Senior Day: a chance to reminisce about bygone days, one last shot at nostalgia, an opportunity to end the season on a high-note.
Unfortunately, Fairfield got the memo.
Fairfield (14-15, 11-7 MAAC) literally “turned-back-the-clock” in Trenton on Sunday afternoon, as the Stags reverted to the team’s enigmatic, inconsistent form circa November. Poor perimeter shooting, coupled with an inspired effort from the Rider Broncs (21-9, 13-5) resulted in an overwhelming 87-59 loss in the season-finale.
The defeat signaled the end of Fairfield’s seven-game winning streak, as well as eliminated the team’s faint hopes of a first-place finish.
Fairfield took a 9-2 lead at the onset of the game, in part due to five quick points from junior guard Jon Han.
For Fairfield, nothing went right from that point on.
Following an early media timeout, Rider Head Coach Tommy Dempsey re-inserted starters Harris Mansell, Mike Ringgold, and Justin Robinson (rarely used senior Kevin Hickman and Joel Green started because of Senior Day), and the Broncs never looked back.
Rider gained the lead on a 16-4 swing, took a 12-point advantage into halftime following a 6-0 run to end the half, and led for the remainder of the afternoon.
Harris Mansell led the team with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Jason Thompson finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Mansell’s alone finished with more three-pointers than Fairfield shot and made as a team collectively.
“When you shoot 4-for-25 you’re not going to win many games,” Cooley said. “I thought we settled for way too many three (point shots). I thought we bailed them out by taking too many of what I call ‘Christ’ers’, when you hope to Christ they go in.”
Fairfield’s ineffective shooting was embodied most by junior guard Herbie Allen.
In one of the worst statistical games of his career, Allen connected on only one shot from the floor in the game. He missed eleven shots from the field and seven from three-point range.
Allen, though, was far from the only Stag to have a humble afternoon. Junior forward Mike Evanovich shot 2-of-7 from three-point range and Han missed eight shots from the field.
For the Stags, poor shooting and offensive execution was contagious.
“We were awful today,” Cooley said. “I think I could put blinders on and shoot 4-for-25. Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles could be right next to me and they would do the same thing. ”
Even though a loss in a game with playoff implication is disheartening, Cooley maintained optimism when speaking of the MAAC tournament.
“This is a one-bid league, and the (tournament) is really winner-take-all,” Cooley said. “We are going to position our kids to try to be that (one-bid) team. Tonight just wasn’t our night.”
The cloudy MAAC tournament picture finally received clarity after Sunday’s games.
The Stags enter the MAAC tournament as a fifth-seed by virtue of a complex tiebreaker effect. Fairfield edges Marist for the fifth spot given that, in a “mini-conference scenario”, Fairfield finished with a better overall record (2-2) against the conferences top two seeds (Siena and Rider).
For the second-consecutive year, Fairfield will play Loyola (Md.) in the opening round. The game will take place on Saturday evening at the Times-Union Center in Albany, N.Y.
The Greyhounds’ first-place aspirations came crashing down after a 82-64 loss to Marist. In a tiebreaker oddity, Loyola now moves to the fourth seed because of the loss despite the fact that the team was in contention for an outright claim of the overall top seed had the Greyhounds beat Marist.
A season ago, it was one-and-done for Fairfield when faced with an identical matchup, and the team seems focused to ensure that an identical ending does not occur again.
“Our goal is to try to face (Rider) again… in the semifinals,” Cooley said.
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