent (4-24) from behind the arc. Conversely, the Rams shot a sizzling 59.5 percent for the game (25-42) and 44.4 percent (8-18) from long distance.
Fordham opened the game on fire, building an eight-point lead, 17-9, 8:49 into the game following a Tavares three.
After an Eric Williams, Jr., three made it a 17-12 game just under a minute later, Fordham went on a 13-6 run to take a 30-18 lead at the 2:04 mark. Tavares and Raut each had four points in the run with Raut capping it with a pair of free throws.
The Rams led by nine at the break, 32-23, but Raut hit back-to-back threes to open the second half which ignited a 15-6 spurt as Fordham built the lead to 18, 47-29, just over four minutes in.
The Rams would get the lead to as many as 26, 64-38, on a
Perris Hicks three with 9:19 left and never trailed by less than 17 the rest of the way.
Takeaways
Fordham played without the services of junior guard
Joseph Chartouny, who sat out with an injury.
It was the first game this year that Chartouny has not started.
Ivan Raut is now the lone Ram to appear in all 24 games for Fordham.
Will Tavares scored in double figures for the 19th time in 23 games this year.
The double-double was Tavares' second straight while Slanina notched his third of the season.
Cavit Havsa, who played all 40 minutes in the three previous games, only logged 39 minutes today.
Havsa dished out six assists today and now has 23 over the past four games (with just six turnovers).
The 23-point margin of victory was the largest for the Rams in an Atlantic 10 game since a 91-60 at St. Bonaventure in 2007.
The Rams have won their past three games in Pittsburgh and are now 10-17 all-time in the Steel City.
Duquesne now leads the all-time series with Fordham, 22-16, though Fordham has won three of the past five matchups.
Walk-ons
Brenton Petty and
Thomas Sanchez both played in first six minutes.
Petty scored his first career basket late in the second half.
All nine players who dressed for the Rams saw action in the first half.
The Dukes' three leading scorers entering the game, Mike Lewis III (15.6 ppg), Eric Williams, Jr. (14.7 ppg) and Rene Castro-Canneddy (13.6 ppg) combed to score just 25 points today on 6-for-24 shooting.
Duquesne entered the game first in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding offense (37.4) but was limited to just 27 rebounds today.
The Rams and Dukes teamed up with NCAA Basketball for Autism Speaks Coaches Powering Forward today by wearing Autism Speaks t-shirts during warmups and the coaches wore blue puzzle-piece pins. Fans can join the campaign and receive pins by registering at
http://AutismSpeaks.org/coaches.
The Rams wore their home whites today as the Dukes sported their alternate "Steel City Tribute" black uniforms.
By the Numbers
4 – Blocks by
Prokop Slanina for the second straight game, matching his season-high.
25 – Points scored by
Ivan Raut, a season-high (previous high was 21 vs. LIU).
31.7% - Shooting percentage for Duquesne, the lowest shooting percent in a game this year for a Fordham opponent.
59.5% - Fordham's field goal percentage (25-42), a season-high.
44.4% - Fordham's three-point field goal percentage (8-18), a season-high.
1,517 – All-time wins for the Rams.
What's Next?
The Rams return to the historic Rose Hill Gym to host the Saint Joseph's University Hawks in an Atlantic 10 matchup on Wednesday, February 14, at 7:00 p.m.
The game will be a part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight.
Saint Joseph's leads the all-time series, 36-18.
The Hawks won this year's first meeting, 68-46, in Philadelphia on January 20 behind 25 points from James Demery and 22 from Pierfrancesco Oliva.
