St. Louis, Mo. – St. Louis is known for many things. The Gateway Arch. The Anheuser-Busch brewery. Blues music. Gooey Butter cake. But there's one thing that had never happened in the city, until today. A Fordham men's basketball win. An
Elijah Gray jumper with two seconds remaining proved to be the difference as the Rams defeated Saint Louis University, 67-65, in an Atlantic 10 game at Chaifetz Arena.
With the win, Fordham improves to 10-12 overall, 4-5 in the Atlantic 10, while Saint Louis falls to 8-14 overall, 1-8 in the conference.
Senior guard
Kyle Rose led the Rams with a career-high 26 points, shooting 9-for-15 from the field and adding four assists and three steals. Gray finished with 12 points and sophomore forward
Romad Dean added ten points and two steals.
The game was tied at 65 following a pair of Rose free throws with 49.1 seconds left. Both teams had a chance to break the tie over the next 45 seconds but a
Will Richardson jumper bounced off the rim and out of bounds with the Rams retaining possession and seven seconds left.
Fordham worked the ball to Gray who took a few dribbles before getting off a 12-foot fade-away jumper that went through the net with just over two seconds remaining.
The Billikens had one last chance but a corner three bounced out as the horn sounded.
Fordham led by nine at the break, 41-32, before Saint Louis opened the second half with an 8-2 run to make it a three-point game, 43-40. Seven unanswered points by the Rams boosted the lead back to nine, 49-40, with 13:40 remaining.
The Billikens' offense then heated up, as the home squad tied the game at 55 with 8:12 left. A pair of
Joshua Rivera free throws 21 seconds later untied the game but Saint Louis knotted the contest at 57 with 6:07 on the clock. Saint Louis held the lead, 65-63, for 29 seconds before Rose tied it at the line and Gray hit the game-winner.
Takeaways
• Over the past eleven games, senior guard
Kyle Rose is averaging 12.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg.
• Over the past nine games, sophomore forward
Elijah Gray is averaging 14.0 ppg and 5.6 rpg.
• Over the past six games, senior guard
Antrell Charlton has 24 assists and only seven turnovers.
•
Japhet Medor returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench the previous two games.
•
Abdou Tsimbila, who had six blocks today, has blocked at least one shot in 19 of his 21 games this year. He now has three outings this season with six or more rejections.
•
Kyle Rose, who had gone two straight games without a steal, had three today.
•
Elijah Gray celebrated his 21st birthday on Thursday.
• Fordham entered the game second in the Atlantic 10 in offensive rebounds (12.9/game). They outboarded the Billikens, 11-9, on the offensive glass and turned those into 15 second-chance points.
• The Rams held Saint Louis' leading scorer Gibson Jimerson (15.3 ppg) to just three points today.
• Fordham now owns back-to-back wins over Saint Louis for the first time.
• The Rams wore special "Black History is American History" warmup shirts in honor of Black History Month.
• The Fordham mangers defeated the Saint Louis managers, 83-62, on Friday night.
By the Numbers
6 – Different starting lineups used by the Rams this year.
6 - Turnovers by the Rams, tying a season-low.
8 – Blocks in the game by Fordham, led by six from
Abdou Tsimbila.
9 - Atlantic 10 road wins for the Rams over the past two years, the second most in the conference.
11 - Offensive rebounds for Fordham, which the Rams turned into 15 points.
14 - Steals by the Rams, the eighth double-digit steal game of the year for Fordham.
18 – Double-digit rebounding games for the Rams this season.
26 – Points scored by
Kyle Rose, a career-high (previous high was 24).
130 – Career games played by
Kyle Rose, a school record.
What's Next?
• The Rams continue the 2024 Atlantic 10 season by hosting the VCU Rams in the historic Rose Hill Gym on Tuesday, February 6, at 7:00 p.m.
• It will be the 14th meeting between Fordham and VCU on the hardwood.
• VCU leads the all-time series, 12-1, and has won the past six meetings.
• VCU took the last year's meeting, 80-61, in Richmond on February 18 behind 17 points from Nick Kern while
Will Richardson paced Fordham with a game-high 21 points.
• The Fordham win came on January 18, 2017, in the Rose Hill Gym, as the home Rams defeated the visiting Rams, 69-67, in overtime thanks to an Antwoine Anderson buzzer beater.
