Bronx, N.Y. – Tomorrow is Gaudete Sunday, a day of rejoicing in anticipation for Christmas. The day is traditionally marked by a change from the penitential purple of Advent to a lighter tone, symbolized by priests wearing rose vestments. Fordham fans got to rejoice a day early but instead of rose, the color of the day was maroon as the Rams upended the Manhattan University Jaspers, 82-53, in the Rose Hill Gym in the annual Battle of the Bronx.
With the win, Fordham improves to 8-4 on the year while Manhattan falls to 4-7.
Four Rams scored in double figures led by junior forward
Rikus Schulte, who scored a game and career-high 21 points, shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from the field, to go with ten rebounds for his third straight double-double. Senior guard
Christian Henry, who was named the Mike Cohen MVP of the game, finished with 19 points to go with six rebounds and nine assists, while grad student guard
Dejour Reaves added 18 points and redshirt freshman Fordham
Abass Bodija netted a season-high 14 points while grabbing six rebounds.
How it Happened
• After jumping out to an 18-13 advantage, Fordham went on a 7-0 run with 10:40 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from
Dejour Reaves, to increase its lead to 25-13.
• A cold spell on offense allowed Manhattan to cut the Fordham lead to six at the break, 31-25.
• The Jaspers pulled within five, 39-34, early in the second half before the Rams scored nine straight, capped by a Reaves driving layup to get the lead to 14, 48-34, with 13:50 left.
• Fordham kept widening that lead, expanding it to 73-51 before going on a 9-0 run, finished off by
Akira Jacobs' three, to grow the lead to 82-51 with 1:59 to go in the contest.
Notes
•
Rikus Schulte is averaging 13.4 ppg and 10.0 rpg over the past eight games with five double-doubles during that time frame.
• Rikus is shooting .697 (46-66) over that stretch.
•
Christian Henry is averaging 18.8 ppg over the past five contests, including a career-high 29 points against UAlbany.
• Henry is also averaging 6.8 apg over the last five.
•
Dejour Reaves has scored in double figures in all eleven games he has appeared in this year.
• Led by
Roor Akhuar's four offensive rebounds, Fordham did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 15 boards that resulted in 13 second chance points.
• Fordham recorded double figures in offensive rebounds for the tenth time this season.
• The Rams never trailed in the game.
• Fordham won despite being outscored from the free throw stripe, 9-3.
• In the last two meetings between Fordham and Manhattan in the Rose Hill Gym. Fordham won by an average of 30.5 points (Fordham defeated Manhattan 93-61 in 2023).
• The 117 games played with Manhattan are the most for any Fordham opponent while the 56 wins over the Jaspers are the most victories over any team for Fordham.
By the Numbers
5 – Doubles-doubles on the year for
Rikus Schulte.
8 – Rebound by
Roor Akhuar, a season-high.
9 – Assists by
Christian Henry, tying his career-high.
10 – Rebounds for
Akira Jacobs, tying his career-high set earlier this year at Iona.
21 – Points for
Rikus Schulte, a career-high (previous high was 18 against Manhattanville earlier this year.
26 – Fordham outrebounded Manhattan, 47-21.
52 – Points in the paint for the Rams.
720 – All-time wins in the Rose Hill Gym for Fordham.
1,585 – All-time wins for Fordham.
What's Next?
• After some time off for finals, the Rams close out the non-conference slate by hosting the University of New Haven Chargers on Monday, December 22, at 11:00 a.m. in the historic Rose Hill Gym in the annual Kid's Day game.
• It will be the first meeting between the Rams and the Chargers on the hardwood.
• New Haven is in its first year in the NCAA Div. I after playing in the NCAA Div. II.
• The Chargers are a member of the Northeast Conference.
• Fordham is 54-14 all-time against teams currently in the Northeast Conference, including wins this year over Wagner, LIU, and FDU.
Portions of this article was created using technology provided by
Data Skrive
