The Fairfield Stags men’s basketball team began the night with plenty of momentum. Following their Friday night victory, they’ll head back home from Buffalo with even more following their win over a hot Canisius team, 67-63.
The Stags (9-15, 7-5) are now in the thick of the top MAAC teams and find themselves in a three-way tie with Siena and Niagara.
Senior guard Michael Van Schaick led the way with 25 points. He scored 21 of those points in the second half alone. Van Schaick was 6-7 from beyond the three point arc and 8-10 from the floor overall.
Fellow senior Marty O’Sullivan, from Rochester, NY, tied a career high with 13 points, to go along with a team-high five rebounds.
Greg Nero `10 also had 13 points, many of those coming off of the dribble as he used his athleticism to get past the Canisius defenders.
The biggest play of the night came with Fairfield up by three points and 1:22 left in the game. The Stags had just 12 seconds left on the shot clock and Head Coach Ed Cooley called a timeout.
On the play out of the timeout Van Schaick went back door and took a pass from Herbie Allen `09, who had five assists, and scored, being fouled as well. He made the free throw to seal the victory for Fairfield.
The Stags trailed only once, 4-3, although the score was tied at 55 with 3:05 remaining in the game.
Van Schaick gave Fairfield the lead back on the next possession with a three pointer from the top of the key.
Canisius would not get within three points again.
Fairfield now heads into a game with first place Loyola (MD) on Monday. The Greyhounds record currently stands at 9-2. With a win, the Stags will become a contender for the MAAC regular season championship.
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