The crowd noise rose to a level rarely heard in the Arena at Harbor Yard on Monday night as sophomore point guard Jonathan Han grabbed a rebound with three seconds remaining in the game against Loyola (Md.)
Han was fouled and sent to the line, where he made two free throws to seal a thrilling 65-62 Stags victory.
Head Coach Ed Cooley gave an exhausted smile and wave following the win as the small but loud, student section chanted his name. Cooley then yelled out to the fans, “This is our house! This is our house!”
It was the perfect expression for such an up and down game, one that took energy and pure heart to win and a game that will be remembered as one of the best in Fairfield history.
“We have been consistent with our approach since day one. Obviously with time, kids mature better together,” said Cooley. “Its just time. Time we are spending together, guys learning what they are doing, learning to play together.”
“We’re a tight group. After suffering losses like the Rider game, I think we picked it up in practice, got tighter and all stepped up,” Han said. “We are tired of losing and winning feels great.”
As unlikely as it may have been on Jan. 12 after Fairfield lost its fourth straight game to Rider in a crushing last second shot, the Stags are playing the best basketball in the MAAC.
The team is now 10-15 overall and 8-5 in the MAAC, which puts them in fourth place, just one game behind Loyola.
The win pushed the Stags’ streak to seven games, the longest streak since 1985-86, when that team also won seven straight.
Fairfield was forced with the tough task of traveling to Canisius on Friday to defend its five-game winning streak.
The Stags controlled the game the entire night, trailing only once 4-3 in the first minutes of the game.
They led by as many as 15 points but allowed the Griffs to stay close and eventually tie the game at 55 with 3:05 to go in the game. From there Fairfield took over and pulled away to secure the victory, not allowing Canisius back within three points.
Senior guard Michael Van Schaick led the team in scoring with 25 points, just two shy of his career high.
Fellow senior Marty O’Sullivan tied a career high with 13 points, to go along with a team-high five rebounds.
There was no break for the Stags, just three days later they returned home to take on Loyola.
The Stags went into the first half with a 31-30 lead, but came out slow in the second half and failed to score for the first six minutes. Loyola led by as many as 14 points and Fairfield cut that lead to 10 with three minutes left.
It was fitting that Han ended the game with the rebound and foul shots, because he was the one who carried the Stags to victory.
With Fairfield trailing 62-52, Han knocked down a three pointer to cut the lead to seven.
That basket began a 13-0 run for the Stags to finish the game. Han scored 10 of the 13 points over that stretch and also came up big on the defensive end.
Fairfield forced four straight Loyola turnovers, two forced by the sophomore guard. Han took a charge with 30 seconds left that set up the game winning three-pointer.
He finished the game with a team-high 19 points, while freshman Anthony Johnson recorded his first career double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The difficult schedule will continue for the Stags as they try and improve their winning streak to eight games against second place Marist in Poughkeepsie, NY on Thursday. The Stags then have to travel to Loyola for a second game against the Greyhounds in a week.
“This is a game by game process. We don’t care about winning streaks, we care about our next opponent,” said Cooley. “We don’t want to get caught up on any hoopla or anything.”
Leave a Reply