
Washington D.C. – At Capital One Arena, the Rams took down #9 George Mason by a final of 54-49. Fordham showed their scrappiness throughout the 2nd half by overcoming an 11-point deficit. Chuba Ohams (20 points) and Antrell Charlton (11 points) were the two men down the wire to get the job done for the Rams. Fordham advances to the A-10 tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2007.
Fordham entered the game as a 5.5-point underdog. George Mason was getting all they wanted in the 1st half. Down 22-19 at halftime, Fordham proved yet again that no lead is set in stone against them. The grit-and-grind mindset of the Rams shows to intensify as games progress.
From the Bronx, Chuba Ohams continues to showcase himself as one of the best forwards across the NCAA. He now has 21 double-doubles in his last 28 games. On Thursday, Ohams shot 7-20 from the field and totaled 16 boards with 2 steals. Ohams finished the regular season as the A-10 leader in rebounds (11.5 rebounds per game)
Ohams took part in the postgame interview conference. He went into depth on the second half defensive adjustments and how head coach Kyle Neptune delivered the schemes to the squad: “He told us, we’re playing too comfortable. That could have been our last game. Thank god we have another game. So he reiterated to us that we weren’t playing like we wanted. At the end of the day, whatever happens, we want to look each other in the eyes and say we played hard on the defensive end.”

📸 Photo Credit: Robert Rizzo/Latino Sports
Sophomore Antrell Charlton had it going all game. He completed Fordhams first bucket of the game. Along with his 11 points, he finished with 5 assists and 7 rebounds. Charlton fits the type of player every college basketball team would love to have on their roster. The hustle plays are what makes him special. He’s always moving and diving for possessions.
A key factor for the Rams in this matchup was freshman forward, Zach Riley. He added a boost, coming off the bench with 6 points and perfect shooting from the field+free throw line (5-5 combined). With 8:46 left, Riley was fouled on a 3-point attempt and went to the line. The pressure did not phase Riley, as he made all three to tie the game, 37-37.
With full out performances from Josh Oduro (11 points), Ronald Polite III (10 points), and DeVon Cooper (9 points) the Patriots battled it out every second of the contest, but ultimately fell short. The game of Josh Oduro can not go unmentioned. This athlete can do it all. Oduro is an elite two-way type of player who includes elite skill sets on both sides of the floor. He is the leading scorer across the A-10 conference this regular season (18 points per game). In the 2nd half of the matchup, he completed a 6-0 scoring run of his own while making it look easy. He added to his day with 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and two steals.
Ohams discussed what it’s like going up against an elite player like Josh Oduro. “Really good player. Going into this game, we basically said I’m going to guard him straight up and help when it’s needed. Help whenever, we get a chance. Basically, we just had to stay with the scouting report and trust what the coaches tell us.”
Fordham will play tomorrow Friday March 11th at noon against the #1 seed: Davidson. With a 25-5 regular season record, the Wildcats have proved they are supreme in all tendencies of the game. They finished within the top 4 in the A-10 for both offensive and defensive scoring. However, Fordham remains gaining momentum game by game, especially in the defensive interior. The Rams are not scared to get after it.
Robert Rizzo Social Media
Instagram: @Rrizzo4
Twitter: @drizzyrizz
