BRONX – As the public address announcer was getting ready to announce the Manhattan University starting lineup tonight, the power to the public address system went down and a quiet fell over the Draddy Gym. The power was not restored until after the game started but that didn't seem to affect the Jaspers as the home team jumped out to a quick lead and survived a late Fordham comeback as the Rams fell to the Jaspers, 78-76, in the annual Battle of the Bronx.
With the loss, Fordham evens its record at 202 while Manhattan improves to 2-1.
Fordham was led by grad student guard
Japhet Medor, who scored a season-high 23 points, shooting 6-for-8 from behind the arc, while senior guard
Jackie Johnson III added 21 points and four assists for the Rams.
Fordham trailed by eleven, 73-62, with 33 seconds remaining. A pair of Johnson free throws and a Medor three over the next seven seconds got the Rams' deficit down to six, 73-67.
After a Manhattan free throw bumped the Jaspers' lead to seven, Medor sandwiched a pair of threes around a pair of Manhattan free throws to make it a 76-73 game with five seconds on the clock. But the Jaspers hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left and the Rams made it a two-point final when
Will Richardson, who scored 12 points in the game, beat the buzzer with a long three.
The Rams trailed by four at the half, 32-28, but a Johnson three 15 seconds into the second half pulled Fordham within one, 32-31, before Manhattan used a 14-4 run to take a 46-35 lead with 15:51 remaining.
Manhattan would get the lead to as many as 17, 67-50, with 3:34 left before the Rams started chipping away.
Takeaways
• It was the first time this year that
Jackie Johnson III did not lead the team in scoring.
•
Romad Dean grabbed a season-best eight rebounds.
•
Zach Riley dished out a career-high four assists,
• It was the second straight game the Rams made double figure three-pointers.
• Fordham was outscored 20-11 from the free throw line.
By the Numbers
11 – Fordham steals in the game, led by three each from Medor and Johnson, a season-best.
13 – Offensive rebounds by the Rams, a season-high.
48 – Second half points scored by Fordham, a season-high.
85 – Points scored by
Jackie Johnson III over his first four games as a Ram, the second most by a Fordham player in his first four games at the school (Jon Severe scored 86 points in his first four games).
115 – All-time meetings between Fordham and Manhattan.
166 – Career blocks for
Abdou Tsimbila, fourth all-time at Fordham.
What's Next?
• The Rams will return to the historic Rose Hill Gym to host the Georgian Court College Lions on Tuesday night, November 19, at 7:00 p.m.
• It will be the first meeting between the Rams and the Lions on the hardwood.
