As coaches like Fordham’s Mike Magpayo navigate a season, the pursuit of personal achievement can almost get lost in the mix. After Wednesday night’s 64-58 win over the La Salle Explorers, Magpayo’s 100th as head coach, he admitted he needed to be reminded of the impending milestone.
“I actually didn’t know about it until my wife mentioned it a few weeks ago,” Magpayo said. “To do it in a season where we’re going through a lot of adversity, that’s what your job is [to win] as a leader and coach.”
After last week’s loss to Davidson, Coach Magpayo talked about four good days of practice in preparation for the showdown with the Explorers. These good practices, along with a few Rams returning from injury, made this win all the more special for the Rams skipper.
“Just the way these guys work and attack this thing every day means a lot, and that’s why I’ll always remember it.”
Making a big return for the Rams was freshman forward Roor Akhuar. Earlier this month, Magpayo spoke about the fearlessness that Akhuar and frequent defense duo Abass Bodija brought to the Fordham roster and how that fearlessness was sorely missed. Bodija and Akhuar displayed that fearlessness in a physical match, combining for 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
“They inspire me every day, on and off the field,” said teammate Akira Jacobs. “Just being around them also gives me a lot of energy.”
Jacobs brought a lot of energy against the Explorers with 7 points in the first half on 2-4 shooting from the field. With the Rams down 34-32 at the break, Jacobs led a hot start in the second half with two 3-pointers to put Fordham in the under-16s lead 42-40 in the second half. He finished as Fordham’s leading scorer with 13 points.
As the second half progressed, neither team could build a solid lead until Fordham scored an unanswered half-dozen around the nine-minute mark. In that stretch, Luis Lesmond scored a quick layup on an inbounds pass, Rikus Schulte hit an up-and-under shot and Christian Henry recovered a missed Dae Dae Reaves transition layup to put the Rams up 55-48 with 8:51 to play.
After La Salle HC Darris Nichols called a timeout to reset his boys, the Explorers quickly put together an 8-0 run of their own to take a 1-point lead. Jerome Brewer got the go-ahead under the basket and brought his personal total to 14 points. He finished with 21.
“[We’re] I just challenge Brew to score on all three levels,” Nichols said. “And he’s kind of done that, especially lately. Earlier this year he tried to settle for a lot of threes, but now he’s mixing it up and rebounding at a higher level.”
La Salle led by as many as three in this stretch before Fordham tied the game at 58 with 5:25 to play.
That 58-point tie lasted until the final media timeout as both teams remained in control defensively. With 2:48 to play, Christian Henry retrieved the ball from La Salle’s Jaden Dockery as he drove to the basket. In transition, Henry took the ball coast-to-coast for a 60-58 layup. Neither team could get away with it until Dae Dae Reaves hit an isolated jumper with 13 seconds left to put Fordham up 4. Henry picked up another strip steal and fouled on the ensuing possession, closing the game for Fordham at 64-58.
Even though Reaves finished with his lowest point total since the Colgate game, the Rams still put their trust (and the ball) in his hands to hit the dagger.
“Even when I’m having a bad night, they keep telling me, ‘the next one goes in, the next one goes in,’” Reaves said. “So just having it in my ear helps me every night.”
Reaves finished with 11 points, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Now 2-6 in conference play, Coach Magpayo believes his team can make the most of their final 10 games before the Atlantic 10 Tournament begins in March.
“We have 10 more chances before we get to the conference tournament,” Magpayo said. “I really think these guys can do something with it [the opportunities]but we will continue to take it day by day and continue to work hard.”
Fordham is back in action on Saturday when they travel to George Washington.
#Mike #Magpayo #win #Fordham #defeats #Salle