Men’s Basketball Falls to St. Bonaventure

Bronx, N.Y. – On Valentine's Day, the gift of a red rose has traditionally symbolized love. But other colors like deep pink, purple or white -- which symbolize happiness, royalty and sympathy respectively -- may be given on the holiday too. Tonight the Fordham University men's basketball team received a brown rose in the form of St. Bonaventure University and it definitely wasn't a symbol of happiness as the Bonnies shot a sizzling 66.7% (12-18) from behind the arc and handed the Rams an 85-67 loss in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
With the loss, Fordham falls to 10-14 overall, 4-7 in the Atlantic 10, while St. Bonaventure improves to 15-9 overall, 6-6 in the conference.
 
The Rams were led by sophomore guard Will Richardson and senior guard Kyle Rose, who each netted ten points, with Richardson adding four assists and two steals and Rose three assists and three steals.
 
Fordham led by one, 7-6, following a Joshua Rivera free throw 4:46 into the game, when St. Bonaventure went on a 13-3 run to take a 19-10 with 10:58 left in the half.
 
An Elijah Gray jumper and free throw over the next 1:30 pulled Fordham within six, 19-13, but the Bonnies responded with an 11-4 spurt to go up 30-17 with six minutes remaining.
 
The Rams cut the deficit to eight twice over the next four minutes, the final time at 35-27 on a Rose jumper, but St. Bonaventure closed out the half with nine unanswered points to take a 44-27 lead at the break.
 
Fordham opened the second half with a 6-1 spurt to make it a 45-33 game on a Japhet Medor three 1:04 into the half but that was as close as Fordham would get.
 
Takeaways
• Will Richardson has scored in double figures in three of his last four games and six of his last eight.
 
• Kyle Rose, who entered the game tied for first in the Atlantic 10 in steals (2.1/game), recorded three tonight.
 
• It was Rose's eleventh game of three or more steals.
 
• Abdou Tsimbila, who had two blocks tonight, has blocked at least one shot in 21 of his 23 games this year.
 
• Over the past eight games, senior guard Antrell Charlton has 27 assists and only nine turnovers.
 
• Freshman Jahmere Tripp was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, tying his season-high for free throws made.
 
• The Rams are now 8-5 on the year when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent.
 
• The loss snaps a three-game Fordham winning streak in the all-time series with St. Bonaventure.
 
By the Numbers
10 – Steals recorded by the Rams, the second straight and tenth overall double-digit steal game of the year for Fordham.
 
132 – Career games played for Kyle Rose, a Fordham record.
 
149 – Career blocks for Abdou Tsimbila, sixth all-time for the Rams.
 
201 – Career steals by Kyle Rose, sixth on the Fordham all-time list.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams continue the 2024 Atlantic 10 season by traveling to Dayton, Ohio, to take on the University of Dayton Flyers in the UD Arena on Saturday, February 17, at 1:30 p.m.
 
• It will be the 42nd meeting between Fordham and Dayton on the hardwood.
 
• The Flyers lead the all-time series, which started in 1952-53, 35-6, and have won 19 of the last 20 match-ups.
 
• Dayton won both of last year's matchups, 82-58, on January 10 in the Rose Hill Gym behind 32 points from Da'Ron Holmes and 15 points and eight rebounds from Toumani Camara, and 78-68, on March 11 in the Atlantic 10 championship semifinals at the Barclays Center behind 28 points from Camara and 20 from Holmes.
 
• The Rams took the 2020-2021 meeting, 55-54, on January 5 in the Rose Hill Gym, snapping a 16-game Dayton winning streak in the all-time series, as Chris Austin scored a game-high 20 points for Fordham.