BRONX, N.Y. – In a defensive battle at Rose Hill Gymnasium, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team was edged 53-50 by Fordham on Wednesday night.
The Knights (1-2) had their chances down the stretch including a game-tying, three-point attempt by
Jahlil Jenkins, which rimmed out as time expired.
Jenkins, who recorded career assist number 300 in the loss, finished with eight points, three rebounds and two assists. The two teams struggled from three-point range as the Knights made 1-of-14 and the Rams converted 5-of-20 from deep. Overall, the Knights shot 36 percent, while the Rams (2-0) made 35.7 percent of their shots.
The Burgundy and Blue forced 13 turnovers and outrebounded the Rams 39-34 in the contest but were hampered by 20 miscues including a pair inside the final 90 seconds.
Senior forward
Kaleb Bishop led the Knights with 15 points and seven rebounds, while junior forward
Elyjah Williams added 11 points and six rebounds. Sophomore guard
Brandon Powell corralled a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with three assists in the loss.
Fordham also logged two players in double figures with Onyi Eyisi scoring 13 points and Chuba Ohams adding 11.
"I am very proud of our defensive grit tonight – we held an Atlantic 10 team to 53 points in their building," said
Greg Herenda after the game. "Our offense was a completely different story. We did not take care of the ball and we just could not make a three the entire night. Give Fordham credit, they are a tough team that guarded us very well for 40 minutes."
The Knights immediately established an interior presence as their first 12 points came from inside the paint. Williams netted eight of the Knights' first 14 and the Burgundy and Blue led by four at the first media timeout.
Both teams struggled from distance in the opening stanza as the Knights shot 1-of-8 and the Rams connected on just 1-of-9 from three-point range. With the Knights leading by four with five minutes remaining in the half, the host Rams connected on a pair of alley-oops and rallied to take a 27-24 lead into the break.
Williams paced the Knights with nine first-half points, while Bishop scored six with three rebounds. Powell helped the Knights earn a 21-17 edge on the glass with seven first-half boards.
After falling behind by seven out of the gate, the Knights chipped away and would tie the game at 39-39 after Williams converted a pair at the line with 8:52 to go in regulation.
The game remained tight down to the wire and with the Knights trailing by one, Bishop put his team in front 50-49 by dropping in a physical layup with 38 seconds to go.
Bishop's bucket proved to the Knights' last as Antwon Portley provided the go-ahead bucket for his team by rattling home a corner 3-pointer with 16 seconds to go.
After an FDU turnover, Portley split a pair at the line, which gave the Knights one final chance. With 5.2 ticks remaining, Jenkins raced the length of the floor and attempted an off-balance, 3-pointer from the wing, which caromed off of the back of the rim as the final horn sounded.
"We need to learn from this game and find a way to be more efficient," Herenda concluded. "Our effort was tremendous but our execution needs to improve and it will. Playing in Big East and Atlantic 10 venues back-to-back will help us down the road but tonight this really stings."
The Knights are back in action next Monday, November 18 when they square off with Army in West Point, N.Y.
