Fordham pulls away in defensive battle with Rhode Island

Feb 15, 2017, 09:38 pm

KINGSTON, R.I. -- Jovantae Hawkins scored 20 points and added nine rebounds and Fordham earned a 53-43 win over Rhode Island in a heavily skewed defensive battle on Wednesday night.

Both teams struggled mightily at times offensively. Each finished under 40 percent shooting, neither reaching the 20 field goal plateau, and they combined to finish 5 of 35 from 3-point range.

Christian Sengfelder added his second double-double of the season, 17 points and 13 boards, for the Rams (11-15, 5-8 Atlantic 10).

Hassan Martin led Rhode Island (16-9, 8-5) with 15 points. The 43 points scored is the Rams' lowest output of the season.

The score was tied at 40 with 7:14 remaining, and then Fordham started to pull away. Hawkins made a layup and a 3-pointer to spark an 8-1 spurt and a 48-41 lead. After Rhode Island cut it to five, another 5-0 Rams spurt pushed its lead to double-digits.