Men’s Basketball Dropped by St. Bonaventure

Bronx, N.Y. - According to color psychology, colors can evoke psychological reactions and influence how people feel. The color brown is influenced by individual experiences, cultural associations, and even the specific shade of the color. One person might find brown a warm, comforting color because of their personal associations and experiences. Another person might find it a lonely, drab, or sad color because they associate it with those emotions. The sold out Rose Hill Gym was filled with mixed emotions today as the color brown excited the visiting fans but made the home team fans sad as the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, wearing their road browns, defeated the home Fordham Rams, 88-68, in an Atlantic 10 game.
 
With the loss, Fordham falls to 8-7 overall, 0-2 in the Atlantic 10, while St. Bonaventure improves to 14-1 overall, 2-0 in the conference.
 
Fordham was led by senior guard Jackie Johnson III, who scored a team-high 21 points, hitting five three-pointers and adding three assists, while junior forward Romad Dean and grad student guard Japhet Medor each added 13 points with Dean adding six rebounds and Medor five assists.
 
Fordham trailed by two, 13-11, following a Dean jumper with 13:47 left in the first when the Bonnies went on an 8-2 run to take a 21-13 lead on a Melvin Council, Jr. three-point play just over two minutes later.
 
The Rams trailed by eight again with 9:29 remaining in the half, 23-15, when a Zach Riley layup started a  10-3 spurt as Fordham pulled within one, 26-25, on a Johnson jumper with 7:35 left. But St. Bonaventure outscored the Rams 14-5 over the final seven minutes to take a 43-30 lead at the break.
 
Fordham managed to get the deficit down to eleven five times in the second half, the final time at 58-47 following a pair of Medor free throws with 11:38 on the clock but the Bonnies used a 12-3 run to take a 20-point lead, 70-50, with 8:39 left in the game and the closest the Rams would get from that point would be 17.
 
Takeaways
• Jackie Johnson III recorded the sixth 20-point game of the year and the ninth in his career.
 
• The Rams were without the services for junior forward Joshua Rivera due to injury.
 
• Fordham Men's Basketball used the game to raise awareness and funds for Able Athletics, a local organization that seeks to empower disabled children through the power of athletic participation.
 
• Noel Brown is the only current Bonnie who played against the Rams last year, scoring 26 points in the two games (Broek Ostrom also played two minutes for St. Bonaventure in the second meeting last winter).
 
• It was the second straight year that St. Bonaventure's Melvin Council, Jr., scored 20+ points in the Rose Hill Gym as he netted 21 while playing for Wagner last year.
 
• A number of noted Fordham alumni attended the game including Michael Kay, Jack Curry, Mike Puma, Chris Shaw, Ryan Burke, and Lou Barricelli.
 
By the Numbers
5.3 – Assists/game for Japhet Medor over the past six games.
 
27 – Rebounds for the Rams today, tying a season-low.
 
179 – Career blocks at Fordham for Abdou Tsimbila, who had two today, fourth on the Fordham career list.
 
595 – Career rebounds at Fordham for Abdou Tsimbila, who had four today, 21^st on the Fordham all-time list.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams continue their 2024-25 Atlantic 10 season by traveling to Richmond, Va., to face the VCU Rams on Wednesday, January 8, at 7:00 p.m. at the Siegel Center.
 
• It will be the 15th meeting between Fordham and VCU on the hardwood.
 
• VCU leads the all-time series, 13-1, and has won the past seven meetings.
 
• VCU won last year's matchup, 75-60, in the Rose Hill Gym on February 6 as Max Shulga and Joe Bamisile each netted 13 points for VCU.