Although the Stags have lost two of their last three games, Head Coach Ed Cooley is staying positive about his team’s chances heading down the stretch and into the MAAC tournament.
“There’s no pressure on Fairfield,” he said. “I love the way we’re playing coming down the stretch. I’m not going to let this game beat us up,” said Cooley. “We will be a tough out in this [MAAC] tournament. We will be one tough team coming down the stretch.”
The Stags are now 12-18 overall and 9-8 in the MAAC. Their record puts them in sixth place in the MAAC, but they will need help from Rider to hang onto that position.
The Broncs must lose one of their final two games this weekend and Fairfield must defeat St. Peter’s to get the first round bye that the sixth place team receives.
Senior guard Michael Van Schaick, who struggled in the first two games of the week before scoring 16 points against Marist on Sunday, said that despite the standings, he felt any team could be the best in the MAAC.
“Every game is different. It is a different atmosphere every game home and away; its tough to go into who is the better team, who is the best in the MAAC,” said Van Schaick. “But come tournament time everyone will be even.”
Van Schaick remains the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.6 points per game. He was held to just six points against William and Mary on Saturday and only scored 10 against Siena.
Against Siena, the Stags damaged their own chances to win by turning the ball over 21 times, allowing the Saints to convert those turnovers into 30 points. Siena went on to beat the Stags 69-64.
“Thirty points off turnovers … that’s the headline right there. Shut the lights off and go home,” Cooley said. “This was an ugly game on our part. This was not the kind of Fairfield basketball I was used to seeing.”
Fairfield had jumped out to a 58-48 lead with 7:38 left in the game, but then the Stags literally handed the game over to the Saints.
They allowed a 7-0 run to bring Siena back into the game and then turnovers cost them the win.
The Stags were down by three with the ball and 36 seconds left to play, but senior guard Danny Oglesby turned the ball over on a pass to sophomore Jonathan Han in the backcourt, ending the Stags’ chances.
Fairfield was able to stay positive.
Han, who had a team-high 15 points, but also seven turnovers, said “Every game is a new game and we just have to get over this tough loss and test our character to see how we come back the next game.”
The Stags did a great job bouncing back in the next game; they outplayed William and Mary in the ESPN Bracketbuster game to win 61-45, holding a team that averages 64.5 points per game to almost 20 points under their average.
It was tough defense, the Stags’ staple point all season long, that led to the victory.
Fairfield did a much better job holding onto the ball heading down the stretch, with just seven turnovers in the game.
“We had a debacle, a meltdown against Siena,” said Cooley. “That really bothered me and that is all we addressed coming down the stretch. If you take care of the basketball and defend and rebound, you are going to win a good share of games.”
Van Schaick, the team’s leading scorer on the season who averages 14.9 points per game, was held to just six points.
But the rest of the team stepped up as Anthony Johnson ’10, Greg Nero ’10 and Han finished in double figures.
It was the first time since Dec. 6, against Boston College, that Van Schaick was held under ten points. He had scored at least 10 points in the last 17 games.
“You credit your team for growing when Van Schaick is off the floor,” Cooley said. “I think its a sign of maturity and a sign of a good direction, because Van Schaick has a handful of games left with us and we have to learn to play without him.”
The Stags came into Senior Night against Marist with momentum, but poor shooting led to a 67-60 victory for the Red Foxes.
Fairfield shot 6-for-32 from three-point distance and just 34.9 percent from the floor overall. Van Schaick bounced back to score 16 points, but that was not enough for Fairfield to win.
“When you miss 26 three-pointers, there are going to be a lot of rebounds,” Marty O’Sullivan `07 said, “I guess you can say they were tougher than us.”
Cooley is pleased with the way Fairfield has played all season and expects them to be a tough team in the tournament.
“They picked us to come in ninth or tenth place, let’s call it what it is we are the youngest team in the MAAC,” said Cooley. “These kids have done an unbelievable job coming down the stretch. They picked us to come in last and thank God they did.”
“At the end of the day we’ll see who comes in last and who comes in first,” he added.
The Stags finish the regular season with a game at St. Peter’s on Sunday, needing for a first round bye in the tournament.
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