Men’s Basketball Knocked off by NJIT

BRONX, N.Y. – A Highlander is a person who in mountainous or hilly terrain. The Fordham men's basketball squad built a mountain tonight, taking a 12-point lead in the first half, but the NJIT Highlanders scaled that mountain and came down with an 80-77 win over the Rams in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
With the loss, Fordham falls to 4-5 while NJIT improves to 2-6.
 
The loss overshadowed the play of Fordham senior forward Abdou Tsimbila who came up one block shy of Fordham's first ever triple double. He finished with career-high 18 points and a season-best 14 rebounds, his second straight double-double, to go with a career-high nine blocks.
 
Also netting double figures for the Rams was sophomore guard Will Richardson, who finished with 13 points and two steals, sophomore forward Joshua Rivera, who netted eleven points, and senior guard Japhet Medor and sophomore forward Elijah Gray, who each scored ten points.
 
The Rams led most of the way until NJIT took a 74-73 lead with 1:18 remaining on a Sebastian Robinson jumper. Antrell Charlton gave the Rams a one-point lead with a jumper in the paint 28 seconds later before the Highlanders regained a one-point advantage with 37 seconds on the clock on an Elijah Buchanan layup.
 
Following a Fordham timeout, Medor was fouled with 16 seconds remaining and hit both free throws.
 
Buchanan drove the lane for the Highlanders on the ensuing possession and his layup fell off the rim right to Kjell DeGraff who tapped it in with two seconds left to give the Highlanders a 78-77 lead.
 
The Fordham inbound pass was intercepted by Mekhi Gray who was fouled with 0.3 seconds and he converted both free throws to make it an 80-77 final.
 
Takeaways
• Abdou Tsimbila's nine blocks are the most for a Rams since Damon Lopez tied a school record with ten against Lehigh in 1991.
 
• Dud Tongal set the Fordham record for blocks in a game with ten in 1979 and Lopez matched that twice.
 
• Tsimbila is just one of three Rams to block nine or more shots in a game, joining Lopez and Tongal.
 
• Tsimbila is averaging 13.7 ppg and 9.7 ppg over the past three games.
 
• Tsimbila was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and is shooting 83.3% (15-18) from the field over the past three games.
 
• The Rams outscored the Highlanders 40-22 in the paint.
 
• Fordham outscored NJIT 29-16 from the bench.
 
• The Rams shot 56.7% (17-30) in the first half and 38.5% (10-26) in the second, while NJIT was the opposite, shooting 31.0% (9-29) in the first and 61.5% (16-26) in the second.
 
By the Numbers
0 – Fast break points by NJIT.
 
8 – Assists by Antrell Charlton, a season-high.
 
10 – Different Rams to score tonight.
 
11 – Blocks by the Rams, led by nine from Tsimbila.
 
84.8 – Scoring average for Fordham over the past four games.
 
117 – Career games for Kyle Rose, tied for tenth all-time at Fordham.
 
159 – Career steals by Kyle Rose, tenth all-time for the Rams.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams continue the 2023-24 season by traveling into Brooklyn to face the University of North Texas Mean Green at the Barclays Center on Sunday, December 10 at 11:30 a.m. as part of the NABC Brooklyn Showcase.
 
• It will be the first meeting between Fordham and North Texas on the hardwood.
 
• It will be the second American Athletic Conference opponent for the Rams this year (Tulane).
 
• Fordham is 18-52 all-time against school currently in the AAC.