Fordham University Athletics

BRONX, N.Y. – Having trailed Cornell by as many as 27 points early in the second half, the Fordham men's basketball team trimmed their deficit to a single possession three times in the closing minutes of the contest. Their comeback effort, however, ultimately fell short, 78-73, on Saturday afternoon in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
Japhet Medor tallied a team-high 17 points for the second time in as many outings with Fordham.  He led three Rams in double figures, as Will Richardson and Joshua Rivera chipped in 12 points apiece.  Rivera led Fordham in rebounding with seven boards, as the Rams (1-1) were without the services of Abdou Tsimbila, who missed the contest after tweaking his ankle in practice earlier this week.  Elijah Gray, who scored 16 in the opener against Wagner, registered nine points on 4-of-8 shooting.
 
Fordham came out of the gate firing, taking an 11-4 lead on a Gray 3-pointer with just over four minutes gone in the game.  From there, however, the Rams were done in by turnovers, as Cornell (3-0) rattled off a 23-2 run to blow the game open. 
 
In the first half alone, Fordham coughed up 15 possessions, allowing Cornell to take a 45-24 lead into the locker room. 
 
The Big Red quickly extended its lead to 27 on the other side of the break before the Rams began to chip away, using an 11-0 run in the span of three minutes to make it a 56-40 game with 14:25 to go. 
 
Fordham pulled back within single digits on a Zach Riley jumper with 6:42 to play before a Richardson trey made it 67-60 just over a minute later. 
 
With 3:21 remaining, it looked like Richardson would again be the hero for Fordham, completing a four-point play to make it a one-possession game, 69-66, for the first time since the 13:28 mark of the first half.  Cornell answered by scoring six of the game's next seven points to make it 75-67 with 1:23 to play before a Medor layup and an Antrell Charlton trey again brought the Rams within three, 75-72, with a minute to go.  On the ensuing defensive possession, Cornell worked the shot clock into the single digits before Charlton was whistled for a foul.  Sean Hansen went 1-for-2 from the line, allowing the Rams to get the ball back down four.  Medor drove and nearly made a bucket through contact before going 1-for-2 from the line and bringing the Rams back within three, 76-73.  Cornell's Cooper Noard made both of his free throw tries on the next possession, giving the Big Red the 78-73 lead with which they would end the game.
 
This coming week, Fordham will head to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Island for the Paradise Jam.  The Rams will play three games in four days, beginning on Friday with a 1 p.m. tip against Norfolk State.  All three games of the Paradise Jam will be streamed on ESPN3.