The freshman guard continues to impress with his strong play.
Coming off of a loss to Maine, freshman point guard Nick Honor led Fordham to a 78-70 win over Rutgers, Saturday at Rose Hill Gym. The two-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week had an impressive performance with 30 points and 6 assists.
Honor was the kick-starter for Fordham’s offense and helped them regain control when they were struggling to score points.
In the beginning of the second half Honor struggled to get it going. But with 6:56 to go in the second half, he sparked a 10-0 run by dishing the ball.
Honor found Jalen Cobb for a made jumper to tie the game at 56, then he went for eight straight points which gave Fordham a 64-56 lead. Fordham never looked back and held on to the lead. Honor scored 18 second half points while going 5-6 from the free throw line.
Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell was impressed by Honor’s performance and gave him recognition after the game.
“The best player on the floor. I’ve been impressed with him,” said Pikiell. “I’ve saw the tapes, he makes really tough shots, crafty, good player and that’s a well coached basketball team.”
Honor’s scoring consisted of shooting an astounding 74 percent from the 3-point line (5-7) and shooting 58 percent from the field (10-17), which would make that his best percentages of this season.
It was a festive crowd at Rose Hill Gym. Both fan bases were loud and passionate. Watching the game you would’ve thought it was a big rivalry game or a playoff game; that’s an atmosphere Fordham doesn’t get too often.
“My first year here we played St. John’s here at home and had a terrific win and the energy in the gym that day was really high level,” Fordham head coach Jeff Neubauer said afterwards. “This is easily the most excited our crowd has been since that St. John’s game,” said coach Jeff Neubauer.
A win like this is big for a school like Fordham. To beat a Big Ten team, from the Tri-State area, and doing it in front of an intense crowd is a confidence booster.
As for Nick Honor, this was his best game of the season. He’s having a great season and this performance is proof he’s one of the best guards of the Atlantic-10 conference.
