Author: Brandon Nix

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Fordham Suffers Blowout Loss To VCU On Senior Day

Baseline Perspective | Will Tavares
Will Tavares (Image Credit: Fordham.edu)

The Fordham Rams, on Senior Day at Rose Hill Gym, finished their regular season with a 25-point defeat to VCU.

VCU, led by senior forward Justin Tillman, powered past Fordham and left the Bronx with a 83-58 win. It was the second biggest loss of the season for Fordham, they suffered a 30-point loss to Davidson in January.

Tillman led VCU with 18 points and 13 rebounds, 14 of his points came in the second half. Joseph Chartouny finished with 16 points for Fordham, Prokop Slanina added 14 points.

In the first half Fordham played with a lot of energy on both ends of the floor. The game was close for the most part until the seven-minute mark where VCU went on an 11-0 run. Sophomore guard De’Riante Jenkins scored six points, on a jumper and a four–point play, making a 3-pointer while getting fouled by Ivan Raut leading to a made free throw.

That run helped VCU gain a 15-point lead and closed out the half, 38-27. The only player for Fordham to reach double figures was Prokop Slanina who scored 10 points and 2 rebounds.

Fordham never recovered in the second half. VCU went on another 11-0 run and took control of the game from there. Jenkins, freshman forward Sean Mobley and sophomore guard Mike’l Simms each made three pointers. In the last few minutes, with the score out of reach, Fordham head coach coach Jeff Neubauer decided to bring in the rest of his seniors. For guards Thomas Sanchez and Brenton Petty it would be their last time playing at Rose Hill Gym and Neubauer wanted them to have that moment. With a little over two minutes left, Tavares was subbed out and received a nice standing ovation from the crowd.

Jenkins finished with 14 points and freshman forward Sean Mobley scored 16 points for VCU. 

[irp posts=”584″ name=”Fordham Falls Short In Comeback Effort Against La Salle”]

It’s been a tough year for Neubauer, this is the most games he’s lost as a head coach. He talked about what his team feels mentally when they give up those long scoring runs.

“We cut into leads way too many times we want to remember,” said Neubauer. “So when it happens over and over within a season it really can be disheartening.”

Tavares finished his last home game with 10 points and three rebounds. For the senior, it’s been a great learning experience for him.

“Just the ups and downs,” said Tavares when asked what he’ll remember most about Fordham. “Sticking through it and just believing in myself. In the offseason I spent countless hours just getting better and better. I believe I shocked a lot of people this year.”

What’s Next

 Fordham now looks ahead to the Atlantic-10 tournament where they will be the 14th seed in Washington D.C., they’ll play 11th seeded George Washington.

 The A-10 tournament starts March 7th at the Capital One Arena.

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Fordham Falls Short In Comeback Effort Against La Salle

Baseline Perspective | Jeff Neubauer
Fordham Head Coach Jeff Neubauer (Image Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports0

Fordham’s woeful shooting in the first half put them in a big hole. At halftime they were down by 21 to La Salle while just shooting 27 percent from the field. Despite shooting over fifty percent in the second half Fordham lost to La Salle Saturday afternoon at Rose Hill Gym, 73-60.

In the first half, Fordham struggled on defense and on the boards. La Salle out-rebounded Fordham 27-11, eight of those rebounds came from sophomore guard Saul Phiri. For much of the first half, La Salle had a small lead until about the five minute mark where they went on an 11-0 run, led by Amar Stukes. The senior guard finished with 14 points in the first half. Senior center Tony Washington finished with eight points in the first half. The Rams managed only four points in the last eight minutes of the first half.

In the second half, La Salle held control of the game until the 13-minute mark when Fordham cut a 22-point lead down to 10. With the Rams trailing 53-31, senior guard Will Tavares and junior forward Slanina Prokop put together a 22-10 run. Tavares scored 11 points and Prokop added six points. Their second half surge came after both scored an abysmal three points in the first half. With 5:14 left to play and the score 63-53, the Rams looked ready to take over the game. But La Salle managed to pull away with the victory.

Four of La Salle’s starters were in double figures. Senior forward B.J. Johnson led the way with for the Explorers with 23 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. Stukes added 16 points. Washington had 14 points while  junior guard Pookie Powell also chipped in with 14 points.

Fordham has now lost four in a row and sits last in the conference with a 9-19 overall record, 4-12 in the conference. The Rams have two games left in the season and would like to finish strong.

When asked about the team’s struggles and how to cope with losing Fordham head coach Jeff Neubauer said, “I’ve never been apart of this, so I can’t refer back to some other experience. All I can do is tell my team is I’m not going away, I’m not quitting.”

March 3rd is Senior Day for Fordham at Rose Hill Gym. Coach Neubauer shared his thoughts about the day.

“It’s about the emotion the players feel,” Neubauer said. “It’s about the emotion they bring because as a coach you literally go through senior day every year. As a college basketball player you only get one senior day, you’re a senior only one time, so hopefully our team will bring a fighting spirit.”

Fordham’s next game is against George Washington at the Charles E. Smith Center Wednesday 7pm.

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Seton Hall Keeps Tournament Hopes Alive With Win Against DePaul

Baseline Perspective | Desi Rodriguez
Seton Hall forward Desi Rodriguez earlier this year.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Seton Hall won a tight game against Big East foes DePaul, 82-77 Sunday afternoon in Newark. The win pushed the Pirates to a .500 record in the conference and gave them an 18-9 overall record.  

Desi Rodriguez scored a career-high 33 points and Angel Delgado added 16 points with 19 rebounds for Seton Hall. 

The game was close in the first half until Rodriguez sparked a 10-0 run. The senior hit two three pointers in the run which helped the Pirates take a 31-23 advantage. The lead grew to 12 before DePaul went on a 10-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 38-36 at halftime. 

Delgado kept Seton Hall afloat in the first half with another double-double. The senior scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Delgado’s play energized the Pirates at a time where they struggled to get it going.  

Seton Hall barely shot over 30 percent from the field in the first half. But Delgado’s relentless hustle, diving for loose balls and extra effort on the boards helped give his team life. 

In the second half, Rodriguez caught fire by shooting 9 for 11 from the field and making all five of his free-throw attempts. Delgado kept his production up by grabbing eight rebounds and scoring six more points. 

As Seton Hall kept scoring so did DePaul, keeping the game within reach with the lead being no bigger than eight points. Marin Maric kept the Blue Demons in the game. The center shot eight of nine from the field and knocked down two three-pointers. 

In the final minute of the game Seton Hall looked poised to close the game with a win, but DePaul kept fighting and the Pirates found themselves in a tight game. Eli Cain made two free throws for the Blue Demons to cut the lead down to 77-71.  

Seton Hall freshman guard Jordan Walker missed two free throws, which kept the Pirates’ lead at 77-73.  DePaul’s Max Strus hit a huge three to trim the lead down to 79-77. Walker was at the line again, but this time made one out of two free throws. Cain’s missed layup led to Rodriguez closing out the game with two made free throws. 

After the game, Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard described the importance of Delgado’s leadership and why the team feeds off his energy. 

“He’s our emotional leader, Willard said. “He always has been, since day one when he stepped on campus.” 

Willard also confirmed Degado’s improved play and his feeling better after having knee problems. 

“The fact that he feels really good right now, he got back into playing basketball and playing the way he always plays.” 

What’s Next?

Seton Hall will look to get a win streak going against Providence Wednesday night at the Dunkin Donuts Center. 

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Fordham Shoots Their Way Into A Second Half Comeback Victory

 

Baseline Perspective | Ivan Raut
Fordham freshman guard Ivan Raut (Image credit: fordhamsports.com)

After being down as many as 17 points in the first half the Fordham Rams made an incredible come back in the second half to secure a 67-66 win over George Mason, at historic Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx.

Prokop Slanina and freshman Ivan Raut led the comeback by shooting 50% from the 3-point line in the second half. Will Tavares and Joseph Chartouny also contributed with each making a pair of threes in the second half.  

The game started slow for the Rams. In the first half they shot a poor 31 percent from the field and 18 percent from the 3-point line. In the middle of the first half the Rams gave up a 21-0 run which lasted 8 minutes. That run was led by George Mason’s junior guard Otis Livingston II who scored 8 points in that stretch. 

The Rams were killed on the glass, George Mason out rebounded Fordham 28-14 which helped give them a 10 point lead to close out the first half, 33-23. Despite Fordham’s struggles in scoring, junior forward Prokop Slanina led the team in scoring with 9 points while shooting a little under 40 percent.  

Rams Begin To Click In Second Half From Three

Within a few minutes into the second half Slanina started the three-point attack cutting George Mason’s 11 point lead down to eight. The next couple of threes came from senior guard Will Tavares and junior forward Joseph Chartouny, cut the lead down to one, at 47-48.  

In the six minute mark of the second half the Rams took the lead thanks to a critical 3-pointer from Raut making it 58-56. With the three-point surge coming along, the Rams looked more energized on defense and on the glass. Fordham pushed the lead to five, at 67-62, but George Mason’s freshman guard Ian Boyd hit 2 shots to cut the lead the down to one.

With 24 seconds to go, Tavares struggled down the stretch. He missed a jumper then turned over the ball, which led to a George Mason steal. The Patriots couldn’t convert that turnover into points cause of a missed layup by Javon Greene. Tavares got another chance to score thanks to a block by Joseph Chartouny and he was fouled. Unfortunately, Tavares missed the free throw and the Patriots got one more chance to win the game. Otis Livingston II, with three seconds left, heaved a long distance three that fell short and the Rams won 67-66.  

Fordham out rebounded George Mason in the second half 20-19. This was huge given that George Mason destroyed them 28-14 on the glass. The star of the night was forward Prokop Slanina. He was the team leader in points scoring 17 while getting 5 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals.  

Coach Jeff Neubauer said of Slanina, “He is the center of our universe, he is important. It’s like asking how important is the sun? The sun is pretty important in this world.”  

What’s Next?

The Rams will look to get revenge against Duquesne this Saturday at 12:00pm in A.J. Palumbo Center.