Bronx, N.Y. – The great philosopher, and former New York Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra once said "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." That definitely applies to the 2022-2023 Atlantic 10 men's basketball season. In the preseason poll, Fordham University was picked to finish eleventh and today's opponent, Duquesne University, was slated to finished 15th. The Rams and Dukes showed just how much those predictions mean as they entered today's game battling for a double-bye in the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship. And it was the Rams who earned it, defeating the Dukes, 87-60, in the historic, sold-out, Rose Thrill Gym.
With the win, Fordham finishes the regular season with a 24-7 overall record, 12-6 in the Atlantic 10, while Duquesne falls to 20-11 overall, 10-8 in the conference. The win moved the Rams into a second place tie with Dayton but Fordham will be the third seed at the 2023 A-10 Championship due to a loss to the Flyers earlier this year. The Rams will play on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.
A pair of grad students wanted to make their final regular season game in Rose Thrill a memorable one, as forward
Khalid Moore led all scorers with 24 points and he added nine rebounds and six assists with no turnovers. Guard
Darius Quisenberry added 21 points, three rebounds, and three assists for the Rams while junior guard
Antrell Charlton finished with ten points, seven boards, and four assists.
The Rams trailed for the most of the first 16 minutes and were down 30-29 with 3:44 left. At that point Quisenberry was fouled and the Dukes were also whistled for a technical foul with Quisenberry hitting all four free throws to put the Rams up 33-30.
Those four free throws were the start of a 10-0 Fordham run as the Rams took a 39-30 lead on a
Kyle Rose three with 2:34 remaining.
After a Duquesne basket made it a 39-32 game, the Rams scored the final six points of the half to take a 45-32 lead at the break.
The Dukes cut the Fordham lead to eleven twice early in the second half, the final time at 49-38, 4:27 into the half. But the Rams used a 10-1 run to take a commanding 59-39 following a Quisenberry jumper with 13:01 left.
Takeaways
• Five Fordham seniors were honored in a pregame ceremony: manager
Adam Wernoch, forward
Patrick Kelly and
Khalid Moore, center
Rostyslav Novitskyi, and guard
Darius Quisenberry.
•
Abdou Tsimbila, the Atlantic 10's leading shot blocker, rejected three shots and has now recorded at least one block in 26 of the 31 games this year.
• Freshman
Wayne Franklin recorded his first career points with a basket late in the game.
• The three-seed is Fordham's highest seed the Rams since Fordham was a three-seed at the 1993 Patriot League Championship.
• The 12 conference wins are the most for the Rams in the Atlantic 10 (previous high was ten by the 2006-2007 team) and the most conference wins for Fordham since the 1991-1992 and 1990-1991 squads won eleven Patriot League games.
• Duquesne entered the game leading the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goal percentage (.374) and three-pointers/game (9.2) but the Rams held the Dukes to shooting .136 (3-22) today.
• The Dukes entered the game second in the A-10 in scoring, averaging 75.5 ppg.
• Fordham held Duquesne leading scorer Dae Grant, who was averaging 15.5 ppg, to just five points.
By the Numbers
6 – Assists by
Khalid Moore, a season-high (previous high was four which he accomplished twice).
12 – Atlantic 10 wins this season for the Rams, the most for Fordham since joining the conference in 1995 (previous high was ten by the 2006-2007 Rams) and the most for a Ram team in any conference (previous high was eleven Patriot League wins by the 1991-1992 and 1990-1991 teams).
18 – Wins this year in the Rose Hill Gym, a school record and the most for any Division I school.
19 – Assists by Fordham today, tying a season-high.
24 – Wins for Fordham this year, the most since the 1990-1991 squad won 25.
24 – Wins by head coach
Keith Urgo, the second most by a first-year Fordham head coach (Digger Phelps had 26 in 1970-1971).
+28 –
Khalid Moore's +/- for the game.
+29 –
Kyle Rose's +/- for the game.
34 – Career double-figure scoring games for
Khalid Moore.
59 – Blocks this season by
Abdou Tsimbila, ninth most in a season for a Rams.
111 – Career double figure scoring games for Darius
Quisenberry.
684 – All-time wins in the Rose Hill Gym for the Rams.
985 – Career points for
Khalid Moore.
1,578 – All-time wins for Fordham.
2,144 – Career points for Darius
Quisenberry.
What's Next?
• The Rams will open play at the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship on Thursday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
