A season full of ups and downs for the Stags ended on a down note as they fell to Loyola in the quarterfinals of the MAAC tournament on their home court in Bridgeport.
Despite a 24 point effort by senior guard Michael Van Schaick, Fairfield was unable to hold off the charge of Loyola and gave up a lead down the stretch, to lose 76-72.
“There were a couple of questionable calls that did just not go our way,” said Head Coach Ed Cooley. “We have grown up a lot. You have to give a hand to Loyola, they made shots down the stretch.”
“They hit some big shots. We struggled down the stretch to score,” said Van Schaick. “It didn’t turn out the way we wanted to, but I am proud of our guys. We had some ups and downs and I am proud of this team.”
Strong inside play also helped the Stags, who shot 50 percent on the night. Freshman Anthony Johnson and Greg Nero each were in double figures, Johnson with 13 and Nero with 15.
The Stags held the lead or were tied for 19 minutes and 51 seconds in the first half, but a three pointer but Omari Isreal gave Loyola its first lead of the game with nine seconds to go in the half and give the Greyhounds a 34-33 lead heading into the break.
After a hard block on Brown by Anthony Johnson gave the ball to the Greyhounds out of bounds with just two seconds on the shot clock, the inbound pass came to Isreal who knocked down the shot, his first three point attempt of the season.
Fairfield took the momentum early on, when Anthony Johnson slammed down an alley oop from Han just one minute into the game, igniting the crowd and giving the Stags a 4-2 lead.
Johnson led the way for the Stags in the half, scoring 10points, while Brown was the Greyhounds leading scorer, also with 10 points. Johnson was 5-for-8 from the floor and also had four rebounds.
Fellow freshman forward Greg Nero also had a strong half, scoring eight points. The Stags scored 26 of their 33 points inside the paint and shot 50 percent from the floor (14-for-28).
The Stags took their largest lead with 14:53 left in the half, when Johnson slammed home a fast break dunk to put Fairfield up 14-6.
Fairfield came out quickly as Van Schaick knocked down a three pointer just 15 seconds into the half to retake the lead for Fairfield, 36-34. A technical foul on Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos with 17:48 swung the momentum to the Stags.
Emotions were high all game and overflowed when the two teams got in an argument over a hard foul on Johnson and a fight nearly broke out. Both teams calmed down, but from there Fairfield seemed to take over.
Van Schaick made key plays the entire second half. First driving the length of the court off a long rebound, scoring and drawing a foul, to put the Stags up 62-56 with 7:57 left in the game. Then he saved a long pass that looked headed out of bounds, crossed over his defender and hit a three pointer to put Fairfield ahead 66-63 with 5:27 left.
But it was not enough as Loyola charged back and a Gerald Brown three pointer put them ahead for good.
The Stags will return all but one starter next season and head into the year ready to win. Jonathan Han, the team’s sophomore point guard, will look to take the role of leader from Van Schaick next season.
“I’m looking forward to being a leader and getting better in the off-season,” said Han who had six points and five assists. “Hopefully help out these young guys next year, because we don’t want to feel what we felt today, this was tough to swallow.”
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