Gallery: (12-22-2022) MBB vs. VMI
Bronx, N.Y. – The historic Rose Hill Gym was full of local elementary school students today as part of Kids Day. The Fordham men's basketball team decided to make them stay after school as VMI took the Rams to overtime before Fordham extended its winning streak to eleven games with an 80-77 win on Thursday.
With the win, Fordham improves to 12-1 while VMI falls to 5-8. The 12-1 start to the season is the Rams' best since the 1970-1971 team also opened 12-1 while the eleven-game winning streak is Fordham's longest since a 14-game streak in 1990-1991.
Grad student forward
Khalid Moore led the Rams with his third double-double of the year, scoring 20 points and adding ten rebound, while freshman forward
Romad Dean added eleven points and junior guard
Kyle Rose chipped in with ten points, seven assists, and four steals.
Fordham had a chance to win in regulation but turned the ball over with under three seconds left.
After VMI took a three-point lead in overtime, 75-72, with 3:26 left, Moore tied the game at 75 with three from throws over the next minute.
Abdou Tsimbila blocked a Tyler Houser three-pointer with 2:41 on the clock and the Rams worked the ball around to
Zach Riley who buried a three with 1:58 remaining to give the Rams a 78-75 lead.
An Asher Woods layup pulled the Keydets to within one, 78-77, 16 seconds later before Moore sunk two more free throws at the 1:12 mark to put the Rams up 80-77.
VMI had three shots to tie the game over the last ten seconds but all missed the basket and Tsimbila grabbed the final rebound as the horn sounded.
Takeaways
• The Rams were without leading scorer
Darius Quisenberry, who was sidelined by an injury.
•
Khalid Moore is averaging 17.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg over the past six games.
• Freshman forward
Angel Montas made his Fordham debut, scoring nine points.
• Junior forward
Abdou Tsimbila has blocked a shot in eleven straight games.
• Freshman guard
Will Richardson made his first start of the season.
• Fordham outscored VMI 25-12 in points off turnovers.
• The Rams' bench outscored the Keydets bench, 34-8, led by eleven points from Dean and nine from Montas.
• The eleven home wins for the Rams this year are the most since the 2015-2016 squad win 14 home games.
• The last overtime game for the Rams was last year on November 19, a double overtime loss to UMES.
• The last overtime win for Fordham was on February 16, 2019, at Rhode Island (66-63).
By the Numbers
4 – Blocks by
Abdou Tsimbila.
5 – Rebounds for
Zach Riley, a career-high.
7 – Assists for
Kyle Rose, a career-high (former high was five vs. CCSU on December 11).
11 – Free throws for
Khalid Moore, a career-high.
11 – Points by
Romad Dean, a season-high.
11 – Steals by the Rams, a season-high.
12 – Ties in the game.
95.5% - Fordham's free throw shooting percentage (21-22).
677 – All-time wins in the Rose Hill Gym for the Rams.
1,566 – All-time wins for Fordham.
What's Next?
• The Rams open the 2022-2023 Atlantic 10 season by hosting the Davidson College Wildcats in the historic Rose Hill Gym on Wednesday, December 28, at 7:00 p.m.
• It will be the 16th meeting between Fordham and Davidson on the hardwood.
• The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 14-2.
• Davidson has won eleven straight, including three wins last year, a 69-66 win in the Rose Hill Gym on January 22 as Luka Brajkovic scored 21 points for the Wildcats while
Darius Quisenberry led all scorers with a season-high 36 points for the Rams, a 66-45 victory on February 26 at Davidson as Brajkovic recorded a double-double with 15 and eleven rebounds, and 74-56 in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic 10 Championship in Washington, D.C., as Rostik Novitskyi led all scorers with 18 points for Fordham.
