Men's Basketball Falls at A-10 Championship

Washington, D.C. – On the 20th anniversary of the cult classic, The Big Lebowski, the Fordham University men's basketball squad felt tonight like the slacker and avid bowler, The Dude. In the movie, when The Dude was asked by The Stranger how things have been going, the Dude replied "Well, you know, strikes and gutters, ups and downs." Tonight the Rams experienced their ups and downs, in the end coming up just short, falling 78-72 to George Washington University in the opening round of the 2018 Atlantic 10 Championship at the Capital One Arena.
 
With the loss, 14-seeded Fordham closes out the season at 9-22, while eleventh-seeded George Washington improves to 15-17.
 

The Rams were led by junior guard Joseph Chartouny, who poured in a team-high 18 points, shooting 8-for-14 from the field, while also grabbing four rebounds, dishing out eight assists and recording four steals. He was joined in double figures by junior Prokop Slanina and freshman Ivan Raut, who each netted 15 points, and junior guard David Pekarek, who netted 14.
 
Unlike the game between the two teams a week ago, Fordham jumped out to a first half advantage, taking a 21-18 lead midway through the half and then used an 11-2 run to take its biggest lead of the night at 12, 32-20, following a Slanina layup with 6:03 left in the first. Raut led the Rams' run with five points.
 
The Rams held a ten-point lead, 36-26, on a Perris Hicks basket with 3:54 on the clock but the Colonials closed out the half on a 13-3 run to take a one-point lead at the break, 39-38.
 
The game would be tied nine times over the first 13:16 of the second half, the final time at 65 with 6:44 left, when a  Pekarek three gave Fordham a 68-65 lead with 5:18 remaining. But George Washington used an 8-0 spurt to take a 73-68 lead with 1:24 left before a Pekarek jumper at 1:09 made it a three-point game, 73-70.
 
The Rams had a chance to knot the game at 73 but a Cavit Havsa three bounced out with 26 seconds remaining.
 
Takeaways
Fordham is now 6-18 all-time in 18 Atlantic 10 Championships appearances.
 
The Rams entered the game leading the Atlantic 10 and ranking sixth in the NCAA in steals (9.2/game) and recorded nine in the game tonight.
 
Prokop Slanina scored in double figures for the fifth straight game and for the seventh time in the past nine games.
 
Prokop Slanina connected on six of his eight field goal attempts, three-of-four from behind the arc, as he closes out the season shooting .498 (145-291) from the field.
 
Slanina suffered a cut on his chin the first half and missed the beginning of the second half while getting treatment in the locker room.
 
Senior guard Perris Hicks left the game in the early in the second half with an arm injury.
 
Joseph Chartouny led the Rams in assists for the 20th time this year.
 
The Rams held George Washington's leading scorer, senior Yuta Watanabe, who netted a career-high against Fordham a week ago, to 12 points on 3-for-8 shooting.
 
By the Numbers
55 – Team-high three-pointers made this year by Ivan Raut, who had three tonight.
 
97 – Steals this season by Joseph Chartouny, a school record (previous record was 94 which he set last year).
 
112 – Games lost by Fordham players due to injury in 2017-2018.
 
247 – Career steals for Joseph Chartouny, who had four tonight, good for third place on the Fordham career list.
 
439 – Career assists for Joseph Chartouny, who had eight tonight, placing him in fifth place on the Fordham all-time assists list.
 
997 – Career points for Joseph Chartouny, 38th on the Fordham career scoring list.