Men’s Basketball Knocks Off La Salle, 88-72

Philadelphia, Pa. - Kung Hei Fat Choi! Welcome to the Year of the Snake. According to legend to protect themselves from the bad luck of their Ben Ming Nian, those born in the Year of the Snake are encouraged to wear red throughout 2025. Well maroon is close enough to red as tonight the Fordham Rams, donning their away maroon uniforms, took down La Salle University, 88-72, in an Atlantic 10 game at John Glaser arena.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 10-11 overall, 2-6 in the Atlantic 10, while La Salle falls to 11-10 overall, 3-5 in the conference.
 
The Rams had six players finish in double figures tonight, led by junior forward Romad Dean, who scored 15 points while also grabbing eight rebounds, and grad student forward Matt Zona, who netted 13 points, hitting all five of his shots, including a pair of threes. Senior guard Jackie Johnson III and sophomore forward Jahmere Tripp each scored 12 points, with Johnson dishing out seven assists, and junior forward Joshua Rivera added a double-double, scoring eleven points and grabbing ten rebounds. Grad student guard Japhet Medor was the sixth Ram in double figures, scoring ten points while also pulling down eight rebounds and handing out five assists.
 
The Rams led by 14 at the break, 46-32, but La Salle opened the second half with an 8-1 run to cut the Fordham lead in half, 47-40, 3:20 into the period.
 
The Explorers would get the Fordham lead down to seven three more times over the next four minutes, the final time at 59-52, on a Corey McKeithan thee.
 
The game then went scoreless for the next three minutes before a Dean jumper got the Fordham lead back to double figures and baskets from Johnson and Abdou Tsimbila bumped the Rams' lead to 14, 66-52, with 7:48 left.
 
The Explorers cut the Fordham advantage to 12 later in the half, 77-65, with 2:43 remaining before a Rivera three started a 5-0 Ram spurt to help the visitors take a commanding 82-65 lead with 1:38 left.
 
The Ram offense was clicking from the start as Fordham jumped out to an 11-4 lead just under four minutes into the game. Medor accounted for four of the eleven Fordham points.
 
Four straight Explorer points cut the Fordham lead to three, 11-8, two minutes later and the Rams led by four, 17-13, with 13:11 left in the half when a Matt Zona three ignited a 14-2 Fordham run as the Rams took a 31-15 lead on a Romad Dean three-pointer with 8:28 remaining.
 
Thirty seconds later a Zach Riley trifecta gave the Rams their biggest lead of the half, 34-17, before La Salle chipped away at the Fordham advantage, getting as close as seven, 36-29, at the 2:31 mark.
 
But Fordham closed out the half with a 10-3 spurt to take a 46-32 halftime lead on a Dean put back just before the buzzer.
 
Takeaways
• The 12 points brings Jackie Johnson III's collegiate career total to 1,011 (285 at Duquesne, 342 at UNLV, and 384 at Fordham).
 
• Jackie Johnson III has scored in double figures in 20 of his 21 games this year.
 
• In his last six games, Medor is averaging 18.3 points, 5.3 assists and just over one turnover per contest.
 
• Over the past five games Medor is shooting .854 (41-48) from the free throw stripe (he was 3-4 tonight).
 
• The double-double was the third of Joshua Rivera's career, his first this year.
 
• Former Ram Albe Evans attended the game.
 
• Fordham won the game despite being outscored 19-12 from the free throw line.
 
• Chris Carrion handled the play-by-play duties for WFUV becoming what is believed to be the first father-son duo to broadcast games for the station (Chris' father, also Chris Carrino, is a 1992 Fordham grad who called Fordham games for WFUV as an undergrad and who currently serves as the Brooklyn Nets play-by-play announcer).
 
• Carrino has had a couple of busy days recently as he served as analyst for his father on Saturday and Monday night's Nets games.
 
• The game was the first for the Rams on La Salle's renovated John Glaser Arena court.
 
• The game featured one of the most experienced head coaches in the NCAA in La Salle's Fran Dunphy (with 622 career wins) and one of the newest in Fordham's Tray Woodall, serving as head coach for his third straight game.
 
• Fordham has won six of the past seven meetings with La Salle.
 
By the Numbers
7 – Assists for Jackie Johnson III, a career-high (previous high was six vs. Maine earlier this year).
 
8 – Rebounds for Japhet Medor, tying his career-high.
 
10 – Rebounds for Joshua Rivera, a season-high.
 
22 – Assists for Fordham on 32 made baskets.
 
48 – First half points for the Rams, the most in an A-10 game this year (previous high was 31).
 
52.5 – Field goal percentage for Fordham (32-61), a season-high (previous high was 52.3% vs, Georgian Court).
 
68 – All-time meetings between Fordham and La Salle with the Explorers leading the all-time series, 44-23.
 
185 - Career blocks at Fordham for Abdou Tsimbila, who had one tonight, fourth on the Rams' career blocks list.
 
624 – Career rebounds at Fordham for Abdou Tsimbila, who had five tonight, 20^th on the career rebounding list.
 
What's Next
• The Rams continue their 2024-25 Atlantic 10 season by traveling to Olean, N.Y., to face the St. Bonaventure University Bonnies in the Reilly Center on Saturday, February 1, at 12:30 p.m.
 
• It will be the 52nd meeting between Fordham and St. Bonaventure on the hardwood.
 
• The Bonnies lead the all-time series, which started in the 1955-56 season, 33-18 (two St. Bonaventure wins in 2002-03 were later forfeited for use of an ineligible player).
 
• St. Bonaventure took this year's first meeting, 86-66, on January 4 in the Rose Hill Gym as Melvin Council, Jr., scored a game-high 24 points and Jonah Hilton added 17 for the Bonnies while Jackie Johnson III led the Rams with 21 points.