NEW YORK (Interstat) — VCU withstood a fierce second-half rally to defeat Fordham 63-59 in an Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball game Tuesday night at Rose Hill Gym. The visiting Rams built a 35-22 halftime lead behind Lazar Djokovic’s 17 points but endured a scoring drought as Fordham surged after intermission.

DeJour Reaves led all scorers with 21 points for Fordham, which cut the deficit to two points late. VCU secured the win at the free-throw line despite shooting just 60.7% overall from the stripe. The teams combined for only 12 assists and 21 turnovers in a defensive struggle before an announced crowd of 1,065. VCU improved to 17-6, while Fordham fell to 12-11.