It was one final chance for the Stags to make a run at a top four seed in the MAAC, but on Senior Night, they came up short against first place Marist, losing 67-60.
Despite a strong first half, Fairfield (12-8, 9-8 MAAC) could not hold down the strong Marist (22-7, 13-4) offense led by senior point guard Jared Jordan who scored 10 points, all in the second half, to go along with 13 assists and seven rebounds.
Before the game, the Stags honored Seniors Danny Oglesby, Marty O’Sullivan and Michael Van Schaick.
Fairfield played most of the game without freshman forward Greg Nero, who went down hard on a rebound, and O’Sullivan twisted his ankle in the second half.
“Injuries are just an excuses. They are just part of the game,” said Head Coach Ed Cooley. “You live for these moments as seniors, when you are thinking I can’t wait to make that shot, today was our day to make that shot and we didn’t. We took two many threes.”
“They hit some big shots and we struggled, we took too many three pointers,” said Senior Guard Michael Van Schaick.
Van Schaick scored 16 points, tying him for team-high with Jonathan Han `08, but Fairfield was 6-for-32 from three point range and shot just 34.9 percent from the floor overall.
He may not have been able to lead his team to victory, but he did add a feather to his cap by tying the school-record for three point baskets in a season, with 80.
Fairfield was outrebounded 47-33, which cost them a chance at the win.
“I guess they were more physical,” said O’Sullivan.
The Stags tough defense allowed them to carry a 30-27 lead into halftime, while holding Jordan to zero points and just three assists, well bellow his average on the season. Neither side scored until the 16:48 when Marist struck first on a James Smith basket.
Smith would finish the half as the game’s leading scorer, with 13 points, including nine points off three pointers. With all the attention the Stags put on controlling Jordan and Will Whittington, the seven footer was able to get open shots and also use his height in the post.
Fairfield held Marist to just 32.1 percent from the field and an even worse 26.7 percent from three point distance. The Stags forced six turnovers and turned those into seven points, including a fast break layup by Han, after he intercepted a Jordan pass.
The Stags were more successful on the offensive end, shooting 41.4 percent, but were just 4-for-15 from three point land. Junior Mamadou Diakhate led the way for the Stags with nine points, while Han had seven. Diakhate would finish with 12 points on the game.
Anthony Johnson had just two points, but those points came with 6:54 left in the half, on an alley-oop dunk off a pass from O’Sullivan, delighting the crowd.
O’Sullivan controlled the boards for Fairfield, with seven rebounds in the half, but Fairfield was outrebounded 22-16.
The Stags stayed close for the first ten minutes of the second half and were tied with the Red Foxes with 11:38 left in the game, at 42. Whittington knocked down a three pointer to put Marist ahead by three, but Van Schaick answered right back with a three pointer of his own to retie the game at 45.
Over the next three minutes Marist went on a 10-1 run to take a 56-46 lead and took control for the rest of the game. The Stags would never get within seven points again.
Despite the loss, Cooley feels that the team is still in a good position heading into the MAAC tournament.
“I love the way we are playing coming down the stretch,” he said. “We won’t let this loss beat us up, we will be a tough out in the tournament.”
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