If you thought it couldn’t get any worse for Fordham, well think again. A 66-52 loss against Saint Joseph’s felt much bigger after watching the game. All season long Fordham has lost games by a blowout or a close game, but not like this.
Image: Fordham University
Fordham controlled much of the first half and in the beginning of the second half they had a 16 point lead. Then right after that the wheels started falling off, the Hawks went on a 23-0 run, yea that’s right, 23-0. During that stretch the Rams missed 10 shots in a span of eight minutes. After that run Fordham never recovered and lost the game.
“In the second half I think they really exposed us in two ways,” head coach Jeff Neubauer said afterwards. “First all of their speed offense was good and they got some open three’s out of it, and then their effort to go offensively rebound in the second half was really impressive.”
In the second half you could see Saint Joseph’s turn up the intensity and use their length, which bothered Fordham in the paint and made the offense look inept. “Obviously we had a tough time scoring in the second half, they really applied their athleticism and made it difficult for us,” said Neubauer.
One coaching decision that I think should’ve happened was trying to play Antwon Portley, Jalen Cobb and Nick Honor together during St Joe’s 23-0 run. Although Ty Perry had a good first half, shooting 3-for-5 from three, Portley is the better overall scorer. Perry may be a bigger body and a better defender, but at a time where you need to stop the bleeding you could’ve ended the run sooner with Portley out there. Oddly enough it was Perry who ended the run with a three, but then went cold the rest of the game.
Fordham stays at the bottom of the Atlantic 10 conference and has to be kicking themselves.
To lose a game like this is back breaking. Especially for a season that was already going downhill, now this just adds insult to injury. The best they can do is move up one spot out 14th if they tie with UMass. Thanks to a win against UMass they own the tie breaker. Let’s hope Fordham can end the season on a positive note and gain some confidence for next year.
