March 4, 2007
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Close game were the norm for the Fairfield University men's basketball team during the regular season, so it should only follow that a nail-biter would be on tap for the post-season as well. The Stags saw their season come to an abrupt end when Loyola College put together back-to-back three pointers late in the game that turned a lead into a deficit and ended the Stags season with a 76-72 loss in the quarterfinal round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament.
The Stags, who won both regular-season meetings with Loyola, looked as though they would be on their way to making a strong case for win number three. The Stags jumped out to an eight-point lead just nine minutes into the game at 20-12, as Anthony Johnson tallied six points during that opening run.
The Greyhounds answered with seven straight points to close the game to one point before tying the score at 22-22 with 7:11 remaining in the first half. Johnson hit a jumper from the foul line to recapture the lead, an advantage the Stags would keep until Omari Isreal hit a three-point basket as the shot-clock expired with seven seconds remaining in the half, pushing Loyola in front at 34-33.
The lead did not last very long as Michael Van Schaick hit a three-point basket in the opening seconds of the second half, giving Fairfield the edge at 36-34. Once again, Fairfield would hold that lead for some time, nearly 15 minutes to be exact before Loyola finally pulled in front off Josko Alujevic's three pointer to make the score 68-66 with 3:30 remaining in the game.
While the Stags would never take the lead, Fairfield showed its resilience by keeping close and keep itself in position to win the game. The sixth-seeded Stags pulled to within two points after Anthony Johnson's free throw with 43 seconds remaining. Alujevic made foru straight free throws in the closing seconds to keep Loyola in position to win the game.
Michael Van Schaick tallied a game-high 24 points for the Stags. Greg Nero tallied 15 points while Anthony Johnson finished the game with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Gerald Brown led all Loyola scorers with 20 points, one of four Greyhound players in double figures for the game.
