Men’s basketball fell to Fordham on the road 85-70 in a hard-fought matchup against the Atlantic 10 rival, despite holding the lead for nearly 70 percent of the game.
The Colonials (11-10, 5-3 A-10) got off to a quick start, making five of their first seven attempts from the field and building a double-digit lead over the Rams (17-4, 5-3 A-10) midway through the first half. Despite the early momentum, GW could not maintain the advantage as Fordham made a massive second-half charge that rained down 52 points on the Colonials, who responded with only 33.
Senior forward Ricky Lindo Jr. got the scoring started for GW on a trip to the line where he went 1 for 2 just under two minutes into the game. Lindo anchored the Colonials’ defense throughout the game, registering his second double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Graduate student guard Brendan Adams knocked down a 3-pointer about four minutes in to push the GW lead to 5, adding to the Colonials’ early game-scoring barrage.
The Colonials largely controlled the first half, knocking down shots at a .571 clip, but they struggled all game to contain the Rams persistent offensive attack. Fordham’s 85 points tied for the third-most GW has given up this season.
The Colonials extended their lead to double digits as senior guard James Bishop found junior center Noel Brown under the basket for an easy dunk to make it 24-14 with 10 minutes to play. Bishop continued his prolific scoring season with 15 points and six assists on the night.
Fordham responded with a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to slice the lead back to 4 points, bringing the Bronx-based home crowd to its feet.
Graduate forward Khalid Moore led the run and the Rams’ offensive attack throughout the game, dropping 30 points on 10-14 shooting from the field. His consistent pressure on the GW defense tested the stamina of Adams, Bishop and redshirt freshman guard Maximus Edwards, who all shouldered more than 36 minutes of play time.
The Colonials would not allow Fordham to come within a possession of their lead for the remainder of the first half, but that did not stop Moore from capturing the momentum as he thundered home a buzzer-beater dunk off a steal to cement the score 37-33 at half.
Fordham wasted no time at the start of the second half as Moore knocked down a deep 3 within the first 10 seconds, cutting the Colonials lead to a single point.
GW responded with a pair of layups from Bishop and Lindo that put them back on top by two possessions.
Both squads continued to trade baskets, with GW’s lead never reaching more than 6 before the 10-minute mark. Fordham launched a 18-4 run over the next four minutes, featuring four forced turnovers that they managed to convert into 70 percent shooting, blowing by the Colonials and establishing a commanding 70-59 lead.
With a little under four minutes to go, Adams nailed a wing 3 to cut the Fordham lead back down to single digits at 66-74.
Shortly after, graduate guard Darius Quisenberry, who finished with 22 points, put the game on ice with a 3 of his own, extending the lead back to double digits with just under three minutes to play.
Despite Fordham’s superior overall record, they came into the matchup trailing GW in the A-10 standings after losing three conference games. After the win, they are now tied with GW and Dayton for third place after eight conference games.
The Colonials will face La Salle Wednesday as they continue their road trip at 7 p.m.