Despite opening its season with a 66-56 win at home over American, the Richmond men’s basketball team could not do the same on the road against Davidson, falling, 74-61, thanks in large part to Jake Cohen’s 22 point performance.

Cohen was one of four Wildcats (2-0) to score in double figures, including 14 points from De’Mon Brooks, 13 from Chris Czerapowicz, and 11 from J.P. Kuhlman.

The Spiders (1-1) held a slim lead in the early going, but after Czerapowicz knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the game at 23, Davidson pulled away with a 14-5 run at the end of the first half to give the Wildcats a 37-28 advantage at the half.

Richmond got 17 points apiece from Cedrick Lindsay and Kendall Anthony, but no other player amassed more than six points.

Davidson outrebounded Richmond 33-22, grabbing 10 of those boards on the offensive glass. The Wildcats also controlled the game from behind the three-point line, making 6-16 (37.5 percent) as opposed to the Spiders going 2-10 (20 percent).

Fordham Crushed by Orange

The Fordham men’s basketball team stumbled out of the gates against No. 5 Syracuse in the always hostile Carrier Dome, suffering a blowout defeat in its first game of the season, 78-53.

Senior forward Kris Joseph moved to within four points shy of 1,000 for his career, tallying 16 on the night for the Orange, who improved to 3-0.

Joseph was one of 11 different SU players to score on the evening, while Dion Waiters chipped in 14 of his own to join Joseph in double figures.

The Rams (0-1) got 13 points from both Bryan Smith and Chris Gaston, but that was far from enough to carry the load as Fordham only shot 18-for-52 (34.6 percent) from the field, while Syracuse shot 30-for-64 (46.9 percent).

Syracuse’s largest lead of the first half came when Scoop Jardine capitalized on a layup late in the half to make it 30-12. Fordham, however, did close out the half on a 7-2 run to make it 32-19 at the break.

Despite the momentum heading into halftime, the Rams had no answers for Syracuse in the second half. The Orange led by as much as 30 points on two occasions to secure the victory on opening night.

Xavier Dominates

Unlike some of its Atlantic 10 counterparts, the No. 14 Xavier men’s basketball team cruised through its first two games of the season.

The Musketeers (2-0) knocked off Morgan State, 74-63, and pounded IPFW by a score of 86-63.

As the reigning A-10 regular season champions and preseason favorites this season, Xavier looked to come out strong after its tournament run was stopped short in the first round against Marquette last March.

With last season’s A-10 player of the year, Tu Holloway, suspended for the first game of the season, the Musketeers called upon junior guard Mark Lyons to fill the void.

Lyons delivered.

The Schenectady, N.Y. native led all scorers with 22 points on the night, including the first eight of the second half. Lyons also led the team with seven rebounds and six assists.

Also getting into act for Xavier was freshman forward Dezmine Wells. In his first collegiate game, Wells was the team’s second-leading scorer with 12 points. He also contributed with four boards and a pair of helpers.

The Bears (0-2) started off the game on a 9-1 run, and led by as much as 10 in the first half.

Despite the hot start for Morgan State, the Musketeers shot 57.7 percent in the first half as opposed to the Bears 37.5 percent. That statistic, along with Well’’ three-pointer with four seconds left in the first half, was enough to secure a 40-35 lead at halftime for Xavier, one it would not relinquish.

Holloway returned for his season debut against the Mastodons (1-1), and he did not disappoint. The senior guard led all scorers with 24 points, 16 of them in the second half, along with six assists and five rebounds.

This was a game that Xavier dominated from start to finish, especially down low where it outscored IPFW in the paint 38-16.

Nick Canelas can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Canelas.