The men’s basketball team had a chance to win for the fourth-straight time, but the Stags failed to wrap up the victory, losing 70-66 to Yale in overtime in front of a sold-out Alumni Hall, including a packed student section of close to 1,000 students.
“This was a very disappointing loss,” said Head Coach Ed Cooley. “I will go on record saying that this is the worst loss in my coaching career. At home, our crowd was terrific, the atmosphere was great. We are just not a smart basketball team.”
Tied at 60, Fairfield, 2-6 overall, had the ball with nine seconds left in the game. Greg Nero ’10 received the ball and threw up a wild shot that missed and went out of bounds.
However, the ball went back to Fairfield when it bounced off a Yale player. Mike Evanovich ’09 threw up another wild shot and missed, sending the game into overtime.
The Stags fell apart in overtime and allowed Yale to jump out to a 66-61 lead. Fairfield battled back to tie the game at 66, as junior Jonathan Han drove and scored on a layup.
But again, the Stags could not wrap up the game, as they fouled Yale senior Eric Flato, who then hit two free throws. Warren Edney ’10 slipped on the other end and turned the ball over, ending the game.
Nero led the way with 21 points, to go along with 10 rebounds, and is now averaging 10.8 points per game. Edney had a career-high 15 points, but went four for 12 in shooting, while fellow freshman Yorel Hawkins had nine points.
Fairfield shot just 13 for 26 from the free throw line, which Cooley called a “lack of concentration.”
“Division I basketball is really tough,” said Han, the team’s leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game. “You have to do the little things, making free throws and defending well, and down the stretch we did not execute well. We had a chance to win the game.”
Fairfield lost its fourth-straight game, dropping games to Georgetown, St. Francis (NY) and Cincinnati in the past two weeks, all on the road.
The Stags battled the No. 5 team in the country, Georgetown, in Washington D.C., on Saturday, and nearly came away with an upset. Fairfield kept the score close until the final two minutes when the Hoyas pulled away and won by 12, 61-49.
Han led all Fairfield scorers with 17 points, and the Stags only turned over the ball four times.
The Stags head into the MAAC season on Friday night with a game against Siena at the Arena at Harbor Yard, at 7:30 p.m.
“Don’t get this twisted, 2-6 isn’t the end of the world. You get to the NCAAs in the MAAC by winning the MAAC. That is our goal,” said Cooley. “Our team record is 0-0; that is the most important thing we have to stress to our players.”
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