The Fairfield men’s basketball team scored over one hundred points for the first time in head coach Tim O’Toole’s tenure. Charles Bentley ’06, who has never started a game in his collegiate career, was in the starting lineup. Hence, the Stags 109-108 victory over Saint Peter’s at the Arena at Harbor Yard Tuesday night was anything but normal.
The Stags used a balanced offensive attack to put an end to a two-game losing streak during which they scored a total of 113 points and overcome the Peacock’s Keydren Clark, who finished with 42 points.
“We are very pleased to come out with a win,” O’Toole said. “Clark was unbelievable but fortunately we got productivity from both Terrence (Todd) ’06 and DeWitt (Maxwell) ’06. We really needed that and I think they needed that as well. Maybe Charles Bentley starting was the magic wand.”
Todd scored 28 and Maxwell contributed a career-high 27 points for Fairfield. Todd and Maxwell were two of five Stags that finished in double figures in the game.
“It was like an old-school N.B.A. basketball Mavericks/Kings shootout,” said Maxwell, who scored his 1,000th point during the game. “Everybody that came off the bench and played contributed for us.”
The game was a seesaw battle from start to finish. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half. Clark, Todd, and Maxwell were the only players that scored in double figures as the Stags led 55-53 at halftime. It was the first time all season that both Fairfield and an opponent had over 50 points each at the half.
“We tried everything defensively,” O’Toole said. “This was the best that I’ve seen Clark in a really long time. Nothing we did defensively worked so we had to work extra hard on the offensive end.”
For the first time all season, Fairfield executed impeccably on the offensive end for an entire game, much to the delight of the few but faithful who decided to attend. Clark kept scoring but the Stags matched him point for point on the offensive end, using screens, backdoor cuts, and precision passes to get open shots. When they gained that opportunity, the Stags knocked down shots.
The Stags led by five, 103-98, with 33.5 seconds remaining, but the Peacocks battled back to cut the lead to one point, 109-108, with 1.1 seconds left. Michael Bell ’06, who finished with 14 points, stepped to the foul line with a chance to ice the game. Bell missed his first free throw and then missed the second on purpose. Clark, who during the game passed the legendary Larry Bird for eleventh place all-time on the Division I Scoring List, grabbed the rebound and heaved a 3/4 court shot after the buzzer sounded. The ball hit the front rim and the Stags and their fans took a collective sigh of relief.
With the win, the Stags improved to 9-15 overall and, more importantly, 7-9 in the MAAC. The Peacocks fell to 12-13 and 8-8 in conference. The Stags now find themselves in a potential four-way tie for fifth place in the standings with three games left in the season.
“Everyone in our league is bunched together in the middle,” said O’Toole. “Every team still has to play each other and we definitely want to get momentum heading into the MAAC tournament.”
Even after all of this season’s up and down outcomes and efforts, the Stags still have the goal of winning the MAAC tournament and NCAA tournament berth still in their grasp.
“I came to Fairfield to graduate and also to get to the NCAA tournament,” Maxwell said. “That is still our goal at this moment.”
Todd added, “As seniors we have to continue to lead by example. We’ve had our ups and downs this season but as long as we play together and work hard we’ll be alright.”
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