Fordham’s second-half struggles continued last Wednesday night. On the road against Davidson, Fordham could not hold on to a 4-point halftime lead, eventually falling to the Wildcats, 68–63. As familiar issues plague the Rams, now 1-6 in conference play, how can they make the necessary adjustments for a strong February and beyond?
Where Fordham Excelled
Heading into last week’s game, the Rams were cognizant of both their struggles from beyond the arc, as well Davidson’s ability to defend the three at a high level. Because of this, Fordham practically avoided shooting threes all game, finishing with a season-low 12 attempts from deep. Of those 12 threes, the Rams made 5. Offensively, Fordham made their home in the paint, scoring 8 points off of 6 offensive boards and outscoring the Wildcats 38-36 down low.
“That’s who we are as a team,” Magpayo said in a phone interview Thursday. “That’s what we’ve got; our size. So we tried to exploit that and [we] did a pretty good job attacking the paint…getting penetration.”
Fordham’s two main big men, Rikus Schulte and Jack Whitbourn, combined for 17 points and 11 rebounds.
In the frontcourt, Dae Dae Reaves put on another strong performance, making it work from practically everywhere within the arc and frequently splitting defenders before making powerful drives to the basket. In the second half, Fordham stretched their lead up to 9 points, but Davidson made a push midway through the half to lead 43-42 by the under-8 media timeout (more on that shortly). Down 2 with 5 minutes to play, Schulte set a screen at the top of the key for Reaves. With an open lane, Reaves barreled towards the hoop, bouncing off Davidson’s Josh Scovens and laying it in to tie the game at 48.
“They’re [opponents] bringing three or four defenders around him,” Magpayo said of Reaves. “We had a plan to put him in different spaces, and that’s what’s been going on over the last month or so. He’s really getting comfortable in those spaces.”
Reaves finished the game with 22 points off 9-14 shooting from the field. Defensively, he recorded 2 steals.
Where Fordham Gave Davidson an Edge
Although Fordham got out to a decent start in the second half to extend their lead, the signs of a potential Davidson comeback were present. By the under-16 media timeout, Fordham led 39-31, but had already committed 4 turnovers in the period. The Rams struggled especially on baseline inbound plays, leading to several turnovers that Coach Magpayo described as “pick-sixes.” In total, Davidson scored 22 points off of 18 Fordham turnovers.
Despite Abass Bodija and Christian Henry back in the lineup for Fordham in recent games, stamina remains a problem for the Rams. Magpayo took some blame for how he has managed the rotation.
“We played our two guard [Reaves and Henry] 36-plus minutes,” Magpayo said. “And that’s a little on me. I’ve got to trust some of our backup perimeter guys to help us.”
Henry, Reaves, and Akira Jacobs dominated court time for the Rams against Davidson with 37, 36, and 34 minutes, respectively.
Looking Ahead
Following the loss, Fordham got a rare weekend without a game before they host La Salle on Wednesday. Before taking on the Explorers, Coach Magpayo hoped to run his team through some good practices on Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday.
Josh Scovens’ 1,000th Point
For Davidson, Wednesday’s win not only marked a major comeback for the ‘Cats, but also a major milestone for junior guard Josh Scovens. With 48 seconds left to play, Scovens hit a spinning hook shot over Rikus Schulte to score his 1,000th and 1,001st career points.
“We did a great job guarding the three, but we weren’t able to keep him under 19 points,” Magpayo said. “He was a big-time factor [in Davidson’s win].”
Scovens finished with 19 points and 3 steals for the Wildcats.
