By Tyler Freire
Christian Sengfelder prepares to take a shot. Zack Miklos/The Fordham Ram
As most students enjoyed restful and relaxing Thanksgiving breaks, the Fordham men’s basketball team had some business to attend to. The Rams hosted Rider University on Thanksgiving eve and the University of Texas at Arlington on Saturday.
Fordham started off its Thanksgiving break on a good note as the Rams beat Rider 73-62, earning the program’s 1,500th career victory. It was also the fifth consecutive win for this team, improving its record to 5-1.
Sophomore guard Joseph Chartouny led the way for the Rams, stuffing the stat sheet with a team-high 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals. Graduate transfer Javontae Hawkins added 12 points and six rebounds, while Christian Sengfelder finished with 11 points.
Fordham’s defense was the key factor in the game, as Rider was forced into 19 turnovers. The Rams managed to swipe 11 steals, reaching double digits in that category for the third consecutive game.
Fordham lead by 15 at the break with a score of 42-27, but Rider cut into that lead thanks to a 6-0 run to start the second half. However, a pair of Antwoine Anderson free throws and a Chartouny three-ball bumped the Fordham lead to 14 with 14:21 left in the game.
Midway through the half, Rider went on a run of seven unanswered points to cut Fordham’s lead to just five, 56-51. Anderson ended the Fordham drought with a mid-range jumper from the top of the key. Twenty seconds later, three Chartouny free throws and a Prokop Slanina dunk gave the Rams a 63-51 lead.
The Broncs had one last comeback effort in them, using a late 6-1 spurt to trim a 66-55 deficit to 67-61 with just under a minute remaining. However, the Rams managed to secure the win thanks to great free throw shooting down the stretch.
The Rams held Rider to just 20.0 percent shooting from behind the arc (3-15). Fordham opponents are now shooting just 29.2 percent (33-113) from long distance on the year.
Head coach Jeff Neubauer was pleased with his team’s performance. “Our defense in the first half was great, our value for basketball throughout the game was really good, and I also liked how we executed down the stretch,” he said.
His team did just that, as they hit six of eight free throws in the final two minutes to secure the win. Chartouny hit a season-high eight free throws and tied his career high with 10 attempts. Chartouny pushed his five-game averages to 16.2 points per game, 7.2 assists per game, 4.2 rebounds per game and 4.2 steals per game.
Chartouny would continue his great play as the Rams welcomed the University of Texas at Arlington on Saturday.
UTA jumped out to a 15-8 lead 5:44 into the game, but the Rams scored seven straight to knot things up at 15 on an Anderson three-pointer with 11:11 remaining.
UTA managed to get the lead back up to seven later in the half, but Fordham went on an 8-2 run to climb back within one. At the break, the Rams trailed by two, 29-27.
Fordham proved to be feisty on the defensive end once again, forcing 21 turnovers and converting them into 19 points. The Rams also tallied 14 steals, making it the fourth game in a row in which they reached double digits. However, despite the great defense from the Rams, Fordham still trailed 57-50 with 4:06 remaining.
With the pressure on, the Rams made a spirited run at the game. A Sengfelder basket off the feed from Anderson sparked a 10-3 run, and with 1:07 remaining, Fordham and UTA were tied at 60.
Anderson was fouled with 21 seconds left on the clock but hit just one of his two free throws. Four seconds later, the Rams fouled UTA’s Kevin Hervey. Hervey hit both of his free throws to put UTA up by four, 65-61. Anderson then took the ball down the lane for a layup with 10 seconds remaining to make the score 65-63.
UTA inbounded the ball to the corner. The Rams appeared to have the man trapped, but he was able to make a pass into the front court. UTA’s Jalen Jones gathered it and was fouled with under a second left, but he hit both free throws to close out the Rams by a score of 67-63.
The Rams attempted a school-record 36 threes in the game, beating their previous mark of 34 set in the season opener against NYIT.
The Rams fell despite a double-double from Chartouny, who netted 12 points and added 10 assists for his second double-double of the year and sixth of his career. He also added a season-high six steals.
Anderson led the scoring for Fordham with 18 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field while also adding a career-high six steals. Sengfelder also finished in double figures with 12 points. However, the Rams did not have a good shooting day as a team, making just 40 percent from the field and 25 percent from behind the arc.
The Rams return to action on Wednesday night, Nov. 30, as they host the Sacred Heart University Pioneers in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m.
