• Harvey puts up a three with a couple Stags in his face and the ball bounces hard off of the rim and out of bounds, giving the Stags the ball and a chance to tie or cut the lead to one.
• Fairfield can't score and after trying to trap the Greyhounds in the back court they eventually foul Harvey with 20 seconds on the clock.
• Harvey for the 1+1 – He misses, but the ball goes out of bounds off of Fairfield.
• Brown cuts to the rim on the in bounds and scores to give Loyola a five point lead. Han throws a up a three and it goes out of bounds on an air ball. 
• The Stags take too long to foul as Loyola breaks the press and Loyola defeats Fairfield 64-59 and the Stags season comes to a close.

-Tom Cleary

2:01 Remaining Second Half; Loyola leads Fairfield 62-59

• A huge stop by the Stags on one end of the court leads to a wide open dunk by Anthony Johnson to cut the lead from five to three. Patsos calls a timeout after the Stags pressure causes confusion and Isreal is stuck with the ball in the backcourt.

-T.C.

2:01 Remaining Second Half; Loyola leads Fairfield 62-59

• A huge stop by the Stags on one end of the court leads to a wide open dunk by Anthony Johnson to cut the lead from five to three. Patsos calls a timeout after the Stags pressure causes confusion and Isreal is stuck with the ball in the backcourt.

-T.C.

Fairfield trails 62-57

• Edney with a jumper and Cooley calls a time-out as Fairfield is down by five now, 62-57.

-T.C.

3:58 Remaining Second Half; 62-55 Loyola

• Gerald Brown with a lay-up inside to bring the lead right back to nine.
• Tuck fouls out as Mamadou draws the foul and heads to the line for two shots. Tuck leaves with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Mamadou makes both and its 62-54 Loyola.
• Mamadou picks up his fourth foul and the Stags seventh, putting Loyola in the bonus situation. Media timeout.

-T.C.

5:13 Remaining Second Half; Fairfield trails Loyola 60-53

• Harvey drains a three to stretch the lead to 58-50. Evanovich can't answer with a NBA three and Loyola gets the ball back again.
  
• Han draws a foul and hits one of two free throws, 58-51 Loyola.
• Tuck with a drive and basket and its 60-51.
• Edney with a nice move in the post answers back, 60-53, Cooley calls a timeout.

-T.C.

7:43 Remaining Second Half; Loyola leads 55-50

• Alley-oop from Han to Peanut and the arena erupts. All the Siena fans in attendance are suddenly Fairfield fans and it is a great atmosphere. The arena suddenly is packed. These next eight minutes should be fun.
• Mamadou with a steal and then is tripped by Tuck, giving Diakhate a one and one opportunity, but he misses the front end.
• Tustle ensues after a foul and Cooley and Patsos are yelling at each other. These two hate each other with a passion. No technicals called, but things could get ugly quick.
• Sullivan hits two free throws and its 55-50 now.

-T.C.

Loyola leads 50-48

• An 11-0 run by Fairfield has them right back in this game, its a 15-5 run now and the Stags have the lead in the half 21-13. 11 minutes is a long time to play.
• Cooley's kids, Isaiah and Olivia, did the "Dress Like a Player" halftime show, with Isaiah coming out on top.
• Rudolph, who was fouled by Anthony Johnson before the media timeout, makes one of two free throws to increase the lead to 50-41.
• After a steal by Allen, Han is in front of the back and he is fouled. Han goes to the line for two free throws and clanks the first. He sinks the second and its 50-42.
• Mamdou with a steal he drives the length of the court, lays the ball in and picks up an intentional foul in the process, the seventh foul. Two shots, plus the ball. Diakhate makes one of two and the lead for Loyola is five, the closest it has been all half.
• Han drains a three and the Siena crowd which has filled the arena is all for the Stags. Six points off that steal by Mamadou, what a huge play.
  
• Han picks up an offensive smile and smirks as the crowd cheers for him. 50-48, Stags trail by two and have all but taken over the momentum.

-T.C.

11:57 Remaining Second Half; Loyola leads Fairfield 49-41

• Dapper Cooley Watch: Cooley has taken off his red jacket, which was very. He hasn't worn it since Sacred Heart and that was a win...
• Fairfield plays tight defense with Mamadou running it like a linebacker and after a deflection gives Loyola the ball out of bounds with two on a shot clock, Harvey throws up an airball three on the in bounds and Fairfield gets thje ball back on the violation.
• On the other end Mamadou drians a three to cut the lead to seven.
  
• One of the best plays on defense I've seen in awhile and it happened right in front of me: Mamadou knocked the ball out of Tuck's hands, then jumped up, grabbed it as it was going out of bounds and threw it off of Tuck and into press row to give Fairfield the ball back down seven.
• The Stags could not convert that play into a basket and then Loyola scored to increase the lead back to 9. Han tried a long alley-oop to Peanut, but he missed. However, he got his own rebound and was fouled on the put back. One free throw brings the deficit down to eight.
• Gerald Brown with a fist pump after a lay-up and draws a foul on Mamadou, putting Brown at the line for one free throw, which he makes, 49-38, Loyola back up 11.
• Herbie drains a three to erase the Brown three-point play and then Cooley calls timeout.
  

-T.C.

15:18 Remaining Second Half; Loyola leads Fairfield 44-34

• Han kicks to Edney who hits a three and then a steal by Allen and a layup brings the score down to 44-34 and Patsos is angry. He screms and runs out to half court to meet his team after a timeout.
• Quick run by Fairfield and all of a sudden they are down by 10 and the game is back within reach.
  

-T.C.

15:59 Remaining Second Half; Fairfield trails Loyola 44-29

• The half does not start well for the Stags as Tuck hits another three to put Loyola up by 16. Then Fairfield turned the ball over and a fast break layup by Harvey put Loyola up 18.
• Like Keith Connors just said, it's is like watching the Rider game all over again.
• Han knocks down a three to cut the deficit back down to 15, he needs to step up if the Stags are going to come back.
• Harvey answers right back with a three of his own and Loyola is right back up by 18.
• Han hits a two and its 16. Mamadou is getting ready to check in, the Stags need his energy.
• Brown misses a three, but Tuck gets the offensive rebound and then Brown gets the ball back and is fouled. He goes to the line for two shots ... He hits both to increase the lead back to 18, 44-26 with just under 17 left in the second half.
• With the shot clock about to expire Herbie throws up a wild three and sinks it, 44-29.
• After a Brown turnover, media timeout.

-T.C.

Halftime; Loyola leads Fairfield 34-21

• After Rudolph misses two free throws, Anthony Johnson fumbles the rebound on the second miss out of bounds, giving Loyola the ball back and a chance to increase its lead into double digits for the first time.
• Questionable call as Han gives a little shove to Rudolph who flops backwards drawing an offensive foul.
• Nero picks up his second foul and Tuck goes to the line for two free throws; He hits the first and misses the second, but Edney is called for a line violation and Tuck has a second chance. Tuck hits it this time and its a ten point advantage.
• Marty gets fouled and has a chance at the free throw line, but bricks the first. The Stags get the rebound, but Mamadou misses an open three.
• As the shot clock winds down Marquis Sullivan throws up a three and increases the Greyhounds lead to 34-21. Then on the other end Mamadou is trapped and throws the ball away.
• Halftime: Loyola leads Fairfield 34-21.

-T.C.

3:39 Remaining First Half; Greyhounds lead Stags 29-21

• Rudolph drives to the hoop and the freshman is able to score, giving Loyola its largest lead at 26-21.
• Harvey drains a three to give Loyola a 29-21 lead and Cooley calls a timeout before the game gets out of hand.
• Fairfield needs a couple baskets and stops, the Stags can't afford to go down by much more.
  

-T.C.

5:27 Remaining First Half; Loyola leads Fairfield 22-21

• Warren Edney is fouled and Loyola is in the penalty as well now evening things up. To quote the man behind me "Let them play blue." Edney makes one of two free throws, but O'Sullivan tips the ball out to Herbie to give the Stags another possession.
• Marty drives on Tuck and misses a shot, but Edney tips in the rebound.
• Media timeout.
• It's 22-21 Loyola, but the way Fairfield has been playing it feels as if the Stags are down by much more. The Greyhounds have missed a good amount of open shots and have made a couple of bad turnovers as well. Its been pretty even so far with relatively bad play on both ends.

-T.C.

• Nero and Anthony Johnson get crossed up on the fast break after breaking the Loyola press. Nero tossed the ball up, but Peanut wasn't expecting an alley oop and mistimed his jump, turning the ball over.
  
• Han drives to the hoop and lays the ball in to cut the Greyhounds lead to 17-16. Penetration has seemed to work well for the Stags so far.
• Marty and Jon get crossed up as the Stags have another moment of confusion when Han tries to hand the ball off to O'Sullivan, but it is stolen away. It leads to a lay-up for Loyola and then another turnover leads to another Greyhounds basket and the lead is up to 21-18.
• But an O'Sullivan lay-up brings it back to three. He is playing well as he has been of late and has eight points so far.
• A group of older Loyola fans behind us are probably the most annoying I've ever heard. The three of them have been heckling the refs since the start and every call is wrong. Its driving me crazy.
  
• Correction from earlier: Justin Tuck does not play for Loyola, he plays for the NY Giants. Its Michael. I have the Giants on my mind still, after they ruined such a great season.
  

-T.C.

11:48 Remaining First Half; Loyola leads Fairfield 13-12

• 6'7 Justin Tuck drains a three to give Loyola the lead back at 8-5 right out of the media timeout.
• O'Sullivan swishes through a second three to tie the game back up. Meanwhile on the other end Brown drives to the hoop past Devin Johnson and lays the ball in, drawing a foul on D.J. in the process. He goes to the line for the +1 and drains it to give the Greyhounds the lead back again at 11-8.
• Marty tries to hit his third three of the game, but this one rims out. Warren Edney grabs the rebound and the freshman earns a trip to the line with a put back. He makes the first, but misses the second and Greg Nero picks up a foul on the rebound. The Stags have five fouls already and are in danger of being in the penalty with a lot of time left in the half if they don't stop making stupid fouls.
• After a Tuck basket increases the lead to 13-9, Han hits a midrange jumper and then strips the ball on the other end. Nero goes to the line for two free throws and makes one of two to cut the deficit to 13-12.
• Stags pick up their seventh foul with 11:48 left in the first half, not a good sign. Media timeout.

-T.C.

15:32 Remaining First Half; Fairfield and Loyola tied 5-5

• Brown gets the scoring started with a jump shot from the elbow, like I said earlier, the Stags need to play tight D on Brown to keep this game in their reach.
• Marty O'Sullivan hits a three from the corner, showing signs of being able to continue his recent success.
• Fairfield starting out in a 2-3 zone. Herbie Allen picks up two early fouls and is replaced by Devin Johnson who gets some rare action, due to his defensive ability at the guard position.
• After Anthony Johnson is blocked inside by Omari Isreal, Brian Rudolph pushes the ball and kicks out to a wide open Brett Harvey who knocks down a three to tie the game at five with just under 16 minutes remaining in the half.
• Media timeout.

-T.C.

Keys to the Game

A few moments before tip-off here are my keys to the game:

1. Get the energy: The Stags will look to come out of the gate with the momentum and take an early lead. Look for Cooley to draw up a play that could swing "Uncle Mo" over to Fairfield.

2. Keep Brown off the scoreboard: Brown's rebounding and points numbers need to be held in check if the Stags want a chance to win.

3. Keep your cool: Patsos loves to get his opponent's frazzled and the Stags will need to keep in control to win.

-Tom Cleary

Han named to All-MAAC Second Team

Junior point guard Jonathan Han was named to the All-MAAC Second Team earlier today. Han is averaging 11.7 points per game and a MAAC-best 6.1 assists per game. Han missed out on the first team, meaning he will not be eligible for the player of the year award.

Loyola's Gerald Brown, Niagara's Charron Fisher, Rider's Jason Thompson, Siena's Kenny Hasbrouck and Edwin Ubiles made up the first team. Thompson, who is averaging 20.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game is the favorite to win the player of the year award. Fisher is leading the nation in scoring with 27.8 points per game.

The only player who Han could have challenged for a spot on the team was Hasbrouck, the Saints point guard who is averaging 15.7 points and 2.6 assists per game. Hasbrouck struggled a bit down the stretch, while Han was the biggest part of the Stags turn around. Next season Hasbrouck and Han could be two of the favorites for pre-season player of the year.

Joining Han on the second team are: Niagara's Ty Lewis, Rider's Ryan Thompson, St. Peter's Todd Sowell and Siena's Alex Franklin.

-Tom Cleary (Picture credit Jon Ollwerther/The Mirror)