Fordham's quest for NCAA Tournament bid ends with loss to Dayton

There will, of course, come a time to celebrate. To bask in what was accomplished. To revel in each other.

Those moments will happen at some point in the future. In the present there is heartbreak. Pain. The realization that there is not going to be a tomorrow for this season.

And it hurts.

“The emotions are pretty high,” coach Keith Urgo said after Fordham’s 78-68 loss to second-seed Dayton in the second of two Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball semifinal games Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center. “Right now we’ll go back and eat as a team and then we’ll figure it out in the next week or so.”

The loss ended the Rams’ (25-8) hopes for the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 1992, and while the possibility exists Fordham could snare its first NIT berth since 1991, the words uttered by Urgo, Elmont’s Khalid Moore (24 points) and Will Richardson (16 points) in the postgame new conference made it seem as if they understood their 2022-23 season had come to an end 18 miles to the south of Rose Hill Gymnasium.

“I honestly want to thank the program,” Moore said. “Thank Fordham. Thank Keith Urgo for just taking a chance on me.”

Over the course of 40 minutes, Fordham gave the Flyers (22-11) a fight, which Dayton coach Anthony Grant acknowledged. 

“My hat’s off to the Fordham group,” Grant said. “What [Urgo] is doing with this group is special. Those guys went out . . . and had a heck of a year.”

Indeed. What this group accomplished has set the standard for Fordham basketball for years to come.

“We’re a winning program,” Urgo said. “There [are] expectations of winning.” 

The Rams opened the second half with an 11-7 spurt over the first four minutes, and led 44-43 at the first media timeout. The lead was the first of the game for the Rams, and it was due to three-point shooting. Kyle Rose’s three tied the score, and on the next possession, Richardson’s put Fordham ahead. 

Fordham’s marksmanship from beyond the arc in the second half was in direct contrast to its 3-for-13 performance in the first 20 minutes. And the reason why the Rams trailed 36-33 at halftime. 

Fordham finished the game having shot 6-for-20 from three-point range.

Following Richardson’s three, Dayton had a 16-9 spurt over a span of 8:35 and led 57-53. Darius Quisenberry’s steal and layup cut the deficit to two. Toumani Camara (game-high 28 points) scored on a jump hook, allowing Dayton to regain a four point advantage only to see Fordham close to 59-58 on Richardson’s pullup three.

That was as close as the Rams would get.

DaRon Holmes II (20 points) scored the next six points — two on a dunk and four on free throws — which pushed Dayton’s lead to 65-58. On the next possession, Mustapha Amzil knocked down a three to extend the lead to 10.

“A couple of their players made some plays,” Moore said. “That’s just the way things played out.”

Dayton will meet top seed VCU in Sunday’s championship game. The Rams routed fourth-seeded Saint Louis, 90-78, in Saturday’s first game. VCU had five players finish in double-figure scoring, led by sophomore guard Jayden Nunn, who had 18. 

“My thoughts are: just doing whatever I [have] to do to help the team win,” Nunn said. “Everyone [wants] to play for a championship. Everybody [is] going to come and give us their best shot. We’ve just got to stay focused and play our best game against every team. Every team will give us their best shot, for sure. I’ll do whatever I [have] to do to help the team win.”