Coming into Sunday’s game against Loyola, the Stags were worried that they might face an emotional let down. But instead their heads remained high throughout the game, one in which victory was never in doubt.
Facing their biggest rival, Loyola and its head coach Jimmy Patsos, the Stags (14-9, 7-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) came out and rolled to a second straight victory, 68-54 over the Greyhounds (11-13, 6-6) at the Arena at Harbor Yard. Fairfield never trailed in the game.
‘We played on a lot of emotion the other night, with respect to the things that happened during the week,’ said Fairfield head coach Ed Cooley, whose team dealt with season-ending injuries to Anthony Johnson and Warren Edney and the suspension of senior captain Jon Han. ‘Today I thought we got better with our unit, guys gelled. Today was a great game where everyone filled their role.’
‘We are gelling right now,’ said senior guard Herbie Allen. ‘There are just eight of us now and we talked a lot before the game. We told each other to not get our heads down when we make mistakes. We aren’t looking at the bench at Coach Cooley when we make mistakes, everyone’s heads are held up high and we are playing like we have all the confidence in the world.’
Junior forward Greg Nero, who scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, led the Stags. Three other players joined Nero in double figures, including Yorel Hawkins who also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds while playing the entire 40 minutes. Guards Allen and Lyndon Jordan chipped in 12 and 10 points respectively.
Meanwhile, the Stags held the MAAC leading scorer Jamal Barney to 16 points, with most of those coming once the game was already out of hand. Loyola shot just 28.1 percent from the field and was 5-for-30 from beyond the three-point line.
‘If we defend, that guys into an offensive rebound and I think the last two games we did that,’ Cooley said.
With the win, Cooley improved to 14-1 in his three-year career when his team holds opponents to under 60 points in a game. It was the fifth time this season the Stags held their opponents under 60 (Sacred Heart, Chattanooga, Army and St. Peter’s were the other four).
Nero, who has battled a bad back over the past two months, played 32 minutes and said after the game that his back has felt better of late.
‘It is slowly getting better everyday,’ Nero said. ‘Today it was a lot looser than it was Friday night. So, I’m feeling better and as the game goes on it gets warmed up, so it is not even that much of a problem.’
Jordan, a sophomore from Georgia, played 30 minutes at shooting guard and was 3-for-6 from the floor, his second straight game in double figures after not scoring more than three points previously in his career.
‘I am taking advantage of the opportunity,’ Jordan said. ‘Coach Cooley always says you never know what will happen, when you will be needed.’
The Stags took a 28-23 lead into the half after leading by as many as nine points at 28-19 with 2:02 left in the half after a Herbie Allen connected on a jump shot. Loyola inched its way back into the game with a 4-0 run in the final minute, with all four points coming off of the hand of guard Brian Rudolph, who led all scorers at the break with 10 points.
Nero entered the game at the 14:06 mark and played the remainder of the half despite his sore back, scoring six points and pulling down nine rebounds during that stretch. He made an instant impact after entering the game, securing a rebound and then scoring on the other end to give the Stags a 10-7 lead.
As a team Fairfield shot 43.3 percent in the first half, compared to Loyola who shot just 28.6 percent and were 1-for-12 from beyond the three-point arc.
The Stags held Barney to just three points in the half. Meanwhile, Fairfield dominated in the paint, outscoring Loyola 18-10. Freshman center Ryan Olander picked up two fouls, but also had four points and six boards in just six minutes of play. He would finish with 4 points and seven rebounds.
Up next for Fairfield is a trip to Buffalo for games against Canisius and Niagara next Friday and Sunday.
‘ Click below to see video of the press conference:
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