Estero, Fla. – It took Delaware almost 100 years to retaliate for its first men's basketball loss to Fordham. But after 96 years, the Blue Hens got even with the Rams with an 81-71 win in the winner's bracket game of the 2021 Gulf Coast Showcase in the Hertz Arena.
With the loss, Fordham eves its record at 3-3 while Delaware improves to 4-1.
The Rams were led by junior guard
Antonio Daye, Jr., who scored a team-high 15 points while graduate student
Chuba Ohams added 12 points and eight rebounds. Graduate student
Darius Quisenberry and sophomore guard
Kyle Rose also finished in double figures with ten points each.
Fordham jumped out to a 8-0 lead following a Daye four-point play 2:30 into the game but the Blue Hens took advantage of a free throw shooting spree, scoring eleven of their first 17 points from the charity stripe as they took a 17-13 lead with 11:42 left in the half.
The Rams trailed by ten at the break, 39-29, and Delaware got the lead to as many as 16 early in the second half. The Rams managed to get the deficit down to eight late in the contest but turned the ball over on consecutive possessions and the Blue Hens sealed the win with seven free throws over the final two minutes.
Takeaways
•
Darius Quisenberry and
Antonio Daye, Jr. have each scored in double figures in all five games.
•
Chuba Ohams came up two rebounds shy of his fifth double-double of the year.
• The Rams used their third different starting lineup over the past three games with
Abdou Tsimbila getting his first career start and he scored the first four Fordham points.
• The Rams took four chargers tonight, three of those by Ohams.
• The Rams outrebounded their opponent for the sixth straight game (33-30).
• Fordham was outscored 28-14 from the free throw stripe.
• The Rams were whistled for two flagrant fouls when on offense.
• The Blue Hens picked to win the Colonial Athletic Conference.
• Former Ram Corey McCrae (2004-2006) is an assistant coach with Delaware.
• Jameer Nelson, Jr., who started his collegiate career at Saint Joseph's where his father as an All-American, plays for the Blue Hens.
By the Numbers
9 – Steals recorded by Fordham.
9 – Points by
Josh Colon-Navarro, a season-high.
14 – Offensive rebounds for the Rams, a season-high.
27 – More shots attempted by Fordham than Delaware (67-40).
17 – Turnovers forced by the Rams.
19 – Fordham points scored off turnovers (compared to six by Delaware).
What's Next?
• The Rams will face Rice University on Wednesday at 5:00p.m. in the third place game of the 2021 Gulf Coast Showcase in the Hertz Arena.
• Fordham is 1-2 all-time vs. Rice.
• The Rams took the most recent meeting, 69-67, in the Rose Hill Gym on February 24, 1993.
