Box Score Bronx, N.Y. – A common belief in sports is that offense wins games but defense wins championships. Well the Fordham men's basketball squad didn't win a championship today but they did dispel the accepted dogma, holding George Mason to just 47 points in a 50-47 Atlantic 10 win in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 12-13 overall on the year, 5-8 in the Atlantic 10, while George Mason falls to 13-12 overall, 6-6 in the conference.
 
The Rams were led by grad student forward Chuba Ohams, who recorded his third straight double-double, and his 15th of the season, with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Kyle Rose added nine points for Fordham, including a big three-pointer with 52 seconds left that gave the Rams a 49-47 lead.
 
Fordham trailed by five, 43-38, with 9:26 remaining when the Rams used a 6-2 spurt to cut the deficit to one, 45-44, on an Ohams layup with 5:06 left.
 
The Rams trailed by one again 1:33 later after an Ohams dunk, when both teams' offense went cold. With just over a minute remaining Ohams grabbed a defensive rebound and the Rams got the ball to Rose who buried a three in front of the Fordham bench to give the Rams the lead for good, 49-47.
 
The Patriots turned the ball over on their next two possessions and Antrell Charlton was fouled with 8.3 seconds left. He hit one of two free throws to give Fordham a 50-47 lead and a Hartwell three-point attempt just before the final buzzer bounced out.
 
Takeaways
• The staffs of both teams wore an equal sign lapel pin to symbolize equality for Equality and Inclusion Day. The teams showed their support the Rising Coaches DEI-Alliance and their mission to support diversity, equity, and inclusion nationwide.
 
• Antrell Charlton, who played all 40 minutes, led the Rams with six assists, the tenth time this year he led Fordham in assists.
 
• Fordham outrebounded George Mason, 36-34, and held the Patriots to just six offensive rebounds.
 
• The win snaps a four-game Fordham losing streak to George Mason and the Rams now lead the all-time series, 8-5.
 
• The five Atlantic 10 wins are the most for Fordham since the 2016-2017 Rams won seven.
 
• Former Ram Will Tavares was at the game along with former WFUVer, and current voice of the Brooklyn Nets, Chris Carrino.
 
• The Rams held George Mason's leading scorer Josh Oduro, who entered the game leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 18.7 ppg, to nine points, one shy of his season-low and only his fourth single-digit scoring game of the year.
 
• The 47 points scored by George Mason was a season-low for the Patriots (previous low was 50)
 
• Former Fordham assistant coach Dennis Felton is the associate head coach at George Mason.
 
By the Numbers
9 – Lead changes in the game.
 
9.9 - Kyle Rose's scoring average over the past eight games.
 
12.3 – Chuba Ohams rebounding average over the past four games.
 
20 – Career double-doubles for Chuba Ohams.
 
106 – Career blocks for Chuba Ohams, who had three today, moving into ninth place all-time at Fordham.
 
658 – Career rebounds for Chuba Ohams, 15th on the Fordham career rebounding list.
 
663 – All-time wins in the Rose Hill Gm for the Rams.
 
1,551 – All-time wins for Fordham.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams return to action and continue Atlantic 10 play on Wednesday, February 23, as they host the La Salle University Explorers in the historic Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m.

• It will be the 63rd meeting between Fordham and La Salle on the hardwood.

• The Explores lead the all-time series, which started in the 1953-54 season, 43-19.

• The Rams took this year's first meeting, 69-61, on December 30 in Philadelphia as Darius Quisenberry netted 19 points and Chuba Ohams added 15 points and eleven rebounds.