HARTFORD – The Stags appeared to be in for another close loss. After controlling most of the first and second half, Fairfield allowed Central Arkansas to creep back into the game. Nerves and fatigue began to set in and suddenly the lead, which was once 13 points, had been reduced to only two.
The Bears, playing in their first season of Division I play, had the ball and a chance to win the game with nine seconds remaining.
The ball was passed down the court and into the hands of Nate Bowie, who was 0-for-9 on the night from the floor.
Bowie was open for a three and took it, but the shot came up just short and into the hands of Fairfield’s Anthony Johnson, who secured the rebound and the Stags’ first win of the year.
The Stags snuck away with a 45-43 win and improved to 1-5 on the season. Central Arkansas dropped to 1-4 and lost all three games at the Hispanic College Fund Classic. Fairfield finished the tournament 1-2, having lost to Mississippi and UConn in the first two games of the tournament.
Fairfield Head Coach Ed Cooley said he was excited about picking up his first career win as a coach.
“You can only have your first win once, I am thankful,” he said. “This win is from the team and was a great team effort. I am happy.”
Senior captain Michael Van Schaick was relieved to have pulled out the first win.
“We could have won a couple in the beginning of the year and we didn’t, we had a couple tough games over a tough stretch and it is always good to pick up your first win of the season,” said Van Schaick, who finished the game with 10 points.”We just need to build on this one. Now we need to put it behind us and prepare for our next game.”
The Stags and Bears both began the game slowly as a result of playing three games over three nights. Fatigue led to what Cooley called “one of the sloppiest games” he has seen. Both teams scored four points over the first three minutes of the game, and neither team scored again until 13 minutes remained in the half.
Fairfield would be able to pull away after taking over the lead with seven minutes left in the first half, going on a 12-3 run to end the half.
Greg Nero `10, who leads the team in scoring at 17.2 points per game, scored a team-high eight points in the half. Nero remained strong throughout the rest of the game and was the team’s leading scorer for the sixth game in a row, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds.
“Every game is the same. I don’t care what happens, I just want to go out and play the game and play it right,” Nero said. “I am going to go out there and do whatever I can to contribute.”
The Stags finally seemed ready to play a complete game, as they pulled ahead by 13 points with 10 minutes left in the game.
The Bears were forced to turn up the pressure on Fairfield and their trapping press caused problems for the Fairfield guards, who were without Jonathan Han `09 for most of the final ten minutes.
Han, who finished with a team-high seven assists, was on the bench with foul trouble.
Marty O’Sullivan `07 hit one of two free throws with ten seconds left, after Marcus Pillow missed an open shot for the Bears that could have given them the lead. O’Sullivan, who had 10 points, was put on the line after Devin Johnson `10 was fouled, but was forced to leave the game with an injured eye.
The Stags headed down the stretch with the lead for the first time and nerves tightened up the inexperienced Fairfield team.
“I think our kids got a little tight and stopped looking at the basket. That is a sign of their immaturity,” Cooley said. “It is a sign of being a little excited heading down the stretch, but we are progressing and it is a learning experience for our kids.”
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