Gallery: (1-12-2022) Men's Basketball vs. Duquesne
Bronx, N.Y. – Brazilian lyricist and novelist Paulo Coelho wrote in his novel The Alchemist "Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time." Fordham men's basketball fans are hoping that is true. For the second straight game the Rams fell behind by double digits and came back to pull out the win. Tonight it was an
Antonio Daye, Jr. driving layup in the waning seconds that proved the difference as Fordham defeated Duquesne, 72-71, in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym.
With the win, Fordham improves to 9-5 overall, 2-0 in the Atlantic 10, while Duquesne fall to 6-8 overall, 1-1 in the conference. It marks the first time since joining the Atlantic 10 in 1995-1996 that the Rams open conference play 2-0.
Following a missed Kevin Easley free throw with nine seconds left,
Kyle Rose grabbed the rebound and fed Daye who raced down court and got off a layup that rolled in with under three seconds remaining. A Jackie Johnson III three from just over half court was wide and the Rams celebrated the win.
Graduate student forward
Chuba Ohams led the Rams with his ninth double-double of the year, scoring 14 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, just missing out on Fordham's first triple-double as he added a career-high eight blocks. Daye, a junior guard, and graduate student
Darius Quisenberry led the Rams in scoring with 16 points each.
The Rams trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, 31-18, with 5:20 left but managed to shave the Dukes' advantage down to seven at the break, 40-33.
Duquesne boosted the lead back to eleven to start the second 20 minutes, 44-33, before the Rams scored 12 unanswered points to take their first lead of the half, 45-44, on a Daye layup.
Later in the half Fordham took its largest lead of the night, 63-55, on a Daye layup off a Duquesne turnover at the 7:07 mark but the Dukes outscored the Rams 14-5 over the next six minutes to take a 69-68 with 1:46 left.
An Ohams hook shot gave the Rams a 70-69 lead 23 seconds later but a Spears jumper with 33 ticks left on the clock gave Duquesne a 71-70 lead.
Takeaways
•
Antonio Daye, Jr. and
Darius Quisenberry have scored in double figures in 13 of the 14 games this year.
•
Antonio Daye, Jr. entered the game leading the Atlantic 10 in free throws made with 66 and connected on both his charity shots tonight.
• The win snapped a six-game winning streak for Duquesne against Fordham.
• The last time the Rams opened conference play 2-0 was in 1993-1994 when the Rams opened the Patriot League schedule with wins over Holy Cross and Bucknell.
• Fordham improves to 7-3 when outrebounding the opponent this year.
• Sophomore guard
Kyle Rose celebrated his birthday tonight.
By the Numbers
8 – Blocks by
Chuba Ohams, a career-high (previous high was five at Central Connecticut earlier this year).
10 – Blocks for Fordham a season-high.
12- Steals recorded by the Rams, a season-high.
15 – Duquesne turnovers forced by the Rams, which led to 22 Fordham points.
20 – Assists by Fordham on 29 baskets.
40 – Points in the paint for Fordham.
70 – Field goal attempts by the Rams, a season-high.
661 – All-time wins in the Rose Hill Gym for the Rams.
1,549 - All-time wins in Fordham men's basketball program history
What's Next?
• The Rams return to action and continue Atlantic 10 play on Saturday, January 15, as they travel to St. Louis to face the Saint Louis University Billikens in the Chaifetz Arena at 2:30 p.m. (EST)
• It will be the 18th meeting between Fordham and Saint Louis on the hardwood.
• The Billikens lead the all-time series, which started in 1971-72, 14-3, and have won the past four meetings and 12 of the last 14 match-ups.
• Saint Louis took last year's meeting, 68-40, on February 14 in Rose Hill Gym as Javonte Perkins scored a game-high 19 points for the Billikens.
• The last Fordham win came on February 18, 2017, when the Rams defeated the Billikens, 54-40, in the Rose Hill Gym.
