BRONX, N.Y.- Down by as many as 14 late in the first half, the Fordham men's basketball team dominated the closing minutes of its Tom Konchalski Classic opener, downing UIC, 79-65, in the Rose Hill Gym on Saturday evening.
Trailing by seven, 40-33, at the intermission, Fordham shot 60.0 percent (15-of-25) from the floor in the second half, including a 55.6 mark (5-of-9) from three-point range. The Rams outscored the Flames over the final 18 minutes by a 43-18 margin.
Darius Quisenberry recorded 15 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to fuel the Fordham comeback. On the game, the graduate student shot 10-of-16 from the floor, including a 7-for-8 effort from inside the arc.
Limited to just four minutes in the first half after some early foul trouble,
Khalid Moore exploded for 14 points in the latter stanza. The Georgia Tech transfer went 5-of-10 from the field and sank two of his three tries from deep.
Kyle Rose tallied 11 points, four assists and four steals for the Rams, who improved to 3-1 on the campaign.
Antrell Charlton had the luckiest stat line possible, scoring seven points, grabbing seven boards and dishing out seven assists.
Abdou Tsimbila logged six points and six boards while
Will Richardson drained two of his three 3-point attempts for six points.
UIC (2-2) got off to a hot start from the floor, draining five of its first seven field goal attempts and jumping out to an 11-point lead, 26-15, near the midway mark of the first half.
Trailing by 14, 38-24, following a Tre Anderson triple with 3:20 remaining in the opening period, the Rams turned the tables and closed the half on a 9-2 run. All nine points came from distance, as Rose drained a pair before Richardson closed the half with a left-wing trey.
Ahead 40-33 at the half, it took the Flames less than two minutes to build their advantage back to double digits, as Toby Okani sank a three to make it 47-36 in favor of the visitors with 18:12 remaining in the contest.
The next few minutes, however, were all Rams. A Moore steal-and-slam in transition kick started a 16-4 Fordham run, completely erasing the Fordham deficit and giving the Rams a 53-51 edge following two Charlton free throws with 12:39 to play. Moore scored nine of the Rams' 16 points on the decisive tear.
UIC tied the game at 53 with a Jace Carter dunk on the following possession, but Rose responded rapidly with a triple on the other end. The Rams would not surrender their lead the rest of the way.
The Rams will resume action in The Tom Konchalski Classic on Monday at 7 p.m. when they take on Holy Cross. That game will air on SNY and ESPN+.
