NEW YORK, NY — “I hope this is an annual thing where we can play Fordham every year in The Garden,” said St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino minutes after the Red Storm defeated the Rams by a final score of 77-55 this past Saturday afternoon at The Mecca — Madison Square Garden.
“It’s great for Fordham. It’s great for us.”
The thrilling New York City College Basketball showdown, marked one-of-three contests on the day for the 2023 Holiday Festival at MSG — first was a noon tip-off between Penn State and Georgia Tech, which was followed up by Fordham vs. St. John’s at 3:30pm ET. Then, to headline the night-cap, a Women’s College Basketball clashing of Villanova and the Red Storm — making for a splendid triple-header of College Hoops at the World’s Most Famous Arena.
Rams’ Abdou Tsimbila collects the rebound and attempts the put back in the paint. Fordham Men’s Basketball head coach Keith Urgo in top right corner of photo – Image Credit: Fordham Men’s Basketball
“It’s an incredible experience. It’s a dream come true,” Fordham’s second-year head coach Keith Urgo said about coaching at The Garden.
“To head coach at any point, that’s obviously a dream come true, but it’s obviously a dream come true to coach in the World’s Greatest Arena. Our fans came out to support (today). They’ve been great over the course of the last couple of years, and we need to continue that.”
On the other side, Pitino, 71, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach, who has experienced countless amounts of dream-like scenarios for College Basketball coaches throughout his illustrious career, had massive praises for Urgo and what the 43-year-old has instilled within his first two-years as the head coach at Rose Hill.
Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino and Joel Soriano during the first half of Fordham vs. St. John’s in the 2023 Holiday Festival at MSG – Image Credit: Latino Sports
“Look, we have tremendous respect for Fordham,” said Pitino. “Their coach, and he’s a young coach — is one of the outstanding coaches around. He changes a lot of defenses, and keeps you focusing on what you have to do. Excellent, excellent strategist. He’s terrific.”
Now, on the hardwood, senior center Joel Soriano, led the way for the Johnnies, securing 20 points and 10 rebounds, which marked his sixth double-double on the season and 45th in his five-year collegiate career. The Yonkers, NY native, listed at 6’11” and 260 pounds, played two seasons in The Bronx with Fordham (2019-2020), and then the last three in Queens with St. John’s (2021-2023/24). Additionally, Soriano is a product of Archbishop Stepinac High School located in White Plains, NY — a New Yorker through and through…
Joel Soriano was dominant all game in St. John’s win over Fordham at MSG – Image Credit: St. John’s Men’s Basketball
“We wanted to work on the little things today,” Soriano said, emphasizing how the team must remain focused on the defensive side of the floor for all 40 minutes to be successful in the Big East Conference.
“Especially because we have a big game coming up against Xavier, going right into Big East play [Wednesday, December 20th – St. John’s Big East Conference regular season opener]. So we wanted to take a big step as a team today.”
For the Rams, in 24 minutes of play, sophomore forward Joshua Rivera scored a team-high of 15 points with nine coming from the free throw line. Rivera, who is out of Old Bridge, New Jersey, spent his High School (+ prep basketball) playing days at Roselle Catholic, St. Thomas Aquinas, and lastly, Putnam Science Academy.
Joshua Rivera setting a tone for the Rams in his sophomore season, and first at Rose Hill – Image Credit: Fordham Men’s Basketball
He transferred to Fordham from Lafayette University following his freshman year, and has already made his presence felt on the program — his 15 points in Saturday’s loss marked his career-high in a Fordham uniform, as well as the most free-throws made for him this season (9-10 FT).
“Everybody who’s been following us knows he’s been struggling (from the line), but he’s been working so hard on that all day, every day,” Coach Urgo stated. “He’s been putting a lot of energy and effort into that, which paid off today.”
Rams forward Joshua Rivera in 2023 NABC Brooklyn Showcase against North Texas at the Barclays Center – Image Credit: Fordham Men’s Basketball
Latino-Ties on Both Sides
Fordham: Rivera is of Puerto Rican heritage, and had the opportunity to represent his family’s homeland by playing for the Puerto Rico National Team this past August in the Bahamas. He also played for the U16 Puerto Rican National Team in the Americas Championship, which took place in 2019 in Brazil.
St. John’s: Throughout his basketball upbringing, Soriano, who is of Dominican heritage, was selected and invited to participate in multiple levels of the Dominican Republic’s National Basketball system — one example was during the 2018 FIBA U18 Americas Championship, where he averaged 8.7 points per game, and 5.3 rebounds per game.
In the MSG Holiday Festival, St. Johns defeated Fordham by a final score of 77-55 🎄🏀
Joel Soriano led the Red Storm with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win as the Rams’ top scorer was Joshua Rivera, dropping 15 points @StJohnsBBall | @FordhamMBB | #LatinoSports pic.twitter.com/zV704a9rws
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) December 16, 2023
Behind The Matchup: Fordham (5-6) vs. St. John’s (7-3)
-Saturday’s Holiday Festival at MSG marked the 90th meeting between Fordham and St. John’s — the Rams’ second-most against any opponent in program history, only behind Manhattan (115 games)
-The Red Storm lead the all-time series with a record of 68 wins and 22 losses
-This was the first time that the Rams and the Red Storm faced off since December 5, 2021 (St. John’s W 83-69)
-Fordham’s most recent win over St. John’s came on December 2, 2015 (Rams W 73-57)
Robert Rizzo is a journalist and editor of Latino Sports – Email: RobertRiz994@gmail.com
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