Men’s Basketball Takes Down Binghamton, 78-63

BRONX – It's been 247 days since the Fordham men's basketball team played a home game in the historic Rose Hill Gym. And as an old Albanian proverb reads "The sun at home warms better than the sun elsewhere." The 2024-25 Rams felt the warmth tonight as a packed student section turned out to support them in their home opener and Fordham used that energy to defeat Binghamton, 78-63, on Tuesday night.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 2-1 on the season while Binghamton falls to 1-3.
 
Senior guard Jackie Johnson III, playing in his first regular season game in the Rose Hill Gym, led the Rams with 23 points, shooting 8-for-12 from the field, and he added five rebounds and four assists while senior guard Zach Riley and junior forward Joshua Rivera each netted eleven points and junior forward Romad Dean added ten.
 
The Rams led by ten at the half, 38-28, and again held a ten-point lead, 44-34, three minutes into the second half when they scored six straight points to take a 50-34 lead following a Rivera free throw with 15:22 left.
 
The Bearcats would whittle away at the Fordham lead, eventually getting it down to six, 56-50, on a Ben Callahan-Gold layup midway through the half.
 
A Johnson driving layup nine seconds later ignited a 20-4 Fordham run as the Rams took a commanding 76-54 lead on a Japhet Medor free throw with 3:13 on the clock. Johnson led the Fordham run with nine points.
 
The closest Binghamton would get from that point would be the 78-63 final.
 
Binghamton jumped out to a 13-6 lead seven minutes into the game before the Rams reeled off 13 straight points to take a 19-13 lead on a Johnson jumper with 9:25 remaining in the half.
 
Fordham would get the first half lead to as many as 12, 28-16, on a Johnson layup with 5:38 left before the Bearcats got the deficit down to five, 28-23, two minutes later.
 
The Rams closed out the half with a 10-5 spurt to take the 38-28 lead at the break.
 
Takeaways
• Jackie Johnson III has scored 64 points in his first three games as a Ram, the most for a player in his first year in a Fordham uniform (previous high was 63 by Jon Severe in 2013).
 
• In two seasons at UNLV Johnson did not have a 20-point game – he has two in his first three games with the Rams.
 
• The eleven points for Zach Riley ties his career-high set against Maine in 2022.
 
• The Rams dished out 15 assists with just eight turnovers.
 
• Fordham led for 31:46 of the game.
 
• The Rams won despite being outrebounded 42-37 with Binghamton's Gavin Walsh leading all rebounders with 18.
 
• Fordham improves to 85-20 in home openers since 1908.
 
• This year was the first season since 2012 that the Rams opened with two straight road games.
 
• Fordham opens the season with a 2-1 record for the fourth straight year.
 
• The Rams have taken all four meetings with the Bearcats.
 
• Fordham is now 25-13 over the past three years in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
By the Numbers
7 – Blocks by the Rams in the game, led by three from Abdou Tsimbila and two from Matt Zona.
 
9 – Steals recorded by Fordham, led by three each from Will Richardson and Jackie Johnson III.
 
18 – Turnovers forced by Fordham.
 
24 - Points scored off turnovers by the Rams (compared to five for Binghamton).
 
165 – Career blocks by Abdou Tsimbila at Fordham, moving him into fourth on the Fordham career list (he also blocked nine shots in his one year at Penn State).
 
691 – All-time wins for the Rams in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
1,593 – All-time wins for Fordham.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams will travel across the Bronx for their annual Battle of the Bronx with Manhattan College on Friday night, November 15, at 7:00 p.m. in Draddy Gym.
 
• It will be the 115th meeting between the Rams and the Jaspers on the hardwood.
 
• Manhattan leads the all-time series, which started in 1911-12, 59-54.
 
• The 115 games played with Manhattan are the most for any Fordham opponent while the 55 wins over the Jaspers are the most victories over any team for Fordham.
 
• The Rams took last year's matchup, 93-61, in the Rose Hill Gym on November 27 as Japhet Medor led four Rams in double figures with 16 points while Kyle Rose and Josh Rivera each added 14.