Thrilling Triple Overtime Showdown: UMass Edges Out Men’s Basketball 120-118

Gallery: (1-15-2025) Men’s Basketball vs. UMass

Bronx, N.Y. – The Rose Hill Gym opened its doors on January 16, 1925, and the current Fordham team was striving to reach the anniversary occasion. In contrast to the initial game that took place in a gym, a decisive 46-16 victory for the Rams over Boston College, tonight’s match was significantly more high-scoring; however, sadly for the Rams, the result was not in their favor as the University of Massachusetts thwarted the 100^th celebration for Fordham, prevailing over the Rams, 120-118, in a thrilling triple overtime in an Atlantic 10 clash.
 
Following this defeat, Fordham’s record falls to 8-10 overall, 0-5 in the Atlantic 10, while UMass advances to 7-11 overall, 2-3 in the league.
 
The Rams were spearheaded by senior guard Jackie Johnson III, who registered a career-high of 36 points alongside seven rebounds, while graduate student guard Japhet Medor contributed a season-best 25 points, four rebounds, and five assists. Junior forward Joshua Rivera also scored in double digits for the Rams, achieving 17 points and securing seven rebounds, just like graduate student forward Matt Zona, who tallied 12 points along with a career-best nine boards.
 
The encounter established multiple Fordham records, highlighted by UMass’ Rahsool Diggins, who scored a game-record 46 points, setting a Rose Hill record by a visiting athlete and equaling Fordham’s Kenny Charles’ existing Rose Hill Gym record.
 
The game was knotted at 108 after two overtimes, and Fordham surged to a 117-113 advantage halfway through the third extra session following an Abdou Tsimbila tip-in.
 
The Rams led by four again with 2:04 minutes to go after Medor converted one of two free throws, but a Diggins layup with 1:29 left narrowed the score to a two-point margin.
 
Fordham mishandled the ball on the next possession, allowing UMass’ Daniel Rivera to capitalize with a jumper in the paint, re-establishing the tie at 118 with 46 seconds remaining.
 
Another turnover from the Rams granted the Minutemen possession with 34 seconds on the clock, and Rivera backed his defender down in the paint, scoring with ten seconds left, thus giving UMass a 120-118 advantage.
 
The Rams had one final opportunity to extend the game to a fourth overtime, but Medor’s last-second jumper went astray as the horn sounded.
 
Key Takeaways
• Fordham women’s basketball Hall of Famer Anne Gregory O’Connell presented the game ball during tonight’s encounter.
 
• Jackie Johnson’s previous career-best was 30 against George Washington in 2022 while playing for Duquesne.
 
• Japhet Medor’s previous season-high was 23 against Manhattan.
 
• The 118 points are the highest amount scored by the Rams in the Rose Hill Gym and the fourth highest overall (the school record stands at 128 against Rochester in 1970).
 
• This marks the Rams’ inaugural triple overtime match in the history of the Rose Hill Gym.
 
• Fordham has participated in three triple overtime games to date, one in 1977 at Cornell and another last year at George Washington.
 
• The former record for the most points by an opponent in the Rose Hill Gym was set at 37 by UMass’ Julius Erving in 1970.
 
• This was UMass’s last visit to the Rose Hill Gym as members of the Atlantic 10, as they will join the MAC next year.
 
Statistics Snapshot
3:40 – Duration of the game.
 
9 – Rebounds by Matt Zona, a career record (his previous high was six, achieved on three occasions).
 
9 – Players who fouled out of the match (five Rams and four Minutemen).
 
18 – Three-point shots attempted by Jackie Johnson III, tying for the second highest in a game for a Ram.
 
48 – Free throws converted by the Rams, a school milestone (the prior record was 39 against Lehigh in 1993).
 
65 – Free throw attempts by Fordham, marking a school record (the previous was 46 against Lehigh in 1993).
 
79 – Total fouls during the game (40 for Fordham and 39 for Massachusetts).
 
85 – Total free throws made in the match.
 
122 – Total free throws attempted in the encounter.
 
181 – Career blocks for Abdou Tsimbila at Fordham, with two recorded tonight, ranking fourth on the Rams’ all-time blocks chart.
 
238 – Total points scored by the two teams, marking a record for both Fordham and the Rose Hill Gym (the previous Fordham mark was 232 in the triple overtime contest at George Washington last year, while the Rose Hill Gym record was 207 against Boston College in 1978).
 
611 – Career rebounds for Abdou Tsimbila at Fordham, with nine gathered tonight, tying him for 20^th on the career rebounding leaderboard.
 
What’s Ahead?
• Following a week off, the Rams will resume their 2024-25 Atlantic 10 campaign with a trip to Chicago to face the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers at Gentile Arena on Wednesday, January 22, at 8:00 p.m. (ET)
 
• This will mark the fifth encounter between Fordham and Loyola Chicago on the court.
 
• The historical series is tied at 2-2.
 
• The Ramblers captured last year’s match-up, winning 65-61 on January 20 in the Rose Hill Gym, highlighted by Des Watson scoring a game-high 19 points, while Elijah Gray recorded 15 for the Rams.
 
• Fordham emerged victorious in the 2022-23 encounter, edging out 71-69 on February 22 in Chicago, with Darius Quisenberry scoring a game-high 26 points, hitting 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, while Khalid Moore contributed 19 points and six rebounds for the Rams.