Image Courtesy Fordham Athletics
When Fordham and Davidson last squared off in January, the game was dictated largely by both teams’ prolific scorers. For Fordham this was Darius Quisenberry, who dropped a career high 36 points. For Davidson, Foster Loyer hit the go-ahead shot to give Davidson a 51-50 lead that they would never relinquish. Heading into their most recent Saturday afternoon matchup, both Quisenberry and Loyer were out with injury, allowing this game to take on a whole new identity.
Right from tipoff, it was clear that this game identity would be determined by it’s physicality, as Antrell Charlton and Michael Jones wrestled for the ball. As the first half went on, the post matchup consisting of Chuba Ohams and Abdou Tsimbila against Davidson’s Luka Brajkovic and Sam Mennenga really defined both teams offensive identities in the first, as both Fordham and Davidson struggled to find much from three.
After Josh Colon-Navarro opened scoring for Fordham with a left wing three, the Rams got very cold very quick. In the perfect mix of aggressive defensive pressure, fast ball movement, and consistent shooting, Davidson got off to a 14-3 run, going 6-10 from the field in this stretch. During this run, Fordham would miss 10 consecutive shots, failing to score for a few seconds shy of nine minutes. As Davidson continued to stretch their lead, the Rams panicked, and chucked up threes to try and close the gap. Fordham would go 0-6 in this span, including 0-4 from beyond the arc.
While Fordham maintained their patented defensive pressure against Davidson in this stretch, the Wildcats ability to snag offensive rebounds and drag out the length of each possession. Hyunjung Lee was a huge leader in this effort, with one of his offensive rebounds leading to an and-1 play that sent a wave of cheers through Belk Arena. Davidson would record a whopping 7 offensive rebounds in the first half, and finish the game with a total of 13.
However, after struggling to hit anything for nearly 10 minutes, two Kyle Rose three pointers, interspersed by some Chuba Ohams post moves, allowed Fordham to get within three points. After missing 10 consecutive shots, Fordham was 4-4 from the field in this stretch. After an Antrell Charlton jumper tied the game at 19, and Ohams put the Rams up 21-19, Fordham had completed an 18-5 swing. After some back and forth in the post between both teams, Davidson entered the break up 28-23. Ohams lead all scorers at halftime with 8 points.
In the second half, Fordham clearly struggled to carry their momentum from the first half, as Davidson continued to pile on offensive rebounds, and force turnovers on the Rams. By the under-12 timeout, Davidson was up 41-28. Fordham committed a total of 19 turnovers in the game.
For every good Fordham stretch in the second half, Davidson was able to disrupt. After a Chuba Ohams bucket, which was quickly followed by a steal, the Wildcats were able to draw a charge to prevent any sort of run from forming. Ohams would finish the game leading all Fordham scorers with 15 points, as both teams emptied their benches around the 4-minute mark, and both teams walked into a 66-45 Davidson victory.
The Wildcats improve their winning streak over Fordham to ten games, as well as 14-2 in conference play this year. The Rams fall to 6-9 in A-10 play, and will next take on UMass at home on Monday.
