GAME NOTES: Fordham celebrates 90 years of action at Rose Hill Gym, as the Rams entertain the George Washington Colonials in an Atlantic 10 Conference clash on Thursday night.

Unfortunately, for Fordham there's been little else to celebrate in 2014-15 as the team brings up the rear in the A-10 standings. Not only are the Rams last in the league in overall record (5-11), the squad is also the only program still waiting to break through against a conference foe through five tries. Last weekend, Fordham's skid reached five in a row with a 60-49 setback at La Salle.

Meanwhile, the Colonials are much closer to perfection in A-10 action, winning four of the first five matchups on the schedule. Trailing only VCU and Dayton in the standings, George Washington has won two straight and eight of the last nine outings thanks to a 63-53 triumph over George Mason last weekend at home.

In terms of the all-time series between the programs, the Colonials are ahead by a 22-6 margin, thanks in part to a narrow 70-67 win to close out the regular season in 2013-14.

George Washington shot a dismal 28.0 percent from the field in the first half against the Patriots at home last Saturday afternoon, yet still led by six at the break and eventually secured the double-digit win at the Smith Center. Patricio Garino accounted for a game-high 14 points, Joe McDonald 12 and Kethan Savage 10 points for a squad that outscored the visitors, 23-6, at the free-throw line.

The Colonials have shown a very strong defensive presence overall this season, allowing only 59.4 ppg to opponents who have made good on 39.5 percent of their field goal tries. At the offensive end of the floor, Garino takes charge with 13.1 ppg based on 53.1 percent accuracy from the floor, followed by Savage and Kevin Larsen with 12.1 and 11.4 ppg, respectively. McDonald (9.3 ppg) has shown the ability to do a little bit of everything from clearing 5.9 rpg to handing out a team-best 57 assists, but still his 54.2 percent effort at the charity stripe has to be a concern.

The Rams fell behind La Salle right out of the chute last weekend and never recovered, the visitors shooting a mere 31.7 percent from the floor and a dismal 3-of-26 (.115) behind the 3-point line in the loss. Eric Paschall, recently named the A-10 Rookie of the Week, managed to finish up with a team- best 25 points for Fordham, but he arrived at that number only after shooting 9-of-24 from the field and 2-of-11 on the perimeter. All of Paschall's teammates combined took just 36 shots from the field. Ryan Rhoomes came up a rebound shy of a double-double as he tallied 10 points.

Paschall has paced the Rams in scoring in all five conference games, but clearly that has not made a difference in the outcome. A starter in all 15 games in which he has appeared, Paschall is responsible for 16.9 ppg and is also one of the better rebounders for the program with 5.7 boards per contest, but that still doesn't make up for the fact that he has close to four turnovers for every one assist he has handed out. Mandell Thomas (12.3 ppg) and Chris Sengfelder (11.1 ppg) play major parts in the program coming up with 62.6 ppg.

One of the lowest-scoring teams in the league, Fordham isn't built to keep up with a team like the Colonials when the visitors are hitting on all cylinders. That said, expect a comfortable win for George Washington.