by Ben Doody Until last weekend, the phrase “there’s no place like home,” had a strikingly negative connotation for the Fairfield men’s basketball team. They didn’t win at home until they beat Siena on Jan. 5, and coming into last Friday’s game against Rider, they were 1-6 at the Arena at Harbor Yard and hadn’t won a game with the students in the stands. But that all changed last weekend when they beat Rider and Niagara before heading off to Albany, N.Y. to take on Siena Tuesday night. When they got to Albany, the Stags encountered some troubles. The Saints held them to their second lowest points total of the year in a 58-47 loss. It was however, nice for the team to be able to finally feel at home at the Arena. ” Its great playing games like this, its what you live for,” freshman guard Jonathan Han said after Sunday’s game. “It felt good to win these home games and keep it rolling.” So how did everything fall into place? Han said the Stags laid out a concrete list of things they needed to improve upon in order to turn things around, most of which centered around playing improved defense. “We made goals that we needed to lower their field goal percentage, make stops, and get steals,” he said. “We all know what we need to do to win games.” The game plan Han described may not have worked flawlessly – the Purple Eagles managed to shoot 40 percent from the field – but the Stags did make key stops when they needed to, and they held Niagara to a 25 percent three-point percentage. The Stags, on the other hand, had one of their best shooting performances of the year. They shot 51 percent from the field and a blistering 75 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Growing up on the job The sight at Sunday’s post-game press conference was one that has become familiar over the last several weeks. Usually, the two players who had the best performances are made available to the media, and on Sunday, those players were both freshmen: Han and fellow guard Herbie Allen. The two have both had up-and-down years, and Allen, who recently replaced Han in the starting lineup, had been enjoying the bigger up-swing of the two coming into Tuesday night’s game. But the fact that both have become key components to the team’s success was not lost on Head Coach Tim O’Toole. “Unfortunately for Jon and Herbie, its not right, [but] I’m asking them to be older than their years,” he said. “But they’re also baptized by fire…every game we play in the league the rest of the way is going to be similar to the one we played tonight. These two guys made plays tonight and they may be called on to do it again.” The two combined for 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists Sunday, and Han are both among the team leaders in several offensive categories.
A loss felt by everyone The Stags honored the life of Alex Carrion ’08, who passed away in his sleep last Thursday night, on two occasions during the weekend. Those in attendance observed a moment of silence in his honor before Friday’s game against Rider, which was televised nationally on ESPN U. During half time of Sunday’s game, the Arena’s public address system played “Wish you were here” by Incubus, along with a video tribute to Carrion. Carrion may not have been a three-point shooter or a shot-blocker, but as a guitarist in the pep band, he played a major role in energizing both the fans and the players. “Every game we’ll play for Alex,” Allen said. “Before I walk on the court I hear the band, when I walk off the court I hear the band.” O’Toole said the team held a meeting before Friday’s game to talk about the loss, which he described as a loss for the team and for the entire community. He also said the team would like to wear a black band on their sleeves in Carrion’s honor for the rest of the season. “We brought all the guys together and made sure they were alright,” he said. “And we wanted to check with the school to see if there was anything we could do. “We’re going check with [Athletic Director] Gene [Doris] or [Vice President of Student Services] Mark Reed or [University President] Fr. [Jeffrey] von Arx to see if we can wear a band or something for the rest of the year.”
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