With 26.2 seconds left in the game and the score tied at 62, Stags sophomore guard Jonathan Han watched the shot clock wind down to 13 seconds, before driving to the hoop and drawing a foul from Rider’s Terrance Mouton.
Han was put on the line for two free throws and a chance to give Fairfield the lead. On the night Han was 4-for-4 from the line, while the team was having its best night of the year from the charity stripe with only one miss all game.
But Han hit just one of two shots, giving the Broncs plenty of time to win or tie the game.
Han’s missed shots led to a hectic final possession, as Rider missed two shots and nearly threw the ball away. But Joel Green drew a foul with 1.9 seconds to go in the game and was sent to the line, where he knocked down both shots to give the Broncs a 64-63 victory.
“I would say this was one of our toughest defeats of the year,” said Head Coach Ed Cooley, “More so the way it ended, turnovers, missed shots down the stretch.”
Fairfield allowed two offensive rebounds by Jason Thompson on the final possession .
“I still think if we block out on the one possession with seven seconds, we win the game,” Stags Head Coach Ed Cooley said.
The Stags (3-15, 1-5 MAAC) have now lost five straight games, four of those in conference play. Rider (10-6, 4-2 MAAC) takes the season series for the first time since 1998-99 and has won the last three meetings between the two teams.
Greg Nero led Fairfield in scoring with 14 points. Nero, who was the team’s leading scorer in the first six games of the season, was the Stags high scorer for the first time since the Central Arkansas game back on Nov. 19.
Nero added five rebounds and was also 6-for-7 from the free throw line.
The Stags entered halftime with a 29-23 lead, which they obtained with two runs, a 7-0 run with 9:50 left in the half that broke the Stags out of 11-11 tie and a 7-2 run later that allowed the Stags to pull away from the Broncs.
Fairfield could not keep the momentum going as the second half started, as Rider jumped out with seven straight points to take a 32-30 lead with 17:12 left in the half.
The Stags and Broncs traded baskets for the next eight minutes but senior guard Michael Van Schaick’s fourth three pointer of the night seemed to swing the momentum back to Fairfield as the Stags took a 49-42 lead.
Van Schaick, who finished with 12 points, pumped his fist as he headed back up the court.
Fairfield quickly extended the lead to 55-44 with 7:14 left in the game. Then as usual, the Stags allowed their opponents to get back into the game.
Rider outscored the Stags 18-7 over the next six minutes, as Fairfield missed five shots, going 1-for-6 from the floor over that period.
Fairfield grabbed a key offensive rebound, but the ball was knocked out of bounds, putting Han with the ball under the hoop.
Han attempted to run the baseline, which is not allowed except after a basket is scored, and was called for a violation, turning the ball back over to Rider.
Mouton tipped in an offensive rebound on the other end to tie the game on the other end, leading Cooley to say that play was the most important of the game.
“It was the absolute play of the game. He tried to make a play, he saw something, it just didn’t work. It was a major possession for them.” said Cooley.
Van Schaick said after the game that this loss “tops them” referring to all the other close losses this season.
“It was a hard loss. We played for thirty nine minutes and just can’t finish games. It comes down to execution.” said Herbie Allen `09 who finished with nine points.
“Part of it is mental, because it has happened to us before.” added Van Schaick, “but that is no excuse, we still need to execute.”
For more on the Stags, go to the Mirror sports blog at http://mirrorsports.blogspot.com
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