Patriot Games

Two games. Two hard-fought battles. Two victories.

That was the result when Fairfield’ faced-off against two of the Patriot League’s best teams this week.

‘We are playing good basketball and we continue to show progress,’ Cooley said. ‘In the past we would have lost games like this.’

The Stags (4-3) three-game win streak began on Nov. 23 when they defeated Chattanooga 61-42 in their final game in Puerto Rico for the tip-off tournament, salvaging the trip after two blow out losses to Virginia Tech and Missouri.

Back at home Fairfield delivered a much needed non-conference win over American, the team picked first in the Patriot League, at Alumni Hall on Saturday night, 82-73.

The Stags were led by senior guard Jon Han, who scored 20 points and was 3-for-5 from three-point range.’ As a team Fairfield was 12-for-18 from beyond the arc.

Three straight three-pointers by sophomore Warren Edney, who had 15 points on the game, Han and senior Herbie Allen, who had 13 points, sparked the Stags on a 14-3 run with just under five minutes to play in the game to seal the victory.

‘I have been hearing for two years that we can’t shoot the ball,’ Cooley said ‘But we are very opportunistic. The right guys shoot the ball for us. You can’t have people who are blind shooting, you need two eyes focused on what they are trying to do.’

Fairfield followed up that game with a trip to another Patriot League foe, Holy Cross, on Monday, looking for revenge after a close loss last year, a game in which Han left with a bloodied nose and the Stags were left wondering what it would take to win a close game.

This time the Stags never trailed in the game and rolled to a 78-66 victory. Again Han led the way, scoring 18 points and dishing out 18 assists. Junior forward Anthony Johnson stepped up to score a game-high 20 points. With the win, Fairfield’s record moved over .500 for the first time in Cooley’s career.

‘We’re making small strides,’ Cooley said to the Connecticut Post following the game. ‘This is two games in a row where coming down the stretch it got tight, but we were resilient. They’re defending with a purpose, sharing the ball and it looks like the kids are having fun out there.’