Bronx, N.Y. – On the eve of Festivus, the Fordham men's basketball team spoiled the ritual of the airing of grievances as there was not much for Ram fans to complain about today. Grad student guard
Dejour Reaves drove the lane like he was trying to get that last doll left on the shelf and junior forward
Rikus Schulte demonstrated a great feat of strength with his fourth straight double-double to lead Fordham to a 65-47 win over the University of New Haven in a packed historic Rose Hill Gym.
With the win, Fordham improves to 9-4 on the season while New Haven falls to 5-7.
Reaves led all scorers in the game with 19 points, shooting 9-for-13 from the field, while Schulte added ten points and 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year. Redshirt freshman
Abass Bodija chipped in with seven points and seven boards while sophomore center
Jack Whitbourn, making his first appearance in a Fordham uniform, scored eight points and added five rebounds.
How it Happened
• After falling behind 23-18, Fordham went on a 9-0 run with 3:33 left in the first half, culminating in a three from
Roor Akhuar, to take a 27-23 lead.
• The Rams then added two points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 29-23 advantage. Fordham did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 29 points close to the basket.
• Following intermission, Fordham kept widening that lead, expanding it to 48-34 before going on a 9-0 run, finished off by
Jack Whitbourn's layup, to grow the lead to 57-34 with 5:35 to go in the contest.
Notes
• The nine non-conference wins are the second most for Fordham since joining the Atlantic 10 (the 2022-23 squad won 12 non-conference games while the 2018-19 and 2015-16 teams each won nine).
• Like an aluminum pole with its high strength-to-weight ratio (but without the tinsel as it's distracting), the Fordham defense was strong today, holding the Chargers to shooting 37.0% (20-54) from the field and 26.1% (6-23) from behind the arc.
• It wasn't quite a "no bagel, no bagel, no bagel" for New Haven from the free throw stripe but the Chargers only attempted two free throws on the day, making one.
• Junior forward
Rikus Schulte is averaging 13.0 ppg and 10.3 rpg over the past nine games with six double-doubles during that time frame.
• Schulte is shooting .685 (50-73) over that stretch and .646 (62-96) on the season.
• Fordham outrebounded its opponent for the tenth time this year (38-24).
By the Numbers
4 – Steals for
Rikus Schulte.
7 – Fouls called on Fordham, a season-low.
15 – Turnovers forced by the Rams.
+23 –
Abass Bodija's plus/minus in the game.
24 – Bench points for Fordham.
40 – Points in the paint for the Rams.
721 – All-time wins in the Rose Hill Gym for the Rams.
1,586 – All-time wins for Fordham.
What's Next?
• After some time off for Christmas, the Rams open the Atlantic 10 slate by traveling to Dayton, Ohio, to take on the University of Dayton Flyers on Wednesday, December 31, at 2:00 p.m. in the UD Arena.
• It will be the 44th meeting between Fordham and Dayton on the hardwood.
• The Flyers lead the all-time series, which started in 1952-53, 37-6, and have won 21 of the last 22 match-ups.
• Dayton took last year's game, 93-76, in the Rose Hill Gym on February 12 as Malachi Smith scored a team-high 18 points and dished out five assists while Fordham's
Jackie Johnson III led all scorers with 24 points.
• The last Rams' win came in the 2020-2021 meeting, 55-54, on January 5 in the Rose Hill Gym, snapping a 16-game Dayton winning streak in the all-time series, as Chris Austin scored a game-high 20 points for Fordham.
Portions of this article was created using technology provided by
Data Skrive.
