Cover Image by Hunter Hensel
On Wednesday afternoon, the Fordham Rams entered the 2025 Atlantic 10 Tournament on an eight-game losing streak, the eighth of which coming from their first round opponent Rhode Island on March 8th. For Fordham, the recipe to snap this streak was simple; get back to your defensive roots, manage the fouls, and don’t turn the ball over.
While a turnover on Fordham’s opening possession put URI’s Jaden House on the free throw line, the Bronx-based Rams quickly established their footing en route to a strong first half. After House hit both free throws to give Rhody an early 2-0 advantage, Fordham’s star guards Jackie Johnson and Japhet Medor hit two consecutive jumpers to give the Maroon and White a 4-2 lead that they would never relinquish.
Johnson and Medor’s opening shots set the tone for Fordham’s offense in the first half. Soon after taking the early lead, Johnson hit a tough contested three from the right wing to put Fordham up 8-4. A few possessions later, Japhet Medor would draw contact on a shot from the top of the arc, hitting all three foul shots to keep the Rams up 13-8. By the under-16 media timeout, Johnson had already recorded 8 points. For Johnson, the win-or-go-home nature of these tournament games helped elevate his performance against Rhody.
“For me, we ain’t trying to go home,” Johnson said postgame. “That’s it.”
While Rhody scorers such as Sebastian Thomas and Jaden House kept pace with Fordham in the opening minutes, Fordham’s physicality on both ends of the floor allowed them to quickly extend their lead into double digits. On defense, Fordham frequently crowded the paint on Rhody misses to limit the Kingston-based Rams to just 2 second chance points off 6 offensive rebounds in the first half. On offense, Fordham excelled at drawing contact, shooting 16-17 from the free throw line in the period. Rhody shot 9-14 from the line in the same stretch of time. When Fordham hit the single bonus with 9:15 left in the first half, they had only committed 3 fouls themselves. According to Johnson, Fordham’s foul struggles in their last game against Rhode Island forced them to focus on cleaner play in the postseason.
“That’s something Coach [Urgo] always preaches; playing hard, playing smart,” Johnson said. “The last time we played them this past Saturday, we fouled them a lot. We continued to foul. [Today,] we just wanted to come out, execute the game plan, pack it in, and live with the results.”
By the under-8 media timeout, Fordham had doubled up Rhody 33-16. Aside from Medor and Johnson, fellow Fordham starter Romad Dean had a strong half from the line, going 5-5 from the stripe en route to 8 first half points. Jahmere Tripp, while not recording a field goal in the first, still made the most of his first start since January, recording 4 rebounds and an assist before halftime. When asked about the decision to start Tripp, Coach Urgo explained that it was a suggestion from senior guard Zach Riley, who felt that Tripp would give Fordham a size advantage on the offensive end.
“He’s [Tripp] actually been playing his best basketball in the last five or six game,” Urgo said. “Zach came in and said ‘look, I’m a captain. This is my final year. I just want to go on a run. I’ll do whatever it takes. I think Jahmere might have earned the right to start.’”
Riley, who has started 14 games for Fordham this season, has frequently worked with Coach Urgo on shuffling around the starting lineup.
Despite a 21-16 Rhody run to close out the half, Fordham still lead 49-37 at the break. Johnson and Medor were responsible for 35 of Fordham’s 49 first half points. Via Fordham Athletics, Fordham’s 49 points were the most they’ve scored in the first half against a Division I opponent all season (56 vs. Division II Georgian Court).
Rhody continued their run in the opening minutes of the second half, getting back within 9 at the under-16 timeout. With a few double teams, forced turnovers, and clutch buckets from Sebastian Thomas, Rhody was able to get back to within 6 with 15:02 left to play. However, when Thomas headed to the bench with 4 personal fouls, Fordham quickly took advantage of his absence to get back up by double digits.
While Johnson, Medor, and Dean continued to get off big shots to close out the second half, it was Fordham’s defense that really put this one away. Fordham held Rhody without a field goal in the final 8 minutes and 9 seconds of the half. All 12 of Rhody’s points in the last 8 minutes came at the line. For Coach Urgo, the final 8 minutes of play exemplified the exact style of play that Fordham has tried to execute all season.
“For us, it’s just [about] attitude, attitude, attitude,” Urgo said. “That means don’t compound the problem. If you make a mistake, get over it in the next two to three seconds. Whether or not it’s a turnover, a missed free throw, a missed blockout–move on to the next play. Do not compound one into two. We did a much better job of that today than we have in the last several weeks.”
Johnson, with 29 points, and Medor, with 26, led all scorers in the 88-71 win for Fordham. House led all URI scorers with 19.
Via Fordham athletics, Fordham is now the first 15-seed to win a game in the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship. Given UMass’ departure at the end of this season, they will likely remain the last 15-seed to do so for the foreseeable future.
This win marks Fordham’s first since February 5th (also against Rhode Island), as well as their 4th straight win in their first game of the A10 Tournament going back to 2022. With the win, Keith Urgo becomes the 10th head coach in Fordham History to record at least 50 career wins.
In the second round, Fordham will face the 7-seed George Washington Revolutionaries, a team that beat Fordham at Rose Hill Gym by 23 points just a week earlier. In the postgame presser, Coach Urgo talked about the upcoming matchup.
“They present a lot of challenges for us,” Urgo explained. “We’ve got to be really connected on the defensive end. [I’m] looking forward to getting another chance [at playing GW], and I think these guys are, too. We weren’t ourselves in that game [on 3/5].”
Coach Urgo highlighted half court defense as a key area of focus for beating GW.
Fordham will tip off against GW on Thursday at 5 PM EST.
