Laval, Quebec – It's said that Franklin Pierce, the 14
th president of the United States, enjoyed playing poker in his free time. That's a fitting analogy to tonight's basketball game between Fordham and Pierce's namesake school, Franklin Pierce University. The Rams appeared to hold the better cards for most of the game but as the dealer started turning over the cards, the Ravens' odds seem to be improving. Luckily the Rams had an ace in the hole in grad student guard
Dejour Reaves, who scored nine of Fordham's final ten points, and the Rams survived a Franklin Pierce three-point attempt at the buzzer to defeat the Ravens, 74-72, at the Place Bell Arena.
With the win, Fordham improves to 5-2 on the year while Franklin Pierce falls to 2-3
Reaves finished with a game-high 22 points, shooting 9-for-16 from the field and 3-for-5 from long distance, while also dishing out six assists. Three other Rams finished with ten points, led by junior forward
Rikus Schulte, who recorded his second straight double-double with ten points and eleven rebounds, while grad student guard
Marcus Greene and freshman forward
Roor Akhuar also netted ten points.
How it Happened
• Fordham took its largest lead of the night, 55-38, on a Greene layup that capped an 11-0 run with 12:41 to go in the contest.
• Franklin Pierce then started chipping away at Fordham's advantage, eventually pulling within five, 66-61, with five minutes left.
• A pair of Reaves threes, sandwiched around a Ravens three, put the Rams up eight, 72-64, with a minute remaining.
• Franklin Pierce got the Fordham lead down to three, 73-70, with 19 ticks left before
Christian Henry hit one of two free throws to make it a four-point game.
• But a put back basket pulled the Ravens within two, 74-72 with eight seconds remaining.
• After a missed Fordham free throw the Ravens had one last chance for the win but a three at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
Notes
•
Dejour Reaves has scored in double figures in all six of his games this year.
• Redshirt freshman guard
Kingston Price hit a pair of three-pointers in the first half.
• The Rams utilized fantastic ball movement, piling up 20 assists on 29 made field goals.
• Fordham won despite being outrebounded, 39-35.
• It was the first meeting between Fordham and Franklin Pierce on the hardcourt and Fordham eleventh against a team currently in the NE10 (the Rams are 9-1 all-time vs. Adelphi).
• The game was Fordham's first regular season contest played in Canada.
By the Numbers
6 – Assists by
Dejour Reaves, tying his career-high.
10 – Offensive rebounds for the Rams, the sixth time in seven games Fordham has recorded more than 10 offensive rebounds.
23 – Points off turnovers for the Rams.
28 – Career 20-point games for
Dejour Reaves.
40.9% - Fordham's three-point shooting percentage (9-22).
54- Career double figure scoring games for
Dejour Reaves.
What's Next?
• The Rams begin play at the 2025 Northern Classic on Saturday, November 29, with a game against UAlbany at 7:30 p.m. at Place Bell Arena.
• It will be the third meeting between UAlbany and Fordham on the hardwood with the Rams winning both previous matchups, including a 78-73 win in the Rose Hill Gym last year.
• Fordham defeated the Great Danes, 40-17, in the first game in 1923.
• The game was actually Fordham vs. the UAlbany Law School.
• Capt. Ed. McMahon had a field day, scoring nine goals from the floor and four out of six tries from the foul line.
• The game was cleanly played as is indicated by the fact that there were only twelve fouls called on both teams.
Portions of this article was created using technology provided by
Data Skrive.
