As coaches like Fordham’s Mike Magpayo navigate through a season, the hunt for personal achievements can almost get lost in the mix. Following Wednesday night’s 64-58 win over the La Salle Explorers, Magpayo’s 100th as a head coach, he admitted that he had to be reminded of the impending milestone.
“I didn’t really know about it until my wife brought it up to me a couple of weeks ago,” Magpayo said. “To do it in a season where we’re going through a lot of adversity, that’s what your job is [to win] as a leader and a coach.”
Following last week’s loss to Davidson, Coach Magpayo recounted four good days of practice in preparing to face the Explorers. Those good practices, along with a few Rams returning from injury, made this win all the more special for the Rams’ skipper.
“Just the way these guys work and attack this thing every day, it means a lot, and so I’ll always remember it.”
A big return for the Rams was freshman forward Roor Akhuar. Earlier this month, Magpayo talked about the fearlessness that Akhuar and frequent backcourt pairing Abass Bodija brought to Fordham’s roster and how that fearlessness was greatly missed. Bodija and Akhuar put that fearlessness on display in a physical contest, combining for 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
“They inspire me every day, on the court and off the court,” said teammate Akira Jacobs. “Just being around them brings me a lot of energy as well.”
Jacobs brought plenty of energy against the Explorers with 7 first-half points off 2-4 shooting from the field. With the Rams down 34-32 at the break, Jacobs led a hot start in the second half with 2 three-pointers to help Fordham lead 42-40 at the second half under-16. He finished as Fordham’s leading scorer with 13 points.
As the second half progressed, neither team could establish a firm lead until Fordham scored 6 unanswered around the 9-minute mark. In that stretch, Luis Lesmond scored a quick layup off an inbounds pass, Rikus Schulte hit a putback up-and-under shot, and Christian Henry recovered a missed Dae Dae Reaves transition layup to put the Rams up 55-48 with 8:51 left to play.
After La Salle HC Darris Nichols called a timeout to reset his guys, the Explorers quickly rattled off an 8-0 run of their own to take a 1-point lead. Jerome Brewer hit the go-ahead bucket under the basket to bring his personal total up to 14 points. He finished with 21.
“[We’re] just challenging Brew to score at all three levels,” Nichols said. “And he’s kind of done that, especially as of late. Earlier in the year, he was trying to settle for a lot of threes, but now he’s mixing it up and he’s rebounding at a higher level.”
La Salle led by as much as three in this stretch before Fordham tied the game at 58 with 5:25 to play.
That 58-point tie lasted all the way to the final media timeout as both teams clamped down defensively. With 2:48 to play, Christian Henry stripped the ball from La Salle’s Jaden Dockery as he drove to the basket. In transition, Henry took the ball coast-to-coast for a 60-58 layup. Neither team could get a good look off until, with 13 seconds remaining, Dae Dae Reaves hit a jumper in isolation to put Fordham up 4. Henry grabbed another strip-steal and drew a foul on the ensuing possession, sealing the game for Fordham at 64-58.
Although Reaves finished with his lowest point total since the Colgate game, the Rams still put their faith (and the ball) in his hands to hit the dagger.
“Even when I’m having an off night, they keep telling me ‘next one going in, next one going in,’” Reaves said. “So just having them in my ear definitely helps me out each and every night.”
Reaves finished with 11 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
Now 2-6 in conference play, Coach Magpayo believes his team can make the most of their final 10 games before the Atlantic 10 Tournament begins in March.
“We’ve got 10 more opportunities before we get to the conference tournament,” Magpayo said. “I really think these guys can do something with it [the opportunities], but we’ll keep taking it a day at a time and keep working hard.”
Fordham returns to action on Saturday when they travel to George Washington.