While the middle of February showed some serious potential for this year’s Fordham, the end of the month and the start of March has shown that there’s still some room for the Rams to grow. Following a four-game winning streak, the Rams dropped both games of their most recent road trip against VCU and La Salle. 7-10 in conference play and 16-14 overall, Fordham hosts Rhode Island this afternoon in both squads’ final game before the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Against a team they’ve already beaten on the road, what struggles can Fordham shake off, and what strengths can Fordham build upon before heading to Pittsburgh?
Two Poor Starts
As we’ve seen before in conference play, both of Fordham’s recent road losses were defined by subpar first halves.
Fordham’s loss to VCU got off to a very defensive start last Saturday. After both teams traded misses in fast-paced possessions, VCU scored the opening bucket on a Brandon Jennings 3-pointer nearly three minutes into the game. By the first half under-12, VCU led Fordham by 10 en route to a 15-point lead at the break. According to Fordham head coach Mike Magpayo, “everything” Fordham did in the opening minutes was focused on trying to avoid that start.
“Our starts seem to be something we’re still figuring out,” Magpayo said in a phone interview on Thursday. “[I’m] not sure what it is overall, but really I thought that we were just just not forceful enough in the paint.”
Fordham shot 34.3% from within the arc against VCU, their worst performance from 2-point range all season. VCU’s defense focused particularly on bigs such as Rikus Schulte, who was held to 8 points, 6 boards, and no assists. When Fordham had the ball, VCU’s defenders did an exceptional job focusing on limiting Schulte under the basket, frequently throwing double teams his way.
Despite an early second half Fordham push that cut the deficit down to 2, VCU kept their offense steady to come away with the 82-63 win.
Against La Salle four days later, Fordham tied the Explorers at 7 by the under-16 media timeout, but La Salle’s advantage off the glass saw them lead 21-16 by the under-12. The Rams found some early success down low with offensive boards from Schulte and Abass Bodija, but La Salle’s Josiah Harris and Ashton Walker kept the Explorers up with several putbacks of their own.
Early fouls also slowed down the Rams. With 6:44 to play in the first half, Fordham committed 6 total fouls while La Salle had 3. After a Rikus Schulte drive ended in a physical bucket to make it 33-22 La Salle, Coach Magpayo clearly thought Schulte deserved an and-1 opportunity. As the Explorers moved the ball up the court, Magpayo made an impassioned argument with the referee on the near sideline, resulting in two consecutive technical fouls and an ejection. According to Magpayo, while he accepted the first technical to get his guys fired up, the second one was a surprise.
“I earned the first technical, because I wanted to show the guys [some intensity],” Magpayo said. “I thought we were a little flat defensively. And so I wanted the first one. I earned it, and I just thought the second one was quick…I want our guys to know [that] I’m here to compete.”
Following Magpayo’s ejection, Fordham entered the break down 46-37.
Continued Resilience and Season-High Performances
Down by 8 at halftime and without their head coach, it could have been easy for the Rams to simply not let the game get too out of hand in the second half. However, in the opening minutes of the period, Fordham once again kindled a late spark. By the second half under-16, Fordham went on an 18-7 run to bring the game within 2 points.
Unsurprisingly, Dae Dae Reaves was the centerpiece of this run. Despite drawing a lot of focus from the defense on this road trip, Reaves frequently found ways to split defenders, force his way to the basket, or find the right pass for an assist. Despite the 0-2 road trip, Magpayo had high praise for Reaves’ performances in both games and shed some light on how his coaching staff develops the graduate guard’s diverse skillset.
“After practice, he works with coach [Derrick] Phelps, and they go to work on all these different shots,” Magpayo explained, detailing his incredulity with Reaves’ work ethic. “It’s great, because after practice, you’re fatigued, and you [Reaves] can still make these shots?”
Reaves scored 22 and 18 points against VCU and La Salle, respectively.
Fordham’s underclassmen frontcourt duo of Abass Bodija and Roor Akhuar also played a big part in the Rams’ second half run against La Salle. Mapgayo highlighted both players’ fearlessness earlier this season, but against La Salle, there was also a lot of veteran-level basketball on display as well. Just past the 15-minute mark, Akhuar found himself wide open on the left corner for an Akira Jacobs-assisted three to bring the Rams within 57-56. In the final minute of the half, Akhuar hit another three on an inbounds play to get the Rams within 85-84.
With Fordham down 87-84 on the final possession of the game, Akhuar was given the final shot to tie it from the right wing and force overtime. He missed, sealing the win for La Salle, but according to Magpayo, the young forward made a big leap forward on his path to being a key piece of Fordham’s offense.
“Roor is definitely somebody I continue to look at as an advantage creator,” Magayo said.
Akhuar scored 12 points against La Salle, while Bodija recorded a career-high 19. Rikus Schulte was also highly effective in the frontcourt with 20.
The Regular Season Finale
In their final game before the Atlantic 10 Tournament, Fordham hosts the Rhode Island Rams this afternoon. When they last met in Kingston, Fordham held Rhody to just 3 points in overtime en route to a 70-66 win. According to Coach Magpayo, Fordham winning their last game of the year in the Bronx hinges on their defense.
“I told the team ‘I believe in us,’” Magpayo said. “I don’t believe in us if we’re not committed to defending and rebounding. That was a clear message to our guys and our program that we have to commit to defending and rebounding Saturday and any game going forward.”
Fordham outrebounded Rhode Island 41-33 in their first meeting. The rematch tips off at 2 PM today in the Bronx.