Estero, Fla. – The University of Akron's nickname is the Zips. However, so far this year they have been anything but Zips, averaging 89 points in their first three games. Tonight, the Fordham men's basketball squad put the zip back in the Zips, holding them to 43 points in a 63-43 win in the first round of the 2021 Gulf Coast Showcase in the Hertz Arena.
With the win, Fordham improves to 3-2 on the year and advances to the second winner's bracket game tomorrow while Akron evens its record at 2-2.
Darius Quisenberry
Junior guard
Antonio Daye, Jr. led all scorers in the game with 19 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field, while graduate student guard
Darius Quisenberry added 17 for the Rams.
But it was the Fordham defense that controlled the game as the Rams kept the Zips without a basket for over ten minutes in the second half, turning a 36-27 advantage into a 51-29 lead on a pair of Quisenberry free throws with 5:42 remaining.
The Fordham defense was just as stingy in the first half, allowing just 19 Akron points as the Rams took a 30-19 lead at the break.
Takeaways
•
Darius Quisenberry and
Antonio Daye, Jr. have each scored in double figures in all five games.
•
Chuba Ohams hit a three-pointer in the first half, his seventh career three-pointer.
• Ohams scored five points and added six rebounds, his first non-double-double of the year.
• Freshman guard
Ahmad Harrison scored his first collegiate points in the game with a basket and pair of free throws.
• The Rams outscored the Zips in points from the bench, 24-12.
• Fordham outrebounded Akron, 37-21, and have outrebounded its opponent in all five games this year.
• It was a sort of Homecoming for two Rams, sophomore guard
Antrell Charlton, a native of Florida, and
Antonio Daye, Jr., who played at FIU the past two years.
•
Kam'ron Cunningham and
Albe Evans made their first appearances of the season.
• It was the first meeting between Fordham and Akron on the hardwood.
• It was the first game vs. MAC opponent for the Rams since 2017 (vs. Miami (OH)) and the first win over a MAC opponent since a victory over Miami (Ohio) in 1956.
• The win snaps a nine-game losing streak in the Sunshine State for the Rams.
• The Zips entered the game shooting .518 from the field but were limited to
• The Hertz Arena is home to the Florida Everbaldes of the ECHL.
By the Numbers
1- Three-pointers made by Akron (with 2:57 left in the game).
19 - First half points scored by Akron, a season-low for the Zips and for a Fordham opponent.
31.4% - Field goal percentage for Akron, who entered the game shooting 51.8% from the field.
33:25 – Amount of time that the Rams led in the game.
89.0 – Akron scoring average entering the game.
1,543 – All-time wins for Fordham.
What's Next?
• The Rams will play Delaware in the second winner's bracket game on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Hertz Arena.
• Fordham and Delaware have met once before, a 50-19 Fordham win in 1925.
• The Rams are 22-18 all-time against schools currently in the CAA.
