BRONX, N.Y. – Led by a flurry from senior guard
Japhet Medor, the Fordham men's basketball team erased a late deficit and took down visiting UMBC, 79-75, in exhibition action on Sunday afternoon inside the Rose Hill Gym.
The contest between the Rams and the Retrievers benefited
Able Athletics, a local charity that helps bring the joy of athletic participation to children with special needs.
Medor, a transfer from UTSA, impressed in his first live action on the Rose Hill Gym floor, scoring a game-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting. The Wellington, Fla., native also grabbed seven rebounds and recorded two steals in 32 minutes.
Medor led four Rams in double figures, as
Will Richardson,
Abdou Tsimbila and
Elijah Gray all finished with 10 points apiece. Tsimbila added eight rebounds in the winning effort while the 6-foot-8 Gray sank both of his three-point attempts.
Angel Montas chipped in eight points on 3-of-6 shooting while
Joshua Rivera pulled down a game-high 14 boards and recorded four steals.
As a team, Fordham shot 10-of-23 (43.5%) from beyond the arc, including a 9-for-17 (52.9%) showing in the opening half.
The Rams recorded 14 steals on the afternoon. In addition to Rivera's four, A-10 All-Defensive Team selection
Kyle Rose tallied three.
Fordham controlled the early going of the contest, jumping ahead by as many as eight, 19-11, on a
Romad Dean triple with 12:28 to go in the opening half.
UMBC slowly chipped into the lead, pulling within three, 23-20, before six straight Fordham points ballooned the Rams' advantage to nine.
Fordham took a 10-point lead, its lone double-digit edge of the day, on a Richardson trifecta with 33 seconds to go in the period.
Trailing by eight, 39-31, at the intermission, UMBC began the second stanza with a 14-6 spurt to knot the score at 45 with less than five minutes gone in the half.
The Retrievers took their first lead of the night, 48-47, on a Marcus Banks trey with 14:28 to play before moving ahead by as many as five, 54-49, a few minutes later.
Gray responded with four quick points to make it a one-point game before Medor scored four of his own a few minutes later to put the Rams back in front, 57-56, at the midway mark of the half.
The two teams went back and forth over the next five minutes before a personal 6-0 run for Medor over the course of just 39 seconds put the Rams back on top for good. For good measure, Medor iced the game with two free throws to make it a two-possession game in the closing seconds of the contest.
Fordham will officially open the 2023-24 campaign on Monday, Nov. 6, when it hosts Wagner at 7:30 p.m. as part of a season-opening doubleheader with the Fordham women's team, which will play Adelphi beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Season and individual game tickets are available now by calling 718-817-4759 or by visiting FordhamSports.com.
