Bronx, N.Y. – At first glance, Fordham University and Manhattanville University have little in common, aside from being institutions of higher learning in New York. A deeper dive however, reveals that they share a person who is credited with providing a nickname to each school. Tim Cohane, Sr., a Fordham graduate who went on to serve as the school's sports information director, coined the nickname "Seven Blocks of Granite" for the Fordham football line in the 1930's. He is also the inspiration for Manhattanville's nickname. Back in the 1970's, Cohane's son, Tim Cohane, served as head basketball coach at the school and the senior Cohane recalled the 16th century quote "A coeur vaillant, rien d'impossible" ("To the valiant of heart, nothing is impossible) that produced the unique nickname that Manhattanville still holds today. The Valiants proved to be Valiant in the first half of today's game before the Rams turned on the offense, defeating Manhattanville, 96-62, in the historic Rose Hill Gym.
With the win, Fordham improves to 3-2 on the year.
The Rams had four players score in double figures, led by grad student guard
Marcus Greene, who had 19 points, shooting 5-for-8 from behind the arc, while junior forward
Rikus Schulte tacked on 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Redshirt freshman
Abass Bodija chipped in with 15 points, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, and five rebounds off of the bench and grad student guard
Louis Lesmond added 12 points and six rebounds.
How it Happened
• Fordham jumped out to a 22-7 lead with 8:40 left in the first before a 13-2 Manhattanville run pulled the visitors to within four, 24-20, four minutes later.
• The Rams closed out the half with a 13-4 spurt, capped by a Lesmond three at the halftime buzzer to take a 37-24 advantage into the break.
• Fordham took control early in the second half, opening the period with a 12-2 run to take a commanding 49-26 lead on a Green trifecta three minutes into the half.
• The Rams would get the lead to as many as 39, 83-44, on a
Jameson O'Toole three-pointer with 8:51 remaining.
Notes
•
Christian Henry dished out six assists, the fourth straight game for the senior guard with six helpers.
• Sophomore guard Aiden Crotty scored his first collegiate points, hitting a pair of three-pointers in the second half.
• Eleven of the 12 Rams who played scored in the game.
• Freshman forward
Roor Akhuar pulled down two offensive rebounds to pace the Fordham offense which grabbed 12 boards and turned them into 12 second chance points.
• The Rams outrebounded the Valiants, 53-25.
• Fordham played without its top two scorers, Dejoiur Reaves (16.0 ppg) and
Zarique Nutter (12.7 ppg).
By the Numbers
1 – Offensive rebounds by Manhattanville.
5 – Three-pointers by
Marcus Greene, one shy of his career-high.
7 – Rebounds by
Christian Henry, a career-high.
13 – Three-pointers made by the Rams, a season-high.
29 – Assists by Fordham, a season-high.
36 – Bench points for the Rams.
What's Next?
• The Rams continue the 2025-26 season by hosting the Long Island University Sharks on Thursday, November 20, at 7:00 p.m. in the historic Rose Hill Gym.
• It will be the 18th meeting between Fordham and LIU on the hardwood, the first since 2021
• The Rams lead the all-time series, 12-5, and have taken three of the past four meetings.
• Fordham took the most recent meeting, 73-57, in the Rose Hill Gym on December 9, 2021.
• The Rams are 52-14 all-time against teams currently in the Northeast Conference, including a win last week against Wagner.
Portions of this article was created using technology provided by
Data Skive.
