BRONX, NY — The Davidson Wildcats scratched, clawed, and ultimately, roared their way to a 79-69 victory over the Fordham Rams this past Wednesday night at the one-and-only Rose Hill Gymnasium, known by many as a College Basketball cathedral.
On the grand scheme, you could label this one: an Atlantic-10 conference ‘rock fight’ from the opening tip, as both squads combined for 24 turnovers, and 53 free throw attempts (34 for Davidson, 19 for Fordham) — to go along with shooting 46-123 from the field, which ranges out to just over 37%. Yikes!
“An absolute battle, and that’s what you get when you play against Fordham,” said Davidson head coach Matt McKillop after the win, the Wildcats’ first in A-10 conference play this season. “It was tooth and nail. It was loose balls. It was rebounds. It was physicality.”
Rams senior guard Kyle Rose takes contact in the paint during first half of Davidson vs. Fordham on Wednesday January 17th. The Maryland native, finished with an all-around stat-line of eight points, six boards, four assists, and four steals – Image Credit: Fordham Men’s Basketball
Fordham head coach Keith Urgo had similar thoughts about the physicality, and went into detail on the intensity of A-10 conference play, stating: “We got a lot of young guys that are learning what it takes to win in the Atlantic-10. And every single day, every single night, it’s a battle. Tough, nasty, and physical. We’re starting to learn that, and our guys are starting to understand what it takes. Slowly, but surely, they’re all getting better.”
(To clarify, nine out of the 17 players listed on Fordham’s 2023-2024 team-roster are either redshirt freshmen, freshmen, or sophomores).
Nevertheless, despite the off-shooting night from both sides, Davidson succeeded to have three players finish with double digits in the scoring column — sophomore forward Reed Bailey, and senior guard Grant Huffman, each with 24 points, while their senior teammate Connor Kochera, compiled 18 of his own with four boards, two assists and four steals. Fordham sophomore guard Will Richardson, led the way for the Rams with a team-high of 16 points, including a clutch three-point make prior to halftime.
Wednesday’s loss marked Will Richardson’s 10th game of the season with 10 or more points – Image Credit: Fordham Men’s Basketball
“He’s incredibly talented,” McKillop said about the dynamic Teaneck, New Jersey native. “He (Richardson) made that big, big shot for them in the first half, when we had a little bit of a lead. They scored, got a stop and then he hit a transition three. And it was not a shot that many people can make.”
McKillop then added: “I know he was highly recruited. You see some of the schools that he was looking at and visiting” — (Vanderbilt University, University of Maryland, Xavier University, & Stanford University, among others).
“Clearly, they did a great job here at Fordham to recruit him to stay home, and play close.”
Outside of Richardson, Rams sophomore center Elijah Gray, stamped his mark on the affair tallying 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks — marking the first double-double in his young College Hoops career.
Final media timeout of regulation.
Rams trail by three, 59-56. pic.twitter.com/6gOFDjeP8A
— Fordham Basketball (@FordhamMBB) January 18, 2024
“He’s improved in pretty much every facet of his game,” Urgo said when asked about Gray’s performance. “He’s got a tremendous amount of trust in us, and his teammates. I’m really proud of how he’s been working on both ends of the floor. He’s just scratching the surface.”
Latin Night at Rose Hill
As the Rams celebrated Latin Night on Wednesday evening — by honoring New York and the Bronx’s lively Latino culture, Rose Hill Gym experienced its most populated crowd of the 2023-2024 season with approximately 1,895 fans in attendance.
Davidson vs. Fordham on Wednesday January 17th at Rose Hill Gym (Latin Night) – Image Credit: Latino Sports
For the celebratory Latin Night, the first 200 students received free tacos, while the first 300 were given free white rally towels. Additionally, before and after each team/media timeout, a shuffling of Latin music consistently reigned through Rose Hill’s speakers. And during timeouts, Fordham’s scoreboards displayed trivia questions for fans to answer, relating to Latino culture and its rich history.
All in all; a fiesta, and a win for Fordham Athletics.
When asked about the significance of Fordham providing special game events such as Latin Night for fans, and the local community, Urgo said: “It’s everything, I mean obviously when you’re trying to build something really special for a long period of time — the fanbase is crucial and we need more. I’ll be real with you, we need more. Tonight was great, but we need more.”
Keith Urgo praised the Rams fanbase for bringing the energy against Davidson: “I want to thank everybody for coming out, great student section for the most part… It was definitely one of the bigger crowds that we had this year, which was great.” – Image Credit: Fordham Men’s Basketball
What’s Next for Davidson and Fordham?
Davidson (11-6 overall, 1-3 in Atlantic-10 play)
The Wildcats take on the Richmond Spiders (12-5 overall, 4-0 in A-10 conference play) this coming Saturday January 20th at the Baker Sports Complex located in Davidson, North Carolina — tip-off scheduled for 4:00 pm ET with the television broadcast available on ESPN+.
Fordham (8-9 overall, 2-2 in Atlantic-10 play)
On Saturday afternoon (1/20), the Rams will host the Loyola Chicago Ramblers (12-6 overall, 4-1 in A-10 conference play) at Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx, NY — tip-off set for 1:00 pm ET with the television broadcast available on ESPN+/radio coverage on WFUV (90.7 FM).
Robert Rizzo is a journalist and editor of Latino Sports – Email: RobertRiz994@gmail.com
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