Photo by Hunter Hensel
On Tuesday Afternoon in Brooklyn, Davidson led Fordham 27-19 at halftime. This had been a familiar feeling for the Wildcats, as they had led at the half in their first meeting with the Rams in a 79-69 win at Rose Hill. While they trailed by 1 at the break in their late February rematch in North Carolina, Davidson would end up sweeping the regular season series in a 68-53 win. However, while the Wildcats beat Fordham on the road at the line, and at home from the field, the Rams provided little opportunity for both in the opening game of this year’s Atlantic 10 Championship.
According to Wildcats Head Coach Matt McKillop, this was thanks in large part to Fordham’s change-ups in their defensive schemes.
“That first game [in January], they played a defense which they have played since this [current Fordham] staff has been on board,” McKillop explained. “It gives you a lot of space to drive, especially [for] our big men, and when you drive into space, there’s a chance a collision can happen.”
While there were plenty of down-low collisions in the first, as Davidson and Fordham recorded 14 and 10 in the paint respectively, just 7 fouls apiece prevented the Wildcats from getting a big advantage from the line.
Instead, inside drives were met with quick hands from defenders to strip the ball or get a block, with rare success coming from big men like Fordham’s Abdou Tsimbila. The 6-9 Senior forward scored the opening basket for the Rams, spinning off Davidson’s Sean Logan down low to get open for an assist from Kyle Rose.
Defensively, the Rams man-to-man scheme shut down lanes to the basket that had the Wildcats had taken advantage of in previous meetings. Without space to drive, Davidson ball-handlers were given just as much trouble on the arc from defenders such as Antrell Charlton, who led the charge in forcing an early shot clock violation on the Wildcats. Davidson would not score their first field goal until the 16:20 mark of the first half.
Despite Fordham’s defensive poise, Davidson made it just as tough to score. 7-31 from the field in the first half, 1-11 from three, any Fordham buckets that got through the Wildcats were quickly met with a response on the other end. When Josh Rivera drove inside to bring Fordham within 5-4, Hunter Adam got a close bucket off a quick toss from Angelo Brizzi. After a put-back shot from Romad Dean tied the game at 7, Davidson’s Reed Bailey drove in from the right wing for a hook shot to put the Wildcats back up by 2.
The biggest difference maker in the first half was three pointers. Despite the back and forth nature in terms of made overall shots, the Wildcats 3-to-1 advantage over Fordham in made threes early on allowed Davidson to enter the break with an 8-point lead. Davidson’s Connor Kochera was the biggest early threat for Fordham from the field, entering the half with 12 points and 2 made three pointers.
However, Coach Urgo was not ready to let a few clutch Davidson shots overshadow what he described as “fantastic” Fordham defense.
“We only gave up 27 points in the first half, and a few of those came actually late,” Coach Urgo described. “Obviously you shouldn’t do that, but I thought our defense was absolutely fantastic. These guys were connected. They were talking the entire time.”
According to Urgo, letting a few deep shots from Davidson was dismissible, as long as Fordham kept the Wildcats from gaining a big advantage in the paint. In the first half, Davidson outscored Fordham 18-14 down low.
As the second half opened, Kochera continued his hot streak from the field, scoring 6 points in the first 5 minutes of the period to bring his total up to 18. Davidson would hit their highest lead of the game just after the under-16 media timeout on a Grant Huffman layup, putting the ‘Cats up 37-24 with 14:49 remaining in regulation. While Fordham’s Will Richardson would find two looks from three to cut into the lead, the Rams still trailed 11 at the under-12.
However, Richardson’s offensive spark quickly caught on for the Rams, as they broke out into an 11-5 run over the next 4 minutes to bring the gap back within 5. After shooting just 9% from the beyond the arc (1-11) in the first half, Fordham would hit 4 of their 10 3-point attempts in the second.
Richardson, who had 14 points at the end of regulation, felt that the encouragement he’s had from his team all season, as well as the survive and advance environment of the A-10 tournament, motivated his performance from the field.
“All season, my teammates and my coaches [have] had the utmost confidence in me,” Richardson explained. “[Even while] knowing I haven’t had the best season, I haven’t been playing my best, [they] just keep encouraging me and giving me the confidence to be the best I can be.”
Big plays from several other Rams complimented Richardson’s poise from three. Abdou Tsimbila brought the Rams within 4 late, spinning and winning under the basket to bring the score to 50-46. Drawing contact on a coast-to-coast drive, Japhet Medor hit two big free throws to bring the Rams within 52-50.
However, despite all the Rams best efforts, Huffman, Kochera, and company found ways to stay on top, losing the lead several times in the final minutes, but never trailing.
Down 61-59 with 23 seconds remaining, Fordham regained possession via a rebound off of a missed Reed Bailey free throw. Taking their time on the offensive end to set up a play, Will Richardson drove in from the right side before kicking back out to Antrell Charlton. Waiting on the left wing was senior guard Kyle Rose. After a quick dribble, Charlton dishes left to Rose who drives inside, takes one hop, and lays lobs in a layup to tie the game at 61 apiece with 2 seconds remaining.
Despite the impressive comeback, Fordham did not take long to celebrate forcing OT, as they opened the extra period with 7 consecutive points via a 3 from Charlton, a second-chance layup from Abdou Tsimbila, and a transition layup from Will Richardson. After Davidson called a timeout to regain their senses, Fordham would slow the game down tremendously, drawing out their offensive possessions and risking held ball/shot clock turnovers to give Davidson little time to respond.
“That’s one of the defenses we use to slow things down,” Richardson explained. “My coaches gave us that game plane going into overtime, trying to slow their offense down. They run a fast-paced offense.”
Davidson would score just 2 points in overtime, allowing Fordham to come away with a 71-63 victory. Richardson finished the day with 19 points, his season high.
Tuesday’s win against Davidson marks the third consecutive opening game win for Fordham in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. In 2022, the Rams took down George Mason on day 2, while in 2023, they clinched a spot in the semifinals with a win over La Salle in the quarterfinals.
“Obviously, it’s a good feeling. We don’t want to be finished,” Urgo said. “We haven’t had, certainly, the season that we had all hoped for as far as wins and losses, but the bottom line is everybody’s 0-0 right now.”
Fordham continues their Atlantic 10 Tournament run on Wednesday, when they take on 5-seed VCU.
