Amherst, Mass. – One of the most famous University of Massachusetts graduates, NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving, once said, "The most important shots you take in life are the ones you miss. They teach you perseverance and resilience." That may provide some solace for the Fordham University men's basketball team tonight as a
Kyle Rose three-pointer just before the buzzer bounced out as the Rams fell to the Minutemen, 66-64, in an Atlantic 10 game in the Mullins Center.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 12-18 overall, 6-11 in the Atlantic 10, while Massachusetts improves to 20-10 overall, 11-7 in the conference.
Rose, a senior guard, led the Rams with 15 points and he dished out five assists, while senior center
Abdou Tsimbila added 14 points and ten rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Senior guard
Antrell Charlton also finished in double figures for the Rams with 12 points and he added four assists.
Fordham fans were hoping it was
Déjà vu all over again for Rose, who hit the game-winning three against George Mason two games ago. However, it wasn't meant to be as the Rams got the ball under the UMass basket with 3.1 seconds left after
Japhet Medor hit one of two free throws, purposely missing the second.
The Rams inbounded the ball to Rose in front of the Fordham bench and Rose got off a shot that just missed sending the Rams home with a win.
The Rams held a 34-33 lead at the break but Massachusetts took a two-point lead, 36-34, on a Josh Cohen three-point play 2:09 into the second half.
A
Jahmere Tripp jumper 31 seconds later tied the game at 36 and the game would be tied five more times over the next nine minutes, the final time at 49 with 8:38 left after a Tsimbila layup.
The Minutemen used a 6-1 run to build a 55-50 lead two minutes later before the Rams responded with an 8-4 spurt to make it a one-point game, 59-58, on a Tsimbila dunk at the 2:28 mark.
Five straight UMass points boosted the Minutemen's lead to six, 64-58, with just over a minute left but baskets from Rose (a three) and Tsimbila cut the Fordham deficit to one, 64-63, with eight ticks left on the clock.
Matt Cross hit a pair of free throws for UMass a second later and the Minutemen fouled Medor with four seconds remaining, sending the senior guard to the line.
Fordham jumped out to a 11-3 lead following a
Kyle Rose three-pointer with 15:40 left in the first and the Rams led by eight again later in the half, 20-12, on a pair of
Joshua Rivera free throws.
The Minutemen scored the next seven points to cut the Fordham lead to one, 20-19, with 8:38 remaining before a Rivera hook shot made it a three point game 19 seconds later.
Fordham maintained a lead until a Rahsool Diggins three-pointer knotted that game at 28 with 3:45 left on the clock.
UMass would hold a one point lead 33-32 inside of one minute before Charlton closed out the first half scoring with a pair of free throws with 45 seconds left to give the Rams a 34-33 lead at the half.
Takeaways
•
Kyle Rose, who had one steal tonight, entered the game second in the A-10 in steals (2.1/game).
•
Kyle Rose has scored in double figures in six of his past seven games and eight of his last ten.
•
Kyle Rose is averaging 14.6 ppg and 5.4 rpg in Atlantic 10 play.
•
Abdou Tsimbila, who had one block tonight, has blocked at least one shot in 26 of his 29 games this year.
• Tsimbila entered the game second in the Atlantic 10 in blocks (2.4/game).
•
Antrell Charlton has 49 assists and only 21 turnovers over the past 14 games.
• Over the past eight games, sophomore forward
Romad Dean, who had seven rebounds tonight, is averaging 6.3 rpg.
• Fordham recorded double figures in offensive rebounds (17) for the sixth straight game and the 25th time in 30 games this year.
• Nine of the ten Rams who played tonight scored at least one point.
• Fordham's
Elijah Gray and UMass sophomore guard Keon Thompson were teammates at Hargrave Military Academy two years ago.
• The two teams entered the game ranked one-two in the conference in steals with the Rams leading the A-10 (8.2/game) and the Minutemen right behind them (8.0/game) with Fordham recording four tonight and UMass only one.
• UMass entered the game leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring, averaging 78.5 ppg, and rebounding (38.8 rpg) but only scored 66 points and had 37 rebounds.
• Fordham's first Atlantic 10 road win occurred in the Mullins Center as the Rams defeated the Minutemen, 66-60, on January 26, 1999.
By the Numbers
6 – Career double-doubles for
Abdou Tsimbila.
7 – Turnovers by the Rams, one shy of their season-low.
38 – Career double figure scoring games for
Kyle Rose.
68 – Blocks this season by
Abdou Tsimbila, the eighth-best single season total for a Ram.
93 - Career starts by
Kyle Rose
132 - Consecutive games played by
Kyle Rose
139 – Career games played by
Kyle Rose, a school record.
162 – Career blocks for
Abdou Tsimbila, fifth all-time at Fordham.
184 – Career three-pointers made by
Kyle Rose, seventh all-time for the Rams.
212 – Career steals for
Kyle Rose, sixth on the Fordham career list.
What's Next?
• The Rams close out the 2024 Atlantic 10 season by hosting the University of Rhode Island Rams in the historic Rose Hill Gym on Saturday, March 9, at 1:00 p.m.
• It will be the 74th meeting between Fordham and Rhode Island on the hardwood.
• Rhode Island leads the all-time series, which started in the 1941-42 season, 41-32.
• Fordham took this year's first meeting, 71-68, in Kingston on January 24 behind 24 points and six rebounds from
Kyle Rose.
