The men’s basketball team had a chance for a fresh start on Friday night as it began the MAAC season with a home game against Siena. With a win over the Saints, the Stags would move to 1-0 and the struggles of the non-conference games would be in the past.
Instead, Fairfield’s slump continued as the Stags were beaten handily, 74-61, their fifth-straight loss. They are now 2-7 overall and 0-1 in the MAAC.
“We had a bad performance tonight. We were not good from the start to finish, we looked lackluster, we looked energy-less and we did not play well at all,” said Head Coach Ed Cooley after the loss. “Right now we are just not a good basketball club, and we have a long way to go.”
Fairfield led the game only once, 4-2 in the first few minutes, and was never within nine points for the rest of the game.
Junior guard Herbie Allen kept the Stags in the game during the first half, with 11 points off of the bench. In only eight minutes of play, he was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and was 2-for-2 from the free throw stripe.
“Herbie was a big plus for us off the bench,” said Cooley. “I talked to him before the game, and told him what I needed him to do and he came out and executed.”
“There were a couple of bright spots in our lineup but you can’t do it individually. It is really frustrating right now,” he said.
The Stags were within nine points with 2:41 left in the game, after Mike Evanovich ’09 hit a three-pointer and then converted on a three-point play. But that was as close as Fairfield got.
“It is frustrating; they are picked to win the league, and we did not come out energized. No one wanted to step up,” said freshman Yorel Hawkins, who had a team-high 16 points.
Hawkins, who has started all but one game this season, is now third on the team in scoring, with an average of 8.7 points per game.
Fellow freshman Warren Edney is also in the starting lineup and scored 15 points against Yale last week. Edney is averaging 6.9 points per game.
Against Siena, the Stags struggled against the top-scoring team in the MAAC.
“It is very difficult to play defense against a very good offensive team. It’s not like they were going into many lulls; they are the leading scoring team in the league for a reason,” said Cooley.
“It is tough [to come back when they keep scoring]. During the game we made a few runs, but they came down and hit a three here and a three there. We started gambling and it was easier for them to score,” said Allen.
Fairfield is second to last in the MAAC with an average of 61 points per game. The Stags are allowing 67.6 points per game, which is third best in the league.
Despite the strong defense, the Stags have struggled to score all season, and it has cost them down the stretch the last five games, all losses.
“I am down and I am disappointed, but we have 14 days [before next game] to see where we are going,” said Cooley. “It is still early in the season.”
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