BRONX – The Fordham men's basketball squad closed out its exhibition season the same way they started it. With a win. Senior guard
Jackie Johnson III scored a game-high 23 points, one of four Rams in double figures, to lead the Rams to an 86-72 win over UMBC in the historic Rose Hill Gym in an exhibition game to benefit
Able Athletics.
Johnson shot 9-for-14 from the field, including 4-for-8 from long distance, and he added eight rebounds and three steals. Junior guard
Will Richardson scored 13 points for the Rams, shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-6 from behind the arc, while grad student guard
Japhet Medor and junior forward
Joshua Rivera each netted 12 points. Junior forward
Romad Dean finished with a team-high eight rebounds to go with five points.
The Rams welcomed back Rivera and grad student forward
Abdou Tsimbila to the lineup today but were without the services of sophomore forward
Jahmere Tripp.
A late first half 7-1 run helped the Rams take a 46-39 lead at the break thanks to a Johnson driving layup just before the buzzer.
After a UMBC basket made it a four-point game early in the second half, 46-42, Fordham used a 14-6 spurt to take a 12-point lead, 60-48, on a Rivera basket in the paint with 12:52 left.
The Retrievers were able to get the Fordham advantage down to eight with 6:21 on the clock, 69-61, but a Johnson jumper in the paint were the first two of seven straight Fordham points as the Rams took a commanding 76-61 lead, Fordham's largest of the game, with 4:43 remaining following a Johnson three.
The Rams shot 48.0% (12-25) from three-point range in the game while holding UMBC to shooting just 20.0% (4-20) from long distance. Overall Fordham shot 54.4% (31-57) in the game and held the Retrievers to shooting just 39.1% (25-64).
The Rams open the 2024-25 regular season on Monday night, November 4, as they travel into Queens to face St. John's University at 6:30 p.m. Fordham will have its home opener on Tuesday, November 12, as they welcome Binghamton University to the historic Rose Hill Gym.
