SLU point guard Cian Medley tries to get around Fordham’s Romad Dean during Saturday’s NCAA men’s basketball game at Chaifetz Arena. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fordham (10-12, 4-5) | 41 | 26 | 67 |
| SLU (8-14, 1-8) | 32 | 33 | 65 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — Fordham’s Elijah Gray hit a spinning jump shot with 2.2 seconds left to hand the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team a 67=65 loss, Saturday afternoon in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Chaifetz Arena.
A raucous crowd of 6,947 watched Saint Louis rally from a nine-point deficit in the second half to take a 65-63 lead with just over a minute left in the game.
Unfortunately though, Fordham made all the key plays in the final minute to win the game. Kyle Rose made two free throws with 49 seconds left to tie the game. Then, Gray made a steal on SLU’s next possession, before hitting what proved to be the game-winning shot on his team’s next possession.
SLU’s Sincere Parker attempted a three-pointer as time expired, but it hit the rim and bounced away as time expired. The loss was Saint Louis’ sixth in a row.
“We had some tough calls go against us,” SLU head coach Travis Ford said. “Sincere Parker got killed going to the basket with under a minute (remaining). Absolutely killed. I think we had a goaltending they didn’t call and all of a sudden they get two goaltends (in their favor). Some tough things went against us under a minute.”
Saint Louis outshot Fordham (47 percent to 37 percent), but turnovers — like the one that cost the Billikens a chance to take the lead in the final minute — proved too much to overcome. SLU had 18 turnovers — 14 on steals by Fordham — which the Rams converted into 19 points.
That edge in defensive production proved to be enough for the visitors to overcome its lukewarm shooting performance.
“You can’t expect to play basketball turning it over 18 times,” Ford said. “There’s no reason for that. It’s uncalled for. And most of them, I have to believe, were careless. For the most part, we rebounded well but not during key (defensive) stops.”
SLU trailed 49-40 with 13 minutes to go, but went on a 15-6 run to tie the game. That rally was sparked by young players Djordje Curcic, Larry Hughes II, and Kellen Thames.
Curcic hit a three-pointer and then blocked a Fordham player’s shot on back-to-back plays. Hughes got loose for a breakaway dunk, following that block, in a set of plays that seemed to fire up the crowd.
The two teams traded three-pointers, but then Thames made a steal and beat everyone down court for a high-flying jam that brought the entire arena to its feet. The teams traded threes again, before Thames made a quick move and hit a mid-range jumper that tied the score and forced Fordham to call a timeout to regroup.
“That one group in the second half was rolling, and we left them in,” SLU forward and senior captain Terrence Hargrove said. “They were clicking together. We wanted to finish it off, but they hit a tough shot. Both teams played hard, and we have to get back to the drawing board and keep working. Eventually, we’ll find an answer.”
The teams went back-and-forth down the stretch. Fordham went ahead by six with 4:22 left, but the Billikens made four straight baskets — capped by a late shot clock jumper by Parker — to take its first lead since early in the game.
That set up the final minute scenario, where Fordham made all the final plays to win the game.
“We went with guys who were producing,” Ford said. “We’ve got guys who play well one game and then we get nothing. We’ve got to put it all together for us to succeed. We’re not good enough right now for one or two guys to play well.”
SLU is now 8-14 on the season and 1-8 in A-10 play. Fordham lifted its record to 10-12 and 4-5 in the conference.
The Billikens will be on the road for their next two games. Both will be in Philadelphia, as SLU will visit La Salle on Wednesday, before taking on Saint Joseph’s next Saturday.
Fordham 67
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Rose,Kyle | * | 36 | 9-15 | 4-9 | 4-4 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 26 |
| 12 | Gray,Elijah | * | 25 | 4-10 | 1-3 | 3-4 | 1-3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 02 | Dean,Romad | * | 21 | 4-6 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 01 | Richardson,Will | * | 32 | 1-9 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 00 | Medor,Japhet | * | 19 | 1-6 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 55 | Rivera,Josh | 11 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 2-3 | 1-0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 24 | Charlton,Antrell | 24 | 2-7 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | |
| 30 | Tsimbila,Abdou | 20 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | |
| 03 | Tripp,Jahmere | 9 | 1-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 15 | Akuwovo,Ogheneyole | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4-3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 25-66 | 8-29 | 9-11 | 11-21 | 32 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 67 |
Saint Louis University 65
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | Ezewiro, Bradley | * | 30 | 6-11 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 3-3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| 22 | Hargrove Jr., Terrence | * | 25 | 4-7 | 2-4 | 3-5 | 1-5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 02 | Hughes II, Larry | * | 26 | 4-10 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 1-7 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 30 | 1-5 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 01 | Medley, Cian | * | 28 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Parker, Sincere | 26 | 5-7 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 15 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 04 | Curcic, Djordje | 10 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 12 | Zhang, Bruce | 10 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 25-53 | 8-17 | 7-13 | 9-31 | 40 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 65 |
2023-24 SLU Billikens Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 7, 2024 (Wednesday) | 5:30 pm | Away | La Salle | Philadelphia, Pa. (Gola Arena) | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 10, 2024 (Saturday) | 11:30 am | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. (Hagan Arena) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 16, 2024 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | ESPN2 | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 20, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Duquesne | Pittsburgh, Pa. (UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse) | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | George Washington | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 28, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Richmond | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | Rhode Island | Kingston, R.I. (Ryan Center) | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 5, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 11:30 am | Away | St. Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure, N.Y. (Reilly Center) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 12-17 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament | TBA | Neutral | TBA | Brooklyn, N.Y. (Barclay’s Center) |