SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The MAAC quarterfinals are in the books. The afternoon games saw the seeds hold to form, while the evening started off with an upset that was also a game for the history books, but not in a good way. The last game followed its predecessor with the lower seed pulling off the upset.
With that, some leftover thoughts from the MAAC quarterfinals played on Saturday:
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Derek Needham didn’t want his career to end on Friday night. A classmate felt the same way and a teammate at the opposite end of the experience spectrum helped him out, and in turn they helped Fairfield move on with a 54-47 win over St. Peter’s.
Needham isn’t the only senior on Fairfield, as fellow guards Colin Nickerson and Desmond Wade are also coming up on the end of their college careers. But he’s the big name on the team, the program’s third all-time leading scorer, the guy who has been an impact player from the minute he arrived on campus and scored in double figures in all but one game of his freshman campaign. He’s the charismatic young man who is well-known around the campus and not just because he’s a basketball player. He’s the star guard who didn’t play in the conference tournament last year due to a broken foot.
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Fairfield is one of the more interesting teams in a conference that itself is always interesting. The MAAC is known as a very competitive conference, one that often has a team that can sneak up on others, and Fairfield might be that kind of team this season. The Stags’ season-opening 64-63 overtime win on Saturday night in the Connecticut 6 Classic was illustrative of this and possibly just the start this team needs.
Taking a glance at the roster, one can see that the stags have five upperclassmen and a lot of freshmen in the mix. The upperclassmen are all very experienced, having played significant minutes since their freshman year save for Desmond Wade, who transferred in from Houston but has played significant minutes since he arrived. One can easily guess that this team will largely go as their freshmen go, as having some depth is always important.
Quick hitters as we get ready for the weekend:
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Like fellow MAAC counterpart Siena, Fairfield looks like they got better in their trip to Springfield for the Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase on Friday. The Stags have had some ups and downs in non-conference play, but one of the MAAC favorites looks to be improving as final exams near and showed it in their 59-51 win over Old Dominion on Friday.
Friday’s game was far from a thing of beauty, especially in the second half as it was tightly called and neither team shot well. Fairfield won despite shooting just 37.3 percent for the game, but the bright side along with the win was that they won the rebounding battle 41-40 and got just about every loose ball.
After six full days into the regular season, the ACC is the only undefeated conference remaining. And that pretty much guarantees that Maryland will lose to Alabama Thursday night or Georgia Tech will fall against Saint Joseph’s.
No one really keeps track of which conferences go the longest without a loss, but hoops pundits love to banter about which conference is tops in the game. The ACC hasn’t been part of that conversation for a few years now, despite claiming two of the past three champions and a contender or two for this year’s title.
As of this week, the ACC has North Carolina, Duke and Florida State in the top 25. No other team even received a vote from the pollsters. As Rodney Dangerfield often lamented, this conference doesn’t get any respect these days, with everyone focusing on Tobacco Road and ignoring most of the rest of the conference. That would be a mistake this season.
Already, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Virginia have flashed plenty of promise. They’ll need to bring down some of the big boys from conferences like the Big East, Big 12 and Big Ten before they rise into the public spotlight. That’s probably going to start happening in the next couple of weeks as the early season tournaments gain steam and more power conference squads go head to head.
When it’s all said and done this season, don’t be surprised if at least five different ACC teams spend some quality time in the top 25, and the conference once again joins the discussion as tops in the land.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – It all seems to be coming together for Fairfield. Yes, it’s still early, and head coach Ed Cooley says they’re still figuring things out, but one has to think the Stags have made their way to a good place.
Fairfield’s 70-48 win over Niagara was their ninth in a row and improves them to 3-0 in MAAC play. More than just the win, in what Cooley described as “kind of a strange game” as there wasn’t much flow, the Stags did it largely playing the kind of basketball they will need to in order to win the conference, as many projected before the season. They shut down the Purple Eagles, ran the offense well when they weren’t turning the ball over, and have a number of players improving. … Continue Reading
WORCESTER, Mass. – This was the chance for someone like Fairfield to unseat Siena atop the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Saints aren’t dead, but they lost the core of their team to graduation and the guy who coached them, although an assistant on those teams is now running the program. Meanwhile, Fairfield has some things coming together that might make their selection by many as the preseason favorites in the conference look like a good one.
Fairfield’s 71-60 win at Holy Cross improves the Stags to 7-3 on the season. Included in that record is a 5-2 mark away from home, and during their current six-game winning streak four of the wins have come away from home. Less than 48 hours before the Stags beat Holy Cross, they went to Loudonville and took care of Siena in convincing fashion. … Continue Reading
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – A common denominator in this early season has been defense. Once again the Seton Hall women’s team was dominant on the defensive end in Saturday’s 66-51 victory over St. Peter’s at Yanitelli Center. The Hall limited St. Peter’s to 35 percent (18 of 52) shooting from the field. They also out-rebounded the hosts 38-30 and forced 21 turnovers. The Hall improved to 7-1, their best start since the 1994-95 season.
The game was close for a good portion of the opening half. Seton Hall started opening a lead the latter minutes and went into the half with a 27-19 lead. St. Peter’s, now 2-4 on the year, is a young team. Coach Stephanie DeWolfe’s group displayed their youth by missing several good scoring opportunities early on.
Midway through the second half, Ebonie Williams, the fine sophomore guard, hit three consecutive jumpers to open a comfortable double-digit lead for the Pirates. Williams paced all scorers with 17 points. Jamie Smith came off the bench to lead St. Peter’s with 13 points.
St. Peter’s also had a difficult time matching up with Noteisha Womack. The 6-3 senior is playing extremely well of late and had another double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Beside the damage done by the inside-outside combination of Womack and Williams, Phyllis Mangina’s club received contributions from the bench. Jadis Rhoden and Kandice Green came off the bench to contribute 11 and seven respective points. Tania Kennedy, St.Peter’s senior guard, added 11 points, including the 1,000th of her career.
Fordham Battles Valiantly in Loss
On Thursday evening Fordham dropped a heartbreaker to Fairfield in a men’s contest at the Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx. The Rams dropped to 1-6 while Fairfield improved to 6-3.
When it rains it pours. It was simply a succession of hard luck for Fordham on this rainy evening. Fordham was minus the services of Brenton Butler, the fine junior guard who injured his ankle in the win over Lafayette three days earlier. About a minute following tip-off, Chris Bethel broke his nose. He had a strong 19-point outing against Lafayette and entered the contest as Fordham’s primary inside threat.
To their credit, the Rams competed. They trailed 32-31 at the half. When the Stags opened up a seven-point lead with just over eleven minutes left, the feeling was Fairfield would pull away. Led by freshman leads guard Jio Fontan, Fordham refused to go away. They tied the game with twenty seconds left on an inside shot by Luke Devine. Fordham answered with a three pointer by Lyndon Jordan with two seconds to play. It was Jordan’s only field goal attempt in the only minute he logged for the evening.
Fontan led the Rams with 22 points, while swingman Mike Moore added 20. Fairfield had three players in double figures, paced by Jonathan Han’s 14 points. Anthony Johnson, a solid 6-8 inside player had a strong outing for Ed Cooley’s club with nine points, 13 boards and two blocks.
Fairfield/Fordham Notes
WORCESTER, Mass. – Ed Cooley’s team is growing up, and it hasn’t come at a bad time.
Fairfield enters their next two games, both early MAAC contests, having won three straight games. They look like a team that is getting better each time out, and they certainly did that against a Holy Cross team that had knocked them off the last two years in similar kinds of games. Every time Holy Cross tried to rally, the Stags had answers, largely from Anthony Johnson (career-high 20 points) and floor leader Jonathan Han (18 points, 11 assists). And for good measure, they won on a night where leading scorer Warren Edney had just six points in 16 minutes due to foul trouble.
“We’re defending with a purpose, we’re sharing the ball, and the kids look like they’re having fun out there,” said Cooley.
Johnson, who’s always had the potential for a game like this, saw a difference in the team leading up to the game.
“These are games to look forward to,” said the junior forward. “We’ve lost to them two years in a row, and each year someone has gotten a blow to the face, someone’s gotten hurt. We came here ready to play.”
Clearly, Johnson and Han did, as an inside-outside duo capable of doing big things. Johnson has a solid body and is athletic for his size, and he’s always been capable of getting 15 points and 10 rebounds on average. Right now, he’s averaging over 10 and 7, respectively, while also showing some game-changing potential at nearly three blocked shots per game.
Han, whom Cooley called “The Maestro”, makes this team go. Take him away, and this is a very different team. Johnson said they would like Han to shoot more, but he’s proving adept at making others better and he has plenty of scorers around him. Four Stags scored in double figures on Monday, and four currently average double figures on the season. Han, with 6.6 assists per game, is certainly part of that.
“You get point guard play like that, you look like you can coach,” said Cooley with a smile.
Cooley’s opposite number noticed the difference in part because his team currently lacks that same kind of player, who is on the roster but injured.
“He does some things that sometimes, you scratch your head, but he’s the guy that makes things happen for them,” said Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard.
The senior backcourt of Han and Herbie Allen together helps them play at a fast pace. Johnson can run the floor, as can Edney and reserves like Yorel Hawkins, and it’s helped the Stags improve offensively all season long. In each of the four prior games leading up to Holy Cross, they had scored more than the previous game. There was only a four-point drop-off in the Holy Cross game, but they shot 56 percent from the field and had 23 assists to 15 turnovers, so it’s not as if the Stags took steps back offensively.
Cooley wants this team to play faster and keep the scoring up. He sees the strides they are making offensively, especially since they have scored over 70 points in the last two games. And with St. Peter’s and Iona coming to Fairfield this weekend, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that the Stags could take a 2-0 MAAC record into the new year.
Besides all the positive signs of this team’s growth, there’s another one that’s seen in the locker room. The Stags aren’t getting content with just a win or two.
“We’re getting more hungry with every win we get,” said Johnson. “That’s a great thing.”
While the coaching staff has to be happy with the way the team is playing now, Cooley won’t even say they might be turning a corner or hitting their stride yet. He’s hoping students come out to support the team for the MAAC home games this weekend, as he feels “we got a quality ballclub.” This is also not the time he wants the team to really hit its stride, no matter how much he wants to win come game time.
“We want to hit our stride in March,” Cooley said. “Right now, we just want to continue to play good basketball.”
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Amidst much talk of whether or not conference tournaments are a good idea, Notre Dame got a boost in New York. They are happy with the tournament and feel more prepared for the NCAA Tournament despite a semifinal loss.
Georgetown vs. Syracuse lives on just a little longer in the context of the Big East. That, and more from Thursday’s quarterfinals, including one team being delayed coming to the press conference because of a special visitor.
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