When seniors Geoff Middleton, Joe Bajda and Mamadou Diakhate were honored for their Fairfield careers Monday night, it was a fifth-year senior who stole the show.
Marty O’Sullivan, who had his Senior Night a year ago, set a career-high for the second-straight game, by scoring 23 points against Marist. He also pulled down 10 rebounds to record a double-double.
O’Sullivan’s performance came two days after setting a career-high mark with 19 points against Rider.
The Stags won both games to improve to 10-6 in MAAC play, moving them one game out of first place.
“My man Marty,” said Head Coach Ed Cooley, turning toward his center in the media room following the Marist victory. “Where has this been?”
O’Sullivan has emerged as a leader, making significant plays when needed. After sitting on the bench for most of the season, he has stepped up as his career winds down and moved into the starting lineup against Marist.
“This last month belongs to Marty,” said Cooley. “He looks like a linebacker dribbling the ball, he has been a great leader and I am happy for him.”
O’Sullivan’s previous career high was 14 points set last season against Holy Cross.
The 6-foot-7-inch, 260-pound O’Sullivan began his Fairfield career with high expectations, but after being stuck behind Deng Gai ’05 and sidelined by injuries, his career never took off.
Now with just three regular-season games to go before his career comes to an end, the light has turned on for O’Sullivan.
“This is it. I am not going down without a fight,” said O’Sullivan, who now has four guaranteed games left with the Stags. “I am going to do everything I can to play as long as I can. I have not lived up to my potential in my eyes, but I will be remembered [by] how I leave.”
Marist Head Coach Matt Brady also gave O’Sullivan praise after the game, saying that O’Sullivan gave the Stags multiple different ways to score, which really hurt Marist.
Fairfield also has leaned on Diakhate and Middleton to contribute in different ways down the stretch.
Middleton earned his second start of the season on Saturday against Rider and scored four quick points. Against Marist he played less than one minute, but came up with a huge block on Ryan Stilphen, which sent the game into the first overtime.
Meanwhile, Diakhate’s contributions have been well-noted over the past few weeks and continued over the weekend. He helped shut down Rider’s superstar Jason Thompson with his energetic style of defense, while also scoring nine points.
Against Marist, he scored eight points, including a key three-pointer toward the end of the game. He also drew a foul on a three-pointer from Stilphen, which led to a technical foul on Stilphen and five foul shots for the Stags.
Cooley has been looking for his seniors to step up and provide leadership on and off the court all season, and he has finally found it.
Diakhate’s return from a concussion, combined with a spark inside O’Sullivan as his Fairfield career comes to a close, has led to an impressive run that have now made the Stags the hottest team in the MAAC.
With two games left, both the season and the seniors’ careers are far from over.
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