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BRONX, N.Y. (Dec. 20, 2024) – Riding a four-game winning streak, the Fordham men's basketball team will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Saturday afternoon when it hosts UAlbany at the Rose Hill Gym.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+ with Andrew Bogusch and Andrew Posadas on the call. The game will also be carried live on 90.7 FM WFUV with Lou Orlando and Nick Guzman narrating the action.
Fordham (7-5) returns to the Rose Hill Gym on the heels of its fourth straight win, an 86-84 victory over Bryant, this past Saturday in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena. It marked the Rams' fourth straight game scoring 80 or more points. Fordham last eclipsed the 80-point plateau in four straight games back in 2000-01, accomplishing the feat four times between Nov. 18-Dec. 5, 2000.
Jackie Johnson III led the Rams in scoring for the 10
th time in 11 games this season against Division I opponents, scoring a season-high 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting. It marked his fifth game of the season with 20 or more points and his highest point total since scoring 30 against George Washington as a freshman at Duquesne on March 2, 2022. The senior from Wichita, Kan., who scored 20 points in the opening half, also swiped four steals. As of Thursday, Johnson is the Atlantic 10's leading scorer at 19.0 points per game.
Japhet Medor and
Joshua Rivera tallied 17 points apiece in the win over Bryant. Medor went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and dished out a team-high four assists while Rivera delivered the late-game heroics, draining a step-back triple from the top of the key with 6.8 seconds remaining to put the Rams ahead for good. Rivera shot 8-of-14 from the floor and pulled down a team-high five boards.
As a team, Fordham went 19-of-22 from the free throw line (86.4%) in the two-point victory.
UAlbany heads to the Rose Hill Gym with a 7-6 record on the heels of a Wednesday road victory over Sacred Heart. Trailing by four at the break, the Great Danes dominated the second stanza to come away with a 74-66 victory.
Redshirt junior guard Amar'e Marshall led the way against Sacred Heart, tallying 16 points and seven rebounds. The Hofstra transfer is UAlbany's leading scorer this season, averaging 13.0 points in 11 outings, all of which have been starts. Three other Great Danes finished in double figures, including graduate student Byron Joshua with 14 points and three steals.
UAlbany is one of the nation's top teams when it comes to forcing turnovers, as opponents are averaging 15.77 miscues per contest, an average that ranks 3nd in the nation.
Fordham and UAlbany will meet for just the second time in the history of the two programs and the first in more than 100 years. The Rams defeated State Teacher's College (as UAlbany was then known), 40-17, on Feb. 17, 1923.
