This past week, Fairfield University’s men’s basketball team played two games following a frustrating loss at home against Quinnipiac last Sunday. After this Sunday’s game, the Stags’ record moves to 13-9 and 7-4 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after a loss away and a win at home.
Looking back on last Friday’s game against Iona, the Stags were looking for redemption walking into the matchup against the Gaels that evening. Despite ultimately losing, the Stags put on a display of resilience and flexibility in a period of unfortunate injuries hurting the team.
Graduate student guard Caleb Fields scored 27 points, with an impressive six three-pointers. Senior guard Jalen Leach scored five three-pointers and collected 22 points.
On The Open Court Podcast’s latest episode: Coach Casey commented on the game afterward, saying, “If you’re a college basketball fan, that was a great game to watch.” The action on the court was not lacking, as Fields stayed on the court for the duration of the game and guard Jasper Floyd ‘25 missed just 59 seconds of play. When discussing the level of play and possible disappointment around the loss, Casey added, “I thought we competed extremely, extremely hard.”
Against the solid stats put up by the Stags, including redshirt senior guard Brycen Goodine adding 12 points off the bench, the Gaels’ guard/forward Greg Gordon ‘25 put up 35 points and 12 rebounds.
In the grand scheme of the season, this loss hasn’t deterred the Stags from competing for the top of the table. To Casey, this game just proved their level of competitiveness, “This just reaffirmed my thought that we’re one of the top teams in the league and we have as good a shot as anybody to win this whole thing.”
Casey’s words were proven this Sunday at the Leo D. Mahoney Arena, as the Stags fought their way back from a stagnant first half to send Manhattan home with a loss and a series sweep for the Stags.
Being down by 6 at the half, the Stags fell short of taking the lead during the entire first 20-minute duration. After halftime, the Stags started biting back and finally gained the lead within the first 2 minutes of play.
In a true display of grit and durability, Fields, Goodine and Leach accounted for 60 of Fairfield’s 77 points, carrying a team affected by the absence of Louis Bleechmore ‘24 and Peyton Smith ‘27. Forward Birima Seck ‘25 showed strength after a recent injury with five rebounds and two fiery blocks in his first start for Fairfield. Along with Seck, Floyd impressed Mahoney Arena with eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists and six steals. The Stags picked up 26 points thanks to turnovers, as the Jaspers struggled to keep the ball during heated moments of the game; it was not a rare occurrence to see the ball roll across the paint after a peculiar drive.
In a heated contention overall, the Jaspers were responsible for 13 fouls and the Stags 13. Some of these fouls were highly contested, with fans and players outraged at the calls and one technical for each team coming after long deliberation from officials in the first half.
Fairfield Men’s Basketball returns to the Mahoney Arena this Thursday with a 7 p.m. matchup with Rider.
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