Connors Corner: Wake up in the morning feeling like Joe Frager

As we sit in the pressroom in the depths of the Times-Union Center, in the shadow of Marist’s game against Canisius and its impending quest to stretch their consecutive league championships streak to an unprecedented five straight, it seems as if the storyline of the night should be the Red Foxes postseason dominance. But if you’re on North Benson Road there’s really only two things you should be interested in: the results of tonight’s Canisius/Marist game (the winner will face the Fairfield men on Saturday night at 7:30pm), and tomorrow morning’s Fairfield/Iona showdown for a shot to knock off the Giorgis dynasty.

Two interesting tidbits about the game: first, the Stags win over the Gaels on Feb. 19 was the team’s first since Jan. 2005, which means that senior Stephanie Geehan has only tasted victory against Iona once in her Fairfield career. If the trend continues remains to be seen, but it certainly bodes well for the Stags that Iona’s air of invincibility is, to a certain extent, diminished.

The other note is a bit of an oddity: Faifield has not fared well in the early, 9:30am game of the MAAC Tournament’s overwhelmingly frantic schedule. In fact, two seasons ago, Iona knocked Sabra Wrice and Baendu Lowenthal out of the tournament in the early semifinal game, ending a 21-win season prematurely. A season ago, Canisius sent Fairfield back to be early with a 62-55 win.

Still, Joe Frager seems cautiously optimistic about the time slot.

“I actually like it,” Frager said. “I told Tony (Bozzella) that we should get coffee at 5am to wake us up. Either way, it doesn’t matter much; I probably won’t sleep tonight anyway.”

Notes on the Stags on this beautiful Friday afternoon:

• Fairfield started strong, struggled late, but showed flashes of brilliance in today’s victory against Loyola (Md.), writes our own, and personal friend of mine, Chris Simmons.
• Typically, milestones set you apart. In the case of Stephanie Geehan, she joined her counterpart, Rachele Fitz, in becoming one of eight players in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) history to score 1,000 points and record 1,000 rebounds in a season. This, obviously, is a first in conference history.

A trip around the MAAC:

• It might’ve been Albany, but it felt a lot like Bridgeport North at the MAAC’s Annual Awards Ceremony last evening at the Times-Union Center. Anthony Johnson (Defensive Player of the Year), Derek Needham (Rookie of the Year), Mike Evanovich (Sixth Man of the Year), and Stephanie Geehan (Women’s Defensive Player of the Year) all took home awards. Excellent feedback, as told to The Trentonian’s Ben Doody, from head coach Ed Cooley, who was narrowly edged by Iona’s Kevin Willard for Coach of the Year.
• Despite the Stags’ success in taking home hardware, it was Alex Franklin that followed in Saints’ tradition and claimed Player of the Year, writes Pete Iorizzo. Tom Cleary and I thought Anthony Johnson had a puncher’s chance, but, in the end, Siena’s dominance was too much.
• MAAC officials in Albany are absolutely doing their best to make the Times-Union Center a neutral site – the big controversy/topic of conversation yesterday was that Siena’s championship banners were removed from the rafters. Many folks in the Adirondacks, including Times-Union columnist Mike McGwire, think that the Saints’ supremacy played a role in the tournament’s impending relocation to Springfield, Mass. Siena athletic director John D’Argenio disagrees: “Certainly (playing at home) has its advantages. But it’s been here how many years, and we’ve only won it three times.”
• Speaking of ‘Siena’ and ‘dominance’, it’s always news when Sports Illustrated comments on the conference’s best team and its postseason chances. On the other end of the spectrum, as far as Andy Glockner’s opinion is concerned, some believe it is a moot point: the Saints will not lose.

A deeper look at last evening’s/today’s women’s action:

• A lowly Rider season ended in record futility, Ben Doody writes. Siena was the benefactor of the Broncs’ 25-point showing, but were quickly shown the door by a veteran Iona team this morning. So bad was the offensive showing that the Fairfield and Loyola game nearly eclipsed the Broncs/Saints halftime score at halftime (44-22 at half v. 45-25 final)
• Regular-season success is fantastic, but head coach Brian Giorgis and the Red Foxes – which defeated Canisius, 57-38, this afternoon to advance to the women’s semifinals – readily know that it all comes down to three days in March. The Foxes, despite shoddy free throw shooting (18-of-29), looked impressive in their first taste of tournament play.