Richmond 93, Fordham 82: Quotes, Takeaways & Nuggets

Fordham head coach Jeff Neubauer's opening statement:
"Richmond is one of the most explosive offensive teams in the country. I think going into the game, they had the 22nd-best offense, efficiency-wise, anywhere in Division I basketball, and it certainly showed up early in the game. We were able to deflect some passes, especially on the ball, and that led to some transition. Our team, offensively, that's the best we've played. We shot 60 percent from the field, in the second half, we only had three turnovers. We have not done a better job offensively in any game we've played, but certainly, to win, we have to guard."

On whether Fordham was a victim of circumstance, due to Richmond's outside shooting:
"No. That's exactly what Richmond does. They spread the floor, they have terrific passers, their assist-to-turnover ratio in every game is terrific, and they had a good plan as far as exposing our defense, and they've got the shooters to shoot it in. Obviously, Marshall Wood stepped up and he's been a very good three-point shooter for them, but he just hasn't played much. No. 11 (Deion Taylor) was injured, and it proved to be to Richmond's benefit."

On his message during a second half timeout called when Fordham trailed 59-49:
"I think one thing we did do was change our defense, and we allowed passes to start the second half. Richmond puts you in very uncomfortable defensive situations, for example, Ryan Rhoomes is typically guarding the post. When you're guarding Richmond, he's got to guard the perimeter. We were just allowing too many passes, and so my point was, when we do go back to man-to-man, we've got to deny, we can't let them make passes, and we've got to change our defense."

On Ryan Rhoomes (18 points, 8 rebounds) and his effort:
"What they do, Richmond plays a switching defense that really does guard the post when they want to, so that did allow some of our other guys to get some creative opportunities. I think for Ryan to have 18 and 8, those are terrific numbers. If we can get that from him every night, then we're going to be pleased."

On Richmond's ball handling and forcing them into eight turnovers in the first half:
"I wouldn't use the word 'disappointing,' but that's what Richmond does. That's exactly how they play. Chris Mooney's been there now, this is his eleventh year, so they've established their program. They understand how to win the Richmond way, and one of the things they do is value the ball. Eleven turnovers for them is a typical number, and unfortunately, we had ten turnovers in the first half, so we've got to improve our value. Richmond does this every game."

On possible fatigue and not being able to maintain the lead after a 12-0 second half run:
"I'm not sure, and I'll watch the film. Certainly, any time that you come back and take a lead, we had to keep certain guys on the court here tonight, so that was a challenge, but also, they may have just missed some shots during that run."

On Mandell Thomas (22 points, 5 rebounds) and his offensive effort:
"We certainly need Mandell to be great, and he was a big reason today why, offensively, we really scored the ball. For us to get 82 points on an Atlantic 10 team, it's a great number, and Mandell did play very well. He made some tough shots."

On second half fouls:
"There were some fouls that we made that were not good basketball plays, and those were situations where the shot clock really got down, and then also, we were very 'handsy' at certain times. We've got to guard with our feet. The big problem is, Richmond's really struggled from the line this year. We fouled the wrong guy. No. 3 (ShawnDre' Jones) is a terrific free throw shooter, and we kept putting him at the line."

On whether seeing is believing after starting Atlantic 10 play 1-2:
"I don't know that. I just think every game is unique,. When you play against an offensive juggernaut like Richmond is, there are going to be certain nights where they shoot the ball well, and they do that on a lot of afternoons or nights. Every game is unique, this isn't a trend or anything, it's just that Richmond played very well and they deserve a lot of credit."

On Fordham's defensive effort on Marshall Wood (29 points, 10-16 FG, 7-12 3-pt FG):
"I'm sure Marshall Wood hasn't played as much this year as he would like. You mentioned he was on a mission. He certainly played great, and he's a tall shooter. Our defense on that possession, it was a four-point game with under two minutes, (remaining) and we got everything we wanted out of that possession, except he made a three with one on the shot clock. Our effort was terrific on that possession. He's a tall shooter and he's hard to guard."

Nuggets of Note:
- Today's loss was the first for Fordham at home this season after winning 10 straight games at Rose Hill Gymnasium to start the year. After a two-game road trip to VCU and Saint Joseph's, the Rams will return to their familiar surroundings on January 20 to host George Mason, with Dayton coming to town four days later.

- Antwoine Anderson posted yet another respectable stat line, with 13 points and seven assists. The injury to Joseph Chartouny has been of significant benefit to Anderson, who has really acclimated to his role in the Fordham offense as a facilitator who can score, but does not necessarily have to. His skills as both a playmaker and ball handler have improved dramatically from last season to this season, and should continue to grow as the Rams gain more experience in conference play,.

- Very rarely do you see a team lose when shooting 60 percent from the floor, but such was life on this day for Fordham, who came up short despite their 35-for-58 showing. Richmond's 30-7 run to end the first half, triggered by 11 three-point field goals in the opening stanza, was instrumental in the Spiders opening up an eight-point lead at the intermission and holding serve over the final 20 minutes.

- Finally, Jeff Neubauer spoke of the transition game having opportunities to reveal itself in the first half as Richmond looked disjointed handling the ball, and a final stat line of 20 points off 11 forced turnovers will be gratifying to the Rams' first-year head coach, albeit in the losing effort. Conversely, he stressed a need to value the basketball on the offensive end, something that will be of the utmost importance on Wednesday when traveling to the Siegel Center, where VCU and their notorious defensive pressure await.