After a demoralizing Senior Day loss to Mount St. Mary’s last Sunday that forced them to play an extra game and two days earlier in this week’s MAAC Championships, Fairfield men’s basketball was determined to right the ship.
They did so on Thursday night, as they rode a 14-2 run out of the halftime break to knock off the Manhattan Jaspers 71-60 and book a spot in Friday’s quarterfinal round.
“That loss pushed us to want to win even more,” said first-year guard Tony Williams. “We had won three straight, and I think we kind of took that game lightly. So we really just had to sit down and talk with each other and say that we came here for it all. We didn’t just come here to win one game, two games. We came here to win it all.”
The Stags got contributions up and down the lineup in response. First-year forward Declan Wucherpfennig continued his recent dominance on the glass, pulling down 13 rebounds. Williams’ 11 points put him in a quartet of double digit scorers that also included sophomore guard Eric Mejia, who had 10 off the bench.
In his return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench Sunday as part of a post-injury ramp up, first-year forward Brandon Benjamin finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Leading the Stags in scoring was ever-reliable senior guard Braden Sparks, who overcame a poor shooting start to end the contest with 17 points and five assists.
“I would just say everybody on the team, the staff, they give me unlimited confidence, whether I’m making shots, missing shots, turning the ball over, it doesn’t matter,” Sparks said. “Everyone playing, they tell me to keep being myself, and I think that just keeps my head straight.”
It wasn’t just Sparks who struggled early in the game. As a team, the Stags shot just 34 percent from the field and 27 percent from deep in a physical, back and forth first half, stymied by a variety of zone looks from the Jaspers defense.
Still, a strong defensive effort of its own helped Fairfield maintain a 31-27 halftime advantage. Then, it was the flurry in the opening five minutes of the second frame, which included threes from Sparks and Mejia and a pair of interior scores from Benjamin, that quickly put the Jaspers on the back foot for the remainder of the game.
Even beyond the second half offensive bounce back, the Stags flipped the physicality of the game in their favor, finishing with advantages in rebounding, second chance points and turnovers.
“We emphasized [physicality] coming into the game. We thought that would be very important, and talking about putting our bodies on the line, that’s part of it,” said head coach Chris Casey. “Rebounding the ball, coming up with 50-50 rebounds, 50-50 loose balls, and I thought for the most part we did that.”
The lead ballooned to as many as 17 with just over four minutes remaining after graduate guard Deuce Turner’s three pointer capped off a run of four makes from deep for the Stags, and while the Jaspers made some shots late to close the gap, things were already well out of reach.
The win sets Fairfield up for a third crack at second seeded Saint Peter’s, the only team in the conference to beat the Stags twice this year. Their most recent encounter was an 83-74 win for the Peacocks on Feb. 15 in Jersey City.
“Saint Peter’s is very, very good. They’re well coached, they’re very athletic and physical, so there’s going to be similarities to today,” Casey said. “We’re gonna have to handle the ball well, stay in attack mode against their defense, and not commit live ball turnovers that get them out in transition, which they’re good at.”
The Stags will be hoping their previous matchups with the Peacocks will provide them with the experience and scouting needed to pull off the upset. After Thursday’s win over the Jaspers, Fairfield is now 8-1 in repeat games against MAAC opponents this season, with the lone blemish the aforementioned February defeat to Saint Peter’s.
The quarterfinal clash is set for 8:30 p.m. on Friday in Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. Fans can catch the game on ESPN+.