Gallery: (1-6-2024) Men's Basketball vs. La Salle
Bronx, N.Y. – Today is known as Three Kings Day, the day that the three wise men first saw baby Jesus and brought him gifts. Unfortunately for the Fordham men's basketball team Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar couldn't find the way to the Rose Hill Gym with a gift for the Rams as they fell to La Salle University, 81-76, in an Atlantic 10 contest.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 7-8 overall, 1-1 in the Atlantic 10, while La Salle improves to 10-5 overall, 1-1 in the conference.
Fordham was paced by sophomore forward
Elijah Gray, who scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while sophomore guard
Will Richardson finished with 16 points and four assists. Senior guard
Japhet Medor added 15 points for the Rams while senior guard
Kyle Rose chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds, and four steals.
The Rams trailed the entire second half but managed to get the Explorer lead down to two, 76-74, on a Gray three with 2:08 remaining. Daeshon Shepherd answered immediately for the visitors with a three of his own 30 seconds later to boost the La Salle lead to five, 79-74.
Following a Medor miss the Rams fouled Rokas Jocius with 1:08 on the clock and Jocius made one of two free throws.
Eleven seconds later, Richardson made the first of two free throws with
Abdou Tsimbila rebounding the miss of the second. The Rams then had three chances for a basket before Gray was whistled for an offensive foul with 31 seconds left.
Antrell Charlton tied up La Salle's Andres Marrero on the ensuing inbounds pass giving Fordham one more chance to get closer. Gray was fouled on a layup attempt and made the second of two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to make it a four-point game, 80-76.
On the inbounds pass the Explorers turned the ball over but the Rams couldn't take advantage of the miscue and were forced to foul with five seconds remaining. Jocius made one of two free throws to ice the game for La Salle.
Takeaways
•
Kyle Rose entered the game with a team-high 30 steals, second in the Atlantic 10, and he recorded four today.
•
Abdou Tsimbila had two blocks today and has blocked at least one shot in 13 of his 14 games this year.
•
Japhet Medor scored in double figures for the tenth time this year.
• The Rams played their fourth straight game without the services second leading scorer
Joshua Rivera due to injury.
• The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Rams against La Salle.
• Fordham was outscored from the free throw line, 25-13.
By the Numbers
7 – Rebounds for
Elijah Gray, matching his career-high.
7.7 – Rebounding average for
Kyle Rose over the past three games.
12 – Steals for the Rams, the sixth double-digit steals game of the year for Fordham.
20.0 – Scoring average for
Elijah Gray over the past two games.
90.5 – Fordham scoring average over the past four games.
123 – Career games for
Kyle Rose, tied for fourth all-time at Fordham.
132 – Career blocks by
Abdou Tsimbila, seventh all-time at Fordham.
183 – Career steals for
Kyle Rose, eighth all-time at Fordham.
What's Next?
• After a week off, the Rams continue the 2024 Atlantic 10 season by traveling to St. Bonaventure, N.Y., to face the St. Bonaventure University Bonnies in the Reilly Center on Saturday, January 13, at 2:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised by the USA Network.
• It will be the 49th meeting between Fordham and St. Bonaventure on the hardwood.
• The Bonnies lead the all-time series, which started in the 1955-56 season, 31-17 (two St. Bonaventure wins in 2002-03 were later forfeited for use of an ineligible player).
• Fordham took both of last year's meetings, 79-68, in the Reilly Center on January 25 behind 19 points from
Khalid Moore and 17 from
Darius Quisenberry, and 78-63 on February 15 as Quisenberry netted 15 points and
Antrell Charlton added nine.
• The two Fordham wins last year snapped an eleven-game winning streak in the series for the Bonnies.
