With a record of 13-14 and two games to play in the regular season, the men’s basketball team has a chance to finish over .500 for the first time since 2003-2004. By hitting their stride at the right time, the Stags have turned around what looked to be a disappointing season one month ago.
Fairfield extended its winning streak to six games with a 60-51 victory over Colonial Athletic Association foe Drexel in the O’Reilly BracketBuster game in Philadelphia on Saturday.
The Stags received strong play once again from junior point guard Jonathan Han, who scored 14 points and dished out eight assists, both game-highs. Han is now averaging a team-high 11.3 points per game, along with 6.2 assists, which leads in the MAAC.
“I like where we are at right now,” said Head Coach Ed Cooley. “We have been playing with a lot more confidence and more of a sense of urgency. The fact that we are getting senior leadership has really helped us. They believe right now when they step on the court we can compete.”
Fairfield struggled offensively for the first time during the winning streak, shooting 42.3 percent from the floor and turning the ball over 13 times. The Stags have shot over 50 percent in four out of the six games and over 45 percent in each.
“Offensively, we did not play well,” said Cooley. “There were five or six times we got [the shot clock] to under five seconds and threw up a ‘I hope it goes in’ shot, and a couple did go in.”
But Cooley said that the team’s “terrific” defensive play was the key to the Stags’ victory.
Fairfield held Drexel to a dismal 35.6 shooting percentage from the floor, the Dragons’ third-worst performance of the season.
“Our team is having some pride defensively in what we are doing with a little more attention to detail, and I have been searching for that,” said Cooley.
The Stags’ season is following a similar path to last year’s, as the team has put together a late season winning streak.
Last year, Fairfield won seven in a row in February, the longest streak in 20 years, to turn around its season.
The Stags also picked up a win in the BracketBuster matchup last season, defeating William ‘ Mary, another CAA opponent, with a strong defensive performance.
“Every year is definitely different; it’s just a coincidence,” said Cooley. “The way we are playing is good; our guys are coming together at the right time.”
Cooley said that this is a different team than last year, based on the fact that it took longer for the players to fit into their roles.
“This team has a different mind-set,” said Cooley. “Last year, our games were much closer.
“We lost to Rider by three, Marist by one; our games were played different.”
The Stags are without senior forward Mamadou Diakhate, as he suffered another head injury against Marist last week.
He did not play against Drexel, and it is unknown when he will return.
Diakhate brought energy off the bench and will continue to do so by contributing as a team leader off the court.
The Stags have defeated every team in the MAAC at least once this season and have secured a .500 record in the conference.
They also accomplished another goal, by not being swept by any MAAC team.
Fairfield has a chance to finish as high as first and as low as sixth in the league depending on the outcome of its final two games.
The Stags take on Manhattan Friday night at the Arena at Harbor Yard and then close out the season on March 2 at Rider.
“Let’s face it, our last two games are very important to us,” said Cooley. “We want to make sure we send our seniors out on a winning note.
“We want to make sure we win our home game and position ourselves to finish in the top two or three in the league, that is important for us and our program.”
Fairfield will head to Albany to participate in the MAAC Tournament from March 7-10.
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