Someone should remind Fordham that Senior Day is supposed to be a moment when a team’s elder statesmen shine.
On an afternoon where the school was honoring Chris Gaston, the Rams were beaten down by Richmond , 72-55, at Rose Hill Gym.
“I told the team I didn’t want to talk to them until practice on Wednesday,” Fordham head coach Tom Pecora said. “This is the first time I feel that we laid an egg at home this year.
“Right now obviously we’re struggling. I think the residue of losses is accumulating and I can see it in the team’s body language.”
Gaston, the Rams’ leading scorer and rebounder in each of the past three seasons, finished with just seven points and six rebounds in what was his second to last home game in his collegiate career.
“I’m always surprised when Chris doesn’t play well,” Pecora said. “I feel for the kid. This is not what he expected on Senior Day or what he wanted I’m sure.”
As a whole, this season has been disappointing for Gaston, who has missed 13 games due to a knee injury and is averaging the lowest rebounding and scoring totals of his entire career.
“I think the residue of missing 13 games this year is thick,” Pecora said. “He came back against Butler and we were all thrilled in the effort and the way he played that way. Since then the energy hasn’t been there. It’s hard when you’re coming back and he’s sat as long as he’s sat over the course of the year.”
Fordham (6-22, 2-11, Atlantic 10) looked like it was going to jump on Richmond (16-11, 6-6) early after Mandell Thomas kicked off the game by making a 3-pointer and Ryan Rhoomes went to the line twice to give the Rams a 5-3 lead in the first half’s opening minutes.
After Spiders forward Deion Taylor slammed home a dunk and hit two free throws on the ensuing possessions, Richmond took a 7-5 lead with 14:08 to play and never looked back.
As has happened so often with these Rams one stretch of play tends to turn what is a close game into a blowout. This time that run came in the first half when following a converted three-point play by Thomas (17 points), Richmond’s Terry Allen and Taylor scored eight straight points to open up an 11-point lead for the Spiders.
Shortly after that Thomas would turn the ball over off an inbounds pass allowing for a Cedrick Lindsay trey to crush Fordham’s hopes as the first half came to a close.
“We fought ourselves back into it after they made some pretty good separation there,” Pecora said. “You’ll look and see that there are two to three possessions in every game that can really be momentum changers. It doesn’t matter if it’s a two point game or a 15-point game.”
The loss all but eliminates Fordham from a shot at playing in the Atlantic 10 tournament next month. With the Rams sitting in 15th place in the league, Fordham would need to win out, have St. Bonaventure lose out as well as finish with more conference wins than Dayton and Rhode Island in order to grab the final spot.
“We’ll see how today’s games play out and see if we’re mathematically eliminated from the tournament,” Pecora said. “Right now the magic number is five wins. [With all of the help needed], that’s wishful thinking.”
In addition to delivering an almost fatal blow to the Rams postseason hopes, the loss to Richmond also forces Fordham to have to win against Temple at Rose Hill on March 6 in order to finish with a .500 record at home this season.
Just one week after an electric crowd almost willed the Rams to what would have been a stunning upset over nationally ranked Butler, the Fordham fans were much quieter as their team was getting thrashed by Richmond.
“Every time we go [on the road in the A-10] it’s eight, 10, 12 thousand people going crazy for the home team,” Pecora said. “I don’t need that, but we need 3,200. That will get the guys fired up, they’ll feel it and it will give us a huge home court advantage.
“We’ll get there. It’s just a matter of time.”
asulla-heffinger@nypost.com