Gallery: (3/11/2020) Men's Basketball vs. George Washington
Brooklyn, N.Y. – Most film buffs will agree that The Godfather and Godfather II was good cinema. But some movie goers weren't as enamored with Godfather III. For Fordham fans, the first two installments of the 2020 Fordham-George Washington men's basketball games were okay, both won by the Rams. But Fordham-George Washington III exceeded all expectations as the Rams dominated from start to finish, defeating the Colonials, 72-52, in the first round of the 2020 Atlantic 10 men's basketball championships at the Barclays Center.
With the win, Fordham improves to 9-22 on the year and advances to take on sixth-seeded Duquesne University in the second round of the championship on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. at the Barclays Center. George Washington closed out its season with a 12-20 record.
The Rams were paced by freshman forward
Joel Soriano, who notched his fifth double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore guard
Jalen Cobb finished with 15 points. Senior guards
Erten Gazi (12) and
Antwon Portley (10) also scored in double figures for Fordham.
Fordham never trailed in the game, jumping out to an 11-6 lead six minutes into the game and then using a 10-2 run later in the half to take a 21-11 lead on a Portley free throw with 4:40 remaining.
The Colonials used back-to-back jumper to get the Fordham lead down to four, 21-17, but the Rams closed out the half with eleven unanswered points to take a 32-17 halftime lead.
Fordham maintained a double-digit lead throughout the entire second half.
Takeaways
• The Rams beat a team three times in one season for the first time since Fordham defeated Bucknell three times in 1991
• The 72 points is the second-most scored by the Rams in an Atlantic 10 Championship game (record is 74 vs. Dayton in 2014)
• Fordham shot 50 percent in the game (25-50), the first time this season Fordham shot 50 percent or better
• The Rams outrebounded the Colonials, 32-30, just the ninth time this year Fordham outrebounded its opponent (the Rams are 7-2 in such games)
• Fordham outscored George Washington 34-22 in the paint and 17-7 off turnovers
• Fordham snapped a five-game losing streak at the Atlantic 10 Championship
By the Numbers
0:00 – Time the Rams trailed in the game
7 – Offensive fouls drawn by Fordham, three by
Josh Colon
9.9 – Points per game for
Joel Soriano over the past eleven games
11.4 - Rebounds per game for
Joel Soriano over the past eleven games
12 – Rebounds for
Joel Soriano, the fifth most for a Ram in an Atlantic 10 Championship game
14 – Points scored by
Joel Soriano, matching his season-high
20 – Margin of victory for the Rams, the largest for an A-10 Championship game
1,538 – All-time wins for Fordham.
What's Next?
• The Rams will face sixth-seeded Duquesne on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on the NBC Sports Network.
• The Dukes won both regular season matchups with Fordham, 58-56 in overtime in Pittsburgh on January 15, and 59-54 in the Rose Hill Gym on February 16.
• Duquesne leads the all-time series, 26-16.
