On Wednesday night in the Bronx, the Fordham Rams, still looking for their first Atlantic 10 win of the season, tipped off against the George Mason Patriots. Once again, injuries plagued the Rams lineup, forcing Fordham to once again play without Christian Henry, Roor Akhuar, Abass Bodija, and Ryan Pettis. Despite the short rotation, Fordham held their own early with a large starting lineup that included Jack Whitbourn (in his first start for Fordham), Rikus Schulte, and Akira Jacobs in the frontcourt alongside guards Marcus Greene and Dey Dey Reaves.
The Rams kept pace with the 14-1 Patriots early in a defensive battle, taking nearly two minutes to score the first bucket of the game on a Jack Whitbourn layup assisted by Dey Dey Reaves. Reaves, who scored 7 points of his own off 3-8 shooting in the first half, also led a strong defensive effort for the Rams in the period.
Ahead of the under-12, Mason G Fatt Hall tried going for a coast-to-coast layup in transition. Chasing Hall down on the right side, Reaves leapt through the air to swat the attempt out of bounds. Reaves finished the half with 2 blocks. As a team, Fordham recorded 11 points off 8 Mason turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Most notably, Fordham locked Mason down from three-point range (0-7) in the first half. According to Mason coach Tony Skinn, a few bad early looks from three zapped the Patriots’ effectiveness from beyond the arc.
“I think we took three or four bad shots, which takes you out of your rhythm,” Skinn said after the game. “And it takes away your confidence and [takes away] knowing when the right one [to shoot] is.”
Fordham was slow to start from three as well. Kingston Price hit the first three-pointer of the game for either team to put Fordham up 13-11 with 8:56 to go in the first half.
Fordham entered the break up 28-23.
Despite a solid first half, Fordham’s injury-shortened rotation slowed down just enough to open the door for a Mason run. Riley Allenspach, held to just one point in the first half, barreled through the paint in the second for 6 quick points by the under-16. Allenspach made a free throw out of the timeout to bring Mason within a point and jammed home a big dunk in transition to give the Patriots a 36-35 lead a few possessions later.
According to Skinn, Mason was fully prepared to take advantage of a potentially fatigued Fordham in the second half, especially at the line.
“That was the game plan,” Skinn said regarding putting Fordham in foul trouble. “Once I saw the injury report and just saw the guys that were out, you know, we wanted to be intentional.”
Mason shot 13-18 from the free throw line in the second half. According to Rams coach Mike Magpayo, the threat of foul trouble contributed to Fordham easing up in the defensive paint.
“He [Rikus Schulte] got a little nervous there when he got his third foul,” Magpayo said. “He just needs to keep playing through it, because then they were getting paint scores.”
Overall, Mason outscored Fordham 40-26 in the paint en route to a 67-58 win. Riley Allenspach led all scorers with 18 points, while Dey Dey Reaves led all Rams with 16.
Despite keeping it close without several key contributors against a tough Mason team, Magpayo emphasized that his team is not looking for moral victories. With students back on campus for Fordham’s game against Duquesne on the 17th, Magpayo hopes for a more favorable home environment.
“If you get anybody in the Rose Hill Gym, they’ll feel it,” Magpayo said. “But we’ve got to give them something to cheer for.”
Fordham plays the first of a 2-game road trip today against St. Bonaventure. They will then travel to Saint Louis on Wednesday before heading back to the Bronx to play Duquesne.
