JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Needing a win to clinch a first round bye in next weekend’s MAAC tournament, the Fairfield Stags were not playing well and appeared to be headed towards a loss to ninth place Saint Peter’s Peacocks. The Stags fell behind 45-43 with 7:19 left in the game, but seemed lost on the court.

It was from that point that Fairfield’s very own super hero, Michael Van Schaick, took over and saved his team from defeat. The senior guard scored 14 of the Stags last 17 points to lead his team to a 63-60 win.

Van Schaick made the two biggest plays of the game coming down the stretch. First, with Fairfield up by one point, Van Schaick answered Saint Peter’s Guard Kevin Spann three pointer with a three of his own, pump faking and stepping around his man to make the shot.

Then, with Fairfield up by two and 17 seconds left, he intercepted a pass that could have led to a fast break basket for Saint Peter’s.

“It is something with seniors that they just refuse to go home,” said Head Coach Ed Cooley. “Today, Van Schaick put on his cape in the second half, he had his Aquaman belt on, his Batman suit on, and he was phenomenal down the stretch. That’s what seniors do, it’s something we’ve come to expect with Van Schaick.”

“We treated this like a post season game,” said Van Schaick who finished with a team-high 25 points. “I was in the right position, especially in the second half, and we needed this win.”

With the victory, Fairfield secured sixth place in the MAAC and a first round bye in the tournament. The Stags finished the season 10-8 in the MAAC and will face Loyola on Saturday night at 10:00 PM.

Sophomore point guard Jonathan Han finished second on the team with ten points and nearly had a double double, as he finished with ten rebounds. Han also had five assists and three turnovers in the game.

The Stags battled through injuries, as both Marty O’Sullivan `07 and Greg Nero `10 were not at full efficiency. O’Sullivan has an injured ankle. Nero banged his hip against Marist and also has fluid in his elbow, an injury that continues to get worse with each game.

Fairfield shot 35.8 percent from the floor overall and won the turnover battle, 24-16.

The game did not start the way Fairfield would have liked it to at all. The Stags shot just 24.1 percent from the floor and an even worse 20 percent from beyond the three point arc.

St. Peter’s used a 10-0 run from the 14:46 mark to the 9:12 mark to jump out to a 17-8 lead. Fairfield was able to pull back within five, 25-20 to end the first half.

Van Schaick was 2-for-10 from the floor with just five points in the half, which tied him for the team lead with fellow guard Jonathan Han `09.

Both guards played the entire first half, while Herbie Allen was on the court for 18 minutes as Cooley used his “mighty mites” against St. Peter’s extended zone defense.

The Stags and Peacocks each had 19 rebounds in the half, while Fairfield had the advantage in turnovers, 14-10, but both teams made many sloppy passes.

Roi Buchbinder `10 made a rare appearance and after a rebound, Han drove down the court and threw an alley oop pass to Buchbinder, who nearly slammed it down.

It was the second alley oop of the game for Fairfield as Greg Nero `10 threw the ball to Anthony Johnson `10, who missed the pass, but still managed to tip the ball in, slapping the back board in the process earlier in the game.

The Stags allowed a 4-0 run to start the second half, giving the Peacocks a 29-20 lead with 18:47 left in the game. They cut that lead to 29-26 over the next two minutes and the two teams went back and forth from there.

Fairfield tied the game at 43 with 7:59 left in the game on two Han free throws. Van Schaick would score the next 14 points for Fairfield, including three, three pointers. In the first half, he had just five points, scoring two in the second half.

Han hit one free throw to finish the game, giving the Stags a 63-60 lead with four seconds left. A last second heave from mid court by Kevin Spann did not connect giving Fairfield the win.

“We are looking forward to playing Loyola. I think we play somewhere around midnight or New Year’s Eve or something,” said Cooley. “We are really excited to play in our first MAAC tournament as a a staff and with our first team.”

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