On Saturday, Fordham resumes their 2025-26 campaign against the Holy Cross Crusaders in the Bronx. In the first month of this season, the Rams accrued a 6-3 record, 3-3 against D-I opponents. Fordham debuted at 238 on the first NCAA NET rankings of the season, 11th out of 14 Atlantic 10 teams. As of late Friday night, the Rams rank 245th in the NET, 221st in KenPom. Through nine games in November, the Rams have shown flashes of quality play, but also have found themselves repeating several mistakes that have led to tough losses or close wins against inferior opponents.
What has, and hasn’t worked for the Rams in November, and how can they use four very winnable games in December to grow into a high-caliber Atlantic 10 squad?
A Quick (Not Really) Roster Update
Before getting into Fordham’s strengths and struggles on the court, let’s get into a few changes to the Rams roster, both for this season and the near future.
First reported by Jon Rothstein on Sunday, graduate guard Jace Howard has medically retired from basketball following multiple concussions sustained during his career. A transfer from Michigan, Howard averaged 4.5 PPG in 2 games played for the Rams.
Additionally, senior forward Zarique Nutter is no longer a member of the team. First reported by @fordhamhoopsfan on X, I have independently confirmed his departure with Fordham Athletics. Nutter averaged 12.7 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 3 games played for the Rams (2 starts). Nutter was a transfer from Georgia State who also spent two seasons at Northern Illinois.
Howard and Nutter mark the second and third players for Fordham who have left the team so far this season, joining Demetri Gardner, who left the team in early November.
While they cannot fill the departures this season, Fordham welcomed three new signings as part of their 2026 recruiting class. On National Signing Day, Fordham welcomed Desmond Bellot Jr. of CATS Academy (Massachusetts). Bellot joined Hassan Koureissi (Archbishop Stepinac) and Frank Siaca Bey (Fairfax Christian School in Virginia), who signed on November 14th and 18th, respectively. Following Fordham’s 69-53 win over LIU, Coach Magpayo talked about his first recruiting class with the Rams.
After assembling a full roster in such a short window over the spring and summer, Magpayo and his staff had much more time to build relationships with these three incoming players. Magpayo emphasized that signing players confirms their commitment not only to playing at Fordham, but also a commitment to helping build Fordham’s basketball culture.
“When they say yes to Fordham, that means something,” Magpayo said. “They’re getting recruited by other schools, they’ve been getting recruited for years. It’s a little bit different [than the portal], so when you get freshman, to me, that means something. Hopefully you’re trying to keep them for two to three years. I would love for them to stay for four, and I’m selling that, but it means a lot.”
Koureissi, a 3-star recruit according to 24/7 sports, is an especially notable recruit for Fordham as he is from the New York area. When he visited Fordham to participate in a team practice earlier this fall, Coach Magpayo was very impressed by his leadership skills and championship poise, honed during his time on a three-peat CHSAA squad in search of the four-peat this season.
“He played with our guys,” Magpayo said. “When our guys are telling me, ‘coach, we need that one,’ then you know he’s good.”
Fordham’s November Finish
With a 6-3 record in November, let’s see where the Rams have both succeeded and struggled.
For thoughts on Fordham’s season-opening loss to NJIT, click here.
For thoughts on Fordham’s win over D-III Mount Saint Mary, click here.
With a 1-1 record, the Rams hosted the Wagner Seahawks in a tight interborough matchup. In a back-and-forth first half, the Rams got off to a 9-2 lead, but could not keep up with Wagner’s early three-point prowess, losing the lead and trailing by as much as 11 before cutting the deficit to 5 at halftime. Fordham tore into the second half with a 13-5 run out of the break, but Wagner’s advantage on the offensive glass helped them cut into the Rams lead and keep the game even.
After another neck-and-neck stretch, the game was tied at 61 in the final 60 seconds. In the final 10 seconds, Dejour Reaves drove in from the left wing, stepped back inside the arc, and drilled a jumper to give the Rams a 63-61 lead with 6 seconds left. A John Awoke miss on the other end sealed the win for the Rams.
“I think we scheduled this perfectly,” Magpayo said after the game. “I think that this is really going to challenge us [in preparation] for the A-10. I just think that people are coming in here with an opportunity to see what they got in this borough of the Bronx. When they get into Rose Hill, they’re coming with all this purpose, swagger, fire, and nothing to lose. Those are hard to win.”
Three days later, Fordham found themselves in another close contest, this time on the road against Iona. In the opening minutes of the game, Christian Henry hit his first three-pointer that not only game the Rams an early 3-2 lead, but also activated a shooting prowess that was still developing in Fordham’s first three games. Henry had three makes from beyond the arc by first half under-12 for 11 first half points.
While the Rams led by as much as 11 in the period, a cold streak from the field to end the half gave Iona’s offense a window to take a 3-point lead at the break. In the second half, Fordham kept it close with several big plays from Dejour Reaves and Ryan Pettis, but continued woes from three and an inability to draw trips to the line made the difference as Iona clinched the 76-71 win.
- Two Dominant Wins at Home
Now 2-2, the Rams returned home that Sunday to host another D-III squad in the Manhattanville Valiants. While the Valiants played like their namesake in the first half, down just 25-23 with 3:54 left to play in the period, Fordham turned up the heat in the second half to cruise to a 96-62 victory. Like against MSM (NY), Coach Magpayo was able to reach deep into the bench to test out several different rotations. Redshirt freshman Abass Bodija finished with a season-high 15 points.
Four days later, the Rams traded a few buckets with LIU to enter the first media timeout tied at 6. However, a strong first half from deep let Fordham get up big early and never look back, never trailing the rest of the game en route to a 69-53 win. Reaves led all Rams with 16 points, while Rikus Schulte finished with a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double. In a well-rounded individual performance, Schulte attributed his success against the Sharks to the team’s growing chemistry.
“I feel like it’s definitely helping me that we’re playing better as a team together,” Schulte said after the game. “We’re getting to know each other, we’re playing together, we’re getting more energy. We are more aggressive, and I think it just helps everyone, and all of our stats are going up.”
The win over LIU marked Schulte’s second double-double of the season up to that point.
- A 2-1 Finish at the Northern Classic
With a 4-2 record, the Rams travelled north over Thanksgiving Break to compete in the 2025 Northern Classic in Laval, Quebec. With three games in three days in a venue nearly 400 miles from home, the Northern Classic gave the Rams an early taste of tournament action. Throughout the weekend, Magpayo and his coaching staff worked around the clock to make sure the players were prepared for each matchup with such a short turnaround time.
In Game 1, the Rams faced off against D-II Franklin Pierce, Fordham’s third opponent outside of Division I this season. The first half started off as expected, with the Rams up by double-digits until the final six minutes of the game. With a 16-6 run heading into the final media timeout, Franklin Pierce had gotten within 66-61. Fordham held off the Ravens’ push to escape with a 74-72 win, but the close margin definitely served as a reminder to not ease up in games, even against presumably weaker opponents.
“Brad Stevens says the game honors toughness,” Magpayo said. “If you lose your edge for a second, then anything can happen. We lost our edge, turned the ball over a few times, missed some free throws. When you lose your edge, and then you try to recover and grab it back, it’s too late.”
Luckily for Fordham, they regained their edge just in time to close out the win, and sharpened their edge the next day against Albany. With a 2-0 layup from Christian Henry to open scoring, the Rams boat raced the Great Danes en route to an 88-68 win. Henry, who finished the game with a career-high 29 points, found plenty of opportunities to use his size against Albany’s smaller guards. According to Magpayo, Akira Jacobs played a huge role in Henry’s opportunities from the floor, using his spacing to draw defenders away from Henry so he can attack the paint.
“[He] had a fierceness to him,” Magpayo said. “I really think there’s a couple guys that really can get us to our ceiling, and I think Akira’s one of them.”
Jacobs finished against Albany with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist. As a team, Fordham finished with their best performance from three this season, 10-21 (47.6%).
On Sunday, Fordham and Colgate faced off to determine the de facto champion of the Northern Classic. The first half opened with a defensive melee that saw Colgate lead 16-11 at the under-8 timeout. Both teams had each other’s number defensively, with plenty of strip steals and tough stops to keep scoring low early. Colgate pulled away towards the end of the half to lead 30-17 at the break, and in the second half, Fordham could not find the same shots from Saturday to close the gap. The Rams got within as close as 6 in the second half before falling 72-62. Abass Bodija led all Rams with 12 points off the bench. Reaves and Henry scored 11 apiece. Despite the loss, Coach Magpayo felt that his team gained valuable experience against a high quality mid-major program.
“That’s a Matt Langel-coached team that’s made five NCAA Tournament in eight years,” Magpayo said. “They have a championship mentality. I got to live scout them during the Colgate-Albany game, and I was like, ‘yeah, that’s what a winning program looks like.’”
The Raiders have won 5 of the last 7 Patriot League Tournaments.
Looking Ahead
Today, Fordham faces off against another Patriot League opponent in the Holy Cross Crusaders (KenPom 306), who enter the weekend with a 3-6 record. Despite the Crusaders’ tough start to the season, Coach Magpayo told me that he expects a Dave Paulsen squad with a “great offense, physical defense,” and that’s playing “their best basketball right now.”
The Rams and Crusaders tip off at 2 PM at the Rose Hill Gym.