Pittsburgh, Pa. - Last week, the Duke of Sussex (also known as Prince Harry) decided to step back as a senior member of the British royal family. Unfortunately for the Fordham men's basketball squad tonight, the Dukes of Duquesne University were not ready to step back their role as leaders in the Atlantic 10 Conference, despite a hard fought effort by the visitors, as the Dukes defeated Fordham, 58-56, in overtime in an Atlantic 10 game at the PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday night.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 6-10 overall, 0-4 in the Atlantic 10, while Duquesne improves to 15-2 overall, 5-0 in the conference.
Sophomore guard
Ty Perry led the shorthanded Rams with 17 points, hitting five three-pointers, while sophomore guard
Jalen Cobb added 16 points and five assists and sophomore forward
Onyi Eyisi finished with seven points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
The Rams trailed 51-44 with just over two minutes remaining in regulation when a Cobb bucket and Perry three over the next minute made it a 51-49 game. Eyisi then took a feed from Cobb and converted a layup with 23 seconds left to tie the game.
In overtime, Perry tied the game at 56 with a three with 40 seconds left but the Dukes managed to hit two free throws down the stretch for the win. The Rams had a chance with under ten seconds left and down one but turned the ball over to Duquesne who hit one of two charity shots.
Takeaways
• Fordham is 6-3 this year when leading at the half and 0-2 in overtime games.
• It was the third straight game the Rams played without the services for three of their top four scorers (
Chuba Ohams,
Antwon Portley, and
Erten Gazi).
• The game featured the top two scoring defenses in the Atlantic 10 (Fordham entered the game leading the A-10 in scoring defense (60.7) while Duquesne was second (61.6).
• The Dukes entered the game with the top three-point defense in the conference, holding opponents to shooting just .280 from behind the arc but the Rams shot .407 (11-27) in the game.
• The Dukes entered the game leading the Atlantic 10 in blocked shots (6.4/game) and blocked seven shots tonight.
• Duquesne's Marcus Weathers led the Dukes in scoring entering the game, averaging 14.3 ppg, but was held to eight tonight, just one in the first half.
• The game was played at the PPG Paints Arena as Duquesne's home court, the Palumbo Center, is undergoing a season-long renovation.
• Duquesne has played home games in four different venues this season.
By the Numbers
3 – Blocks by
Joel Soriano, tying his season-high.
3 – Free throws made by Fordham, tying a season-low.
11 – Three-pointers made by the Rams, a season-high.
14 – Game-high rebounds for
Onyi Eyisi, his third double-digit rebound game of the year.
17 – Team-high points scored by
Ty Perry, one shy of his season-high, and his fifth double-digit scoring game.
What's Next?
• The Rams continue Atlantic 10 play on Sunday, January 18, as they host the Davidson College Wild-cats in the historic Rose Hill Gym at 12:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised live by the CBS Sports Network.
• It will be the tenth meeting between Fordham and Davidson on the hardwood.
• The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 7-2, including a pair of wins last year
