Fairfield uses late run to down Manhattan

Chris Casey looks on as Fairfield battles Iona. Stags have now won 12 of 15 following Sunday’s win over Manhattan. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Pete Janny (@pete_janny)

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Chris Casey beseeched his players to find another gear late against a young Manhattan team desperately looking to get back in the win column.

After braving through the worst of the proceedings, Fairfield answered Casey’s call by erasing a four-point deficit with under 10 minutes remaining and staving off the Jaspers the rest of the way for a 77-68 win Sunday afternoon at Mahoney Arena.

Fairfield’s opening minutes bore no resemblance to Friday night at Iona, when the Stags exploded out of the gate with a 16-2 lead. This time, Fairfield dug an 11-4 hole almost seven minutes in and seemed to let the offensive struggles dictate its defensive intensity. The Jaspers saw opportunities to strike and found enough weaknesses in the Stags’ defense to penetrate in half-court sets and beat them down the court on a few long balls. Without Peyton Smith and Louis Bleechmore, the Stags and their seven-man rotation simply were not tough enough against a Jaspers offense that can muster flashes of brilliance with rookie point guard Jaden Winston running the show and Daniel Rouzan bodying up defenders inside while using his soft touch to score.

Still, even when the Fairfield offense is not at its best, the Stags guards still find ways to exploit openings and make it seemingly impossible for any defense to relax on any play without paying for it. Anytime the Jaspers hinted at having any meaningful momentum in the first half, the trio of Jalen Leach, Caleb Fields, and Brycen Goodine each stepped up to hit a big three-pointer to keep the margin of deficit tight. Goodine’s three at the 2:52 mark whittled the Manhattan lead from eight to five. Moments later, Fairfield delivered the final strike of the first half with an alley-oop from Leach to Goodine on a sideline out-of-bounds play. As a result, an eight-point deficit became six at the halftime break.

Halftime adjustments were necessary, but the overarching message to pressure Manhattan ball handlers into turnovers stayed the same. Casey smartly ramped up the defensive pressure to a three-quarter court press, forcing Manhattan into a series of bad turnovers. Fairfield eventually capitalized on Manhattan’s pliable ways with a game-changing 14-0 run that made the score 66-56 in the hosts’ favor following Caleb Fields’ three at the 5:24 mark. Fairfield refused to let Manhattan fully recover the rest of the way, and hung a 26-2 advantage in points off turnovers to mark the Jaspers’ downfall.

“They have a lot of young guards, so we knew we were going to get after them for sure,” said Leach, who has scored 20 points or more in eight games this season after racking up 23 points against Manhattan. 

Once again, Leach lived up to his billing as the team’s leading scorer by pacing the Stags on Sunday. He delivered the dagger on a tough step-back three with 48 seconds left that extended the lead to seven. However, in order to that point, Fairfield needed a patroller to do the dirty work. That badge went to Jasper Floyd, who tallied six steals and 10 rebounds.

“This year, it’s about us being together,” Floyd said of the take-no-prisoners mentality that has fueled Fairfield’s 12-3 record over its last 15 games, dating back to a win at Rider on December 3. “We get after each other in practice, and that’s where it starts.”

Despite being banged up, the Stags continue to position themselves well for a March run if they can all get healthy. Smith and Bleechmore remain day to day, as does Alexis Yetna, who warmed up for the third straight game despite not seeing the light of live game action just yet. While they await his official comeback, Fairfield is rolling with the punches and using its cadre of guards to wear down opponents. 

“It’s one of the best shooting backcourts I’ve seen,” Manhattan head coach John Gallagher said after the game when asked about the Fairfield guards. “They make hard shots better than anyone.”