Category: Atlantic 10

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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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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.  

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Give VCU Some Time, They’ll Figure It Out

Baseline Perspective | VCU
VCU senior guard Jonathan Williams (10) goes up to take a shot past Seton Hall. (Image credit: AP Photo/Mel Evans)

VCU had one more chance to secure a quality nonconference win with their visit Saturday to Newark, New Jersey. The Rams were winless in four games which could have been resume-builders, their 90-67 loss to Seton Hall extended that streak to five.   Continue reading “Give VCU Some Time, They’ll Figure It Out”

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Three Takeaways From Seton Hall’s Win Over VCU

Baseline Perspective | Seton Hall
Seton Hall senior guard Khadeen Carrington (Image Credit: The Associated Press)

Seton Hall continued their strong start to the season with statement win over VCU. The opening game of the 2017 Never Forget Tribute Classic was a forgettable one for VCU. On a snowy Saturday, here are my three takeaways from press row at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey: Continue reading “Three Takeaways From Seton Hall’s Win Over VCU”

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Offense Remains The Question For Fordham

Baseline Perspective | Fordham
Fordham junior guard Joseph Chartouny (Image Credit: Fordham EDU)

If there’s anything to take from watching Fordham lose their season opener to Miami (Oh) it’s they’re still a team in search of consistent offense.  

The defense is still a strength for this team. Third-year head coach Jeff Neubauer does a good job with making sure the Rams play hard on every play.  

But the problem area for Fordham this year came up late in Friday night’s loss to Miami (Oh). When the defense struggles to get stops, where will the offense come from on this team? 

Fordham had a 54-48 lead with 2:20 left in the game, that’s the time when you’re supposed to put your opponent away. Instead, while the Red Hawks were coming alive on offense, the Rams missed their last three shots.  

Miami (Oh) went on a 7-0 run to escape Rose Hill with a 55-54 win over the Rams. It’s a frustrating beginning to a new season for Neubauer. 

In the offseason, the Rams lost graduate transfers Christian Sengfelder (Boise St.) and Antwoine Anderson (UConn). They played key offensive roles for Fordham during their time there.  

Junior guard Joeseph Chartouny is back for Fordham, they’re going to need his scoring just as much as his leadership. 

Chartouny was aggressive in looking to get to the basket against Miami (Oh). He’s an excellent defender, but Neubauer will need more from him and Will Tavares to keep the Rams in ballgames.  

Neubauer has brought a sense of stability to which was missing before he arrived on campus. He’s no-nonsense when it comes to teaching the fundamentals to his players. But he’s also aware this is still very much a process with getting the program out of the lower tier of the conference. 

In order to take that next step, Fordham has to get more from their offense. That’ll be their challenge this season.