In 3 of Fordham’s 7 conference wins before Saturday, the Rams trailed early before making a second half comeback. Down 3 at the break against Rhode Island in their last game before the A10 Tournament, it was only fitting that Fordham would go for their fourth.
Setting the stage for Fordham’s latest rally was a strong start from Rhode Island, namely from former Fordham guard Jahmere Tripp. Tripp was a key piece of Rhody’s offense in the first half, scoring 14 points and shooting 3-6 from three-point range. Outside of Tripp, URI’s strong start was defined by dominance down low.
Rhody frequently made powerful drives to the basket on offense and on defense, were really effective at both turning Fordham over, and frequently boxed them out to hold the home Rams to 4 offensive boards in the half.
“For the most part in the first half, we played with good ball movement,” Rhody head coach Archie Miller said postgame. “I thought we shared it [the ball]. We were able to get downhill a few times, get some assists, and we had a couple guys step up and make some plays.”
With 7:58 to play in the first half, Tripp pump-faked from the right wing, drove inside, and hit an and-1 layup to put Rhody up 19-10 going into the under-8 media timeout. He hit the ensuing free throw to give URI a 20-10 lead, their largest of the game.
On the next Fordham possession, Dae Dae Reaves hit a three-pointer off an Akira Jacobs assist to put the home Rams back within single digits. That three would be the first bucket of a 13-3 run that Fordham took into the under-4 to tie the game at 23. Reaves’ bucket was followed up by a 2/2 trip to the line for Abass Bodija, then back-to-back threes from Christian Henry and Louis Lesmond. Lesmond’s three, the game-tying bucket from the right wing, rattled up out of the rim for some extra air time before swirling in, as if to add some extra flair to Fordham’s run.
According to Fordham head coach Mike Magpayo, a major key to Fordham’s late push before halftime was thanks to Rikus Schulte. Once Fordham shifted their offensive focus to their bigs, drawing defensive focus away from guys like Reaves and Henry, the floor opened up for everyone.
“That was one of the keys, to get the ball in, but I thought Rikus kind of opened our eyes up to it towards the end of the first half,” Magpayo said after the game. “I think we got two threes out of it…we knew that they like to come double from the strong side, but the way that our guys were moving and cutting was giving Rikus a lot of space down there.”
As URI took a 28-25 lead into halftime, Schulte entered the break with 7 boards and 2 assists.
Schulte and Abass Bodija kept the ball moving through the frontcourt to start the second half. Down 33-31 early in the second, Abass Bodija caught a tricky pass just in front of the baseline before making a wide pivot and laying the ball in. On the other end, Rhody’s Jonah Hinton hit a long two from the right corner to regain the lead. Out of the under-16, Schulte notched the game back up at 35 with a quick layup assisted by Lesmond.
Overall, Schulte’s performance against URI was defined by his ability to make space for himself and work very well off the pick and roll. Magpayo highlighted this strength as something Fordham’s coaching staff has tried to cultivate all season.
“That’s all we try to do, is just continue to feed him and tell him how confident he should be, because he’s doing it on a consistent basis,” Magpayo said.
Schulte finished the game with 14 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Schulte’s bucket to tie the game at 35 kicked off easily the most dominant stretch for Fordham in this game. From the under-16 timeout to the under-12, Fordham outscored Rhody 10-5. Reaves gave Fordham their first lead since the opening minute of the game with a stepback jumper, 41-40 Fordham with 10:42 to play. On the next possession, Schulte grabbed a poke steal and took it to the house to put the home Rams up 43-40 and send the Rose Hill Crowd to their feet, screaming chants of “DE-FENSE” as Rhody took it up the other way. Christian Henry grabbed another steal, forcing Jahmere Tripp to commit a take foul and send the game into the under-12.
Out of the timeout, Akira Jacobs hit two free throws to make it a 45-40 game. A few possessions later, Fordham was able to force a 5-second violation on a Rhody inbound, regaining the ball and taking it up the floor. With 12 to shoot, Marcus Greene chucked up a right wing three that bounced high off the rim, but Bodija corralled the rebound and took it to the house to give Fordham a 7-point lead.
Fordham went into the under-8 up 47-42. On both ends of the floor, the 8-minute sequence that gave Fordham the lead was one of their most impressive throughout all of conference play. When asked about this stretch, Coach Magpayo attributed it largely to his team’s defense.
“We started getting more disruptive and we started punching back or punching first,” Magpayo said. “Our disruption defensively, our awareness of who’s trying to score, and [of URI’s] rotations [were key], which we were disappointed [with] in the last game. That stuff really showed up [today].”
Fordham scored 11 points off 8 Rhody turnovers in the second half. Jahmere Tripp, who scored 14 points in the first for URI, was limited to just 4 in the second. URI would score just 7 more points in the final 7 minutes to give Fordham the 61-49 win. Dae Dae Reaves led all Fordham scorers with 17 points.
Senior Night Celebrations and Wrapping up The Regular Season
With the win, Fordham finishes the regular season with a 17-14 overall record, 8-10 in conference play. The win also secures Fordham’s first overall winning season in three years.
Before and after the game, Fordham honored a large group of seniors. Jameson O’Toole, Louis Lesmond, Marcus Greene, Christian Henry, and Dae Dae Reaves all received recognition, along with managers Jack Abajian, James Cutajar, Jeremy Valasco, and Charlie Dino. While the bulk of that senior group of players will have finished their careers with just one season at Rose Hill, Dae Dae Reaves made it clear what the Fordham community meant to him.
“Being a part of this community has been lovely,” Reaves said after the game. “[There were] ups and downs throughout the season, but they continued to show love, even when it was rough. Today, they all just showed how together this community can get.”
Reaves finishes the season as the Atlantic 10’s leading scorer, averaging 17.7 PPG overall, 18.7 PPG in A10 play. Christian Henry led the conference in overall assists at 5.3 per game, third in A10 games at 5.1 APG. Rikus Schulte finishes second in the conference, both overall and in conference play, in rebounding, averaging 10.6 and 8.7 respectively.
As for Coach Magpayo, he finishes the regular season as a recipient of the 2026 NABC Guardians of the Game pillar award. According to a press release by Fordham Athletics, this award is presented by the NABC to multiple coaches, administrators, and other contributors who embody the organization’s core values of leadership, service, education, advocacy, and inclusion. Magpayo received the pillar award for inclusion.
Magpayo was also named as a finalist for the 2025-26 Skip Prosser Man of the Year award, presented annually to a Division I coach who wins with integrity on and off the court.
Looking Ahead
As the 8th seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, Fordham will play the 9th seed, George Washington, in the opening game of the second round on Thursday. Fordham previously beat George Washington this season 79-65 in Foggy Bottom. A strong performance through 40 minutes for the Rams, Coach Magpayo looks at that game as one that cemented Fordham’s ability to hang with any team in this conference.
“I think the win at George Washington, who we didn’t get to face here, just cemented that we can hang with most anybody in the league,” Magpayo said. “We’ve still gotta prove it against the VCUs and Saint Louis’ [of the conference], but like everybody else, we felt like we could hang.”
Fordham tips off against GW on Thursday at 11:30 AM.