Entering the Arena at Harbor Yard on Saturday afternoon, the Stags were the decided underdog against the first-place Rider Broncs. But coming off two victories last weekend and with the careers of two seniors winding to a close, Fairfield found a way to pull off the upset.
The Stags trailed by three points at halftime, but after a basket by senior center Marty O’Sullivan early in the half cut the lead to one point, the Stags were never behind by more than two the rest of the game.
Fairfield (11-14, 9-6 MAAC) finished the game strong and defeated Rider (18-8, 11-4) 88-76 to move into a fifth-place tie with Marist.
“This is it. I am not going down without a fight,” said O’Sullivan who now has four 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 how I leave.”
O’Sullivan had a career game, scoring a team and career-high 18 points, while also pulling down six rebounds. His tenacious defense and physical play put Rider star Jason Thompson, a possible future NBA pick in foul trouble and Thompson scored a game-high 20 points in just 27 minutes.
“I wish I had this focus [from O’Sullivan] awhile ago,” said Cooley. “He is in his own zone. There is something about seniors, you see the end of your career coming and you start making plays.”
Fellow seniors Geoff Middleton, who made his second start of the season and Mamadou Diakhate also made contributions. Middleton played only four minutes, but scored four points in that time, while Diakhate scored nine points, including two key three-pointers.
As a team the Stags shot 54 percent from the field, the second highest total of the season. The highest came last Sunday against Iona, when Fairfield shot 58 percent from the floor. It was only the fourth time this season the Stags shot over 50 percent for the game, the other two coming against Saint Peter’s.
“We are playing good ball right now, we have been getting better and are confident now,” said Cooley. “We are using different pieces and people are stepping up.”
Freshman Warren Edney also set a career-high, tying O’Sullivan for the team lead with 18 points. Sophomore Anthony Johnson had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while point guard Jonathan Han added 10 points and seven assists.
The Stags held the lead or were tied throughout the first 13 minutes of the game, before Kamron Warner connected on two three-pointers to give Rider a 29-27 lead with 7:23 remaining in the half.
With eight minutes left in the half, Rider appeared to be pulling away, when the Broncs pulled ahead to a 44-36 lead. But Fairfield stormed back with a 10-2 run to cut tie the game with 20 seconds left in the half after a Han steal and basket.
Rider’s Justin Robinson knocked down a three-pointer before half time to send the Broncs into the break ahead 49-46.
Fairfield and Rider traded the lead 11 times in the second half, with neither team taking control until the final six minutes of the game.
Diakhate knocked down back to back three-pointers to put the Stags up 72-68 and an alley-oop dunk from Johnson, thrown up by O’Sullivan for one of his four assists, extended the lead to 74-68.
The Stags controlled the rest of the game and pulled away with free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Fairfield now heads into a key match-up on Senior Night, giving the Stags seniors another chance to shine this weekend, this time against Marist.
Cooley is 0-3 against Marist in his Fairfield career and said that he is looking forward to the next game, as is his team.
“We have great leadership now from the seniors,” said Cooley. “The guys are confident, but extremely hungry.”
For more go to the Mirror Sports Blog at www.mirrorsports.blogspot.com
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