Fairfield didn’t back down to a high-achieving Siena team, even when it seemed like the Stags were all but out of it when the visitors led 27-9 in the first half. But the hosts clawed and scratched their way back in the second half, thanks in large part to the play of TJ Long, who poured in 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half. Allan Jeanne-Rose had his short game clicking in the first half, and while mostly quiet in this one, Supreme Cook’s overall energy also helped ignite the comeback attempt that fell short. Ultimately, the Stags couldn’t capitalize on enough second-chance opportunities, or make enough plays down the stretch to keep pace with the Saints.
“We got off to such a bad start and got down big and expended a lot of energy getting back,” Young said. “I would’ve liked to have had a couple timeouts to settle us down in the last couple of minutes, but I didn’t have anything. We have to be better and our execution has to be better.”
The offensive rebounding margin was plus-8 for Fairfield at 14-6, but more often than not, those caroms simply extended empty possessions. The result was only a 10-8 advantage in second chance points for the Stags. The motif of missed opportunities could also apply to Fairfield’s free-throw shooting, on which the Stags made only 10 for 18 attempts.
What should have been a 20-point lead for Siena was only nine at halftime. It was a solid recovery for Fairfield after starting the game 3-of-18 from the field before finally settling in and getting a few stops on the defensive end. One stabilizing presence was Jeanne-Rose, who started asserting himself offensively and producing a trio of baskets down the stretch of the first half. Then, Caleb Fields attacked the hoop and kissed one off the glass on the final possession, which sent the Stags into the locker room feeling much better about themselves.
“I thought we fought,” Young said of the early adversity thrown at Fairfield. “Quite honestly, I thought we should have been down by more.”
In the first half, Fairfield made up for some of their own defensive miscues by forcing several Siena turnovers, something Siena head coach Carmen Maciariello alluded to after the game. Those hustle plays and some hard drives to the hoops kept Fairfield competitive even when the Stags weren’t hitting outside shots. Fairfield finished 5-of-17 from deep, and currently sits at 28 percent on long-range shots this season, last in the MAAC.
According to Young, he tried to “push every button” with his lineups. The second-half iterations that got them going included most of the game’s starting lineup, except for Jalen Leach, and those units were led by Long. Fairfield felt the need to play big at times, electing to use 6-foot-9 Makai Willis for a few minutes too to assist the efforts of Cook and Chris Maidoh. Against Jackson Stormo, Fairfield needed quality minutes from the bigs, and Maidoh was particularly useful defensively.
“We extended him a little because I thought he was good,” Young said of Maidoh. “We were just trying to throw fresh bodies at them.”
Fresh off a career-high 25 points in Friday’s win over Marist, Long pretty much singlehandedly righted the ship for Fairfield as the Siena lead oscillated between single and double-digits. Long started cooking with a three that cut Siena's lead to 12 with 13:49 left and stopped a 10-4 Saints run to start the second half. He scored more than half of his team's points the rest of the way on the strength of four more threes.
“He plays hard and gets in the gym and works,” Young said of Long, who has hit 10 threes over the last two games. “He’s been taking the same shots, and it was just a matter of time before they went in.”
With the plot thickening with over five minutes left, Long buried back-to-back threes on opposite ends of a 3-pointer from Javian McCollum that moved the Stags within seven. However, Fairfield inched no closer than two back on Long’s last triple with 2:15 left before Siena iced the game at the free throw line in the final minute.
If Long was able to trade back one possession, it would be his miscommunication with Caleb Fields with 49 seconds left and Fairfield down three, which resulted in a steal and fastbreak dunk for Michael Eley. That made it a two-possession game and, in essence, was the knockout blow to Fairfield, and a play “we can’t recover from,” according to Young.
“TJ tried to make a play, but I think we got a little rattled and didn’t run any offense,” Young said of the late-game execution struggles. “It was just some one-on-one stuff, which is not the way we’re built obviously, and we got caught up in the excitement of the game because we came back.”
While it was a disappointing ending for Fairfield, it capped off a yeoman’s performance for Eley of 16 points and seven rebounds, in which the freshman connected on five of his 11 attempts and two of four from three. Eley quickly turned into a Fairfield killer with two early threes that helped Siena jump out to its big lead, and introduced more moves in the second half that beguiled the crowd, including an off-balance bank shot off one foot following his own offensive rebound that extended the Saints’ double-digit lead. The fast rise of Eley is a big reason why Siena has been able to win games and put the league on notice of how good a unit it could be.
“Michael Eley is one of the best freshmen in the league,” Maciariello said. “If you can dribble, shoot, pass and score the basketball, you’re a threat to the opposition.”
Ultimately, it was the shot-making ability of Siena that deserves the biggest tip of the cap. Siena made 13 of its first 17 attempts en route to shooting 62.5 percent over the first stanza. The Saints were doing it with a little bit of everyone it felt like, except their star player, McCollum. Serving as floor general, McCollum didn’t have to score for his team to take control early, and didn’t shoot well when he did. After dropping 25 at Quinnipiac, McCollum was more than happy to play the role by adding three assists to his seven points. Scoring or not, the sophomore is the most dynamic cog on a Siena team whose play-making instincts may soon get him professional looks. Fortunately for Siena, the Saints won without McCollum at his best.
“He wasn’t hitting his shot, but kept getting our offense in motion and then hit a big three,” Maciariello said of McCollum.
According to Maciariello, the game plan against Fairfield focused on containing Fields, who was held to nine points. The cover assignment belonged to Jared Billups, who continues to build confidence in his game, earning him complete trust from his teammates and head coach, who dubbed him the defensive player of the year in the MAAC.
“I feel like I’m the best defender in the league and one of the best in the conference,” Billups said. “And if I do my role, I make things easier for everybody else. I could care less whether I get rewarded for it. These guys know what I bring to the table.”
In Siena’s first trip to Mahoney, Maciariello walked away impressed with the new venue at his old stomping grounds. While his days at Fairfield serving as an assistant to Ed Cooley are long removed, Maciariello is excited to see how a facility like Mahoney raises the caliber of the MAAC, simply because playing in front of fans is important to the players.
“I think it helps them in recruiting and I think it’s just good to have these facilities,” Maciariello said, also referencing how Fairfield’s new digs helped replace Monmouth leaving the MAAC. “These guys want to play in front of fans. They are all about getting their followers up.”
A common talking point from Young this season has been not letting missed shots affect them on defense. However, it manifested itself in the beginning, and created a deficit too large to overcome. Fairfield couldn’t afford to do that with the glut scoring options on Siena, anchored by Stormo in the paint.
Stormo, who can be considered a MAAC elder statesman in his third season in Loudonville, was the right man at the right time for Siena, always coming up with timely baskets. While Fairfield’s focus was on Stormo, it was Siena backup center Eduardo Lane who went under the radar, as he chipped in eight points in 12 minutes.
“That combination at the five spot got 23 points on us,” said Young, whose team surrendered 46 points in the paint. “We just can’t do that.”
The MAAC slate stays at home for Fairfield when Niagara visits Mahoney next Friday. The week of preparation will not be much different than the standard of play Young has preached to his Fairfield players ever since he arrived.
“Get in the gym and get better and improve,” Young said when asked about how his team can bounce back. “Our execution was bad and that’s on me, but I am proud of the way we fought against a good team.”
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