BRONX, N.Y.- The Fordham men's basketball team picked up its first Atlantic 10 win of the
Keith Urgo Era on Saturday afternoon, locking down Saint Joseph's for a 66-54 victory inside the Rose Hill Gymnasium.
After scoring 25 points in the opening 10 minutes of play, the Hawks were held to just 29 points over the final 30 minutes, as the Rams improved to 13-3 overall, including a 12-1 mark at home.
Darius Quisenberry led the way for Fordham with 15 points and five boards. He sank all five of his free throw attempts, pacing a Rams squad that went 15-of-16 (93.8%) from the line.
Antrell Charlton was the only other Ram in double figures, tallying 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Khalid Moore narrowly missed his fourth double-double of the season, posting nine points and a career-high 15 boards to go along with three assists. Prior to this afternoon, Moore had never grabbed more than 10 rebounds in a single game.
As a team, Fordham dominated Saint Joseph's (6-9, 0-3 Atlantic 10) on the boards, outrebounding the Hawks by a 45-34 margin.
Zach Riley scored all seven of his points in the first half to keep the Rams within striking distance.
Abdou Tsimbila and
Romad Dean chipped in six points apiece while
Kyle Rose added five.
Saint Joe's jumped out to an early lead, using an 8-0 run to move ahead 16-9 with less than five minutes gone in the contest.
The Hawks jumped out in front by as many as 12, 21-9, before the Rams closed the half on a 23-11 run to knot the score at 32 after 20 minutes of play. Riley and Quisenberry combined for 14 of Fordham's 23 points on the tear.
After Saint Joe's netted the latter stanza's first bucket, the Rams responded with a 9-0 burst over the next two and a half minutes to take a seven-point lead, its largest of the day to that point. They would not trail the rest of the way.
The Hawks climbed within three on a number of occasions over the next several minutes, the last of which came near the midway mark of the second half. The Rams then held Saint Joe's to just one field over a crucial six-minute stretch, expanding its lead to double digits in the waning moments of the contest.
The Rams will return to action on Tuesday night when they play host to Dayton, the preseason Atlantic 10 favorite, at the Rose Hill Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on SNY and ESPN+.
Gallery: (1-7-2023) MBB vs. Saint Joseph's
