BRONX, N.Y. – When two rams butt heads in the wild, seldom is the battle decided by one butt. The two Rams will continue to clash, sometimes for hours, charging at speeds up to 20 or 40 mph, with impact forces exceeding 1,000 pounds. Though the two Rams fighting today in the historic Rose Hill Gym were of the human variety, it still seemed like they were constantly butting heads with seven lead changes until the Fordham Rams pulled away at the end for a 61-49 Atlantic 10 win over the University of Rhode Island.
With the win, Fordham improves to 17-14 overall, 8-10 in the Atlantic 10, while Rhode Island falls to 16-15 overall, 7-11 in the conference.
The home Rams were led by grad student guard
Dejour Reaves with 17 points and four rebounds while junior forward
Rikus Schulte recorded his second straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, along with three assists. Redshirt freshman
Abass Bodija also finished in double figures for Fordham with ten points and he had four rebounds.
How it Happened
• Rhode Island led by as many as ten, 23-13, in the first half before Fordham cut the lead to three at the break, 28-25.
• Fordham managed to knot the game at 33 just over three minutes into the second half on a Bodija layup.
• Two minutes later, a Reaves turnaround jumper gave Fordham its first lead since the 19:15 mark of the first half, 37-35.
• The lead changed hands twice over the next four minutes until Fordham took a 41-40 lead on a Reaves jumper with 10:43 left.
• The Reaves basket was the first of eight straight for Fordham as the home Rams took a 47-40 lead on a Bodija putback with 7:53 on the clock and the closest Rhode Island would get from there was five, 47-42, 15 seconds later.
Notes
•
Dejour Reaves has scored in double figures in all 30 games he has appeared in this year.
•
Rikus Schulte recorded his ninth double-double of the season, second among Atlantic 10 players.
•
Christian Henry dished out five assists, leading the Rams in assists for the 23rd time this year.
• Prior to the game, four Fordham managers (Jack Abajian, James Cutajar, Jeremy Velasco, and Charlie Dino) and five student-athletes (
Jameson O'Toole,
Louis Lesmond,
Marcus Greene,
Christian Henry, and
Dejour Reaves) were honored.
•
Jameson O'Toole made his first career start.
• Fordham was 17-for-21 from the free throw line compared to 6-for-9 for Rhode Island.
• Fordham outscored Rhode Island, 22-14, in the paint.
• Fordham held Rhode Island to shooting 26.9% (7-26) from the field in the second half after the visiting Rams hit 40.7% (11-27) in the first half.
• Fordham entered the game leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense and held Rhode Island to over 20 points below its season average.
• Fordham held 17 of its 18 Atlantic 10 opponents to scoring below their season average entering the game.
• Fordham has now won three straight over Rhode Island.
By the Numbers
9 – Doubles-doubles this year for
Rikus Schulte, second in the A-10.
9 – Steals for Fordham, led by three from
Roor Akhuar.
13 – Double-digit rebounding games this year for
Rikus Schulte.
+ 15 –
Christian Henry's +/- in the game.
21 – Second half points for Rhode Island, one shy of the season-low for a Fordham opponent this year.
78 – Career double-figure scoring games for
Dejour Reaves.
153 – Assists for
Christian Henry this season, the eighth most in a season for a Ram in school history.
725 – All-time wins in the Rose Hill Gym for Fordham.
1,594 – All-time wins for Fordham.
What's Next?
• The Rams will open the 2026 Atlantic 10 Championship on Thursday, March 12, at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa., at a time and against an opponent to be determined.
• The most likely pairing for Fordham will be playing in the 8/9 game against George Washington on Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
