Nov. 28, 2005
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Danny Oglesby came off the bench to score a career-high 24 points, one of four Fairfield University players to reach double figures, in the men's basketball team's 81-78 loss to Big East foe Providence College at the Arena at Harbor Yard on Monday night.
The Friars may have been taller, may have outweighed the Stags, and may have had several other physical advantages against the home team. But one characteristic that the Stags did not have a disadvantage on was their heart, a trait which has become synonymous with Head Coach Tim O'Toole's teams. Fairfield showed that its blow out loss to Saint Joseph's in its previous outing was an aberration. There were no double-digit leads for the opposition on this night. Rather, it was nip-and-tuck for 40 minutes.
Providence found that it night was going to be a difficult one from the opening tip. The Stags defense, another staple of an O'Toole team, forced turnovers on the first three Providence possessions. Those miscues allowed Fairfield to jump out in front 4-0, courtesy of baskets from Jonathan Han and Michael Bell. The Stags held that lead for the first eight minutes of the first half, until Providence tied the game for the first time at 14-14 following a dunk by Randall Hanke.
Sharaud Curry's three-point field goal on the next possession pushed Providence in front for the first time at 17-14. He followed up that shot with another trey that gave the Friars a six-point lead, but Oglesby answered with a three-pointer a little over a minute later to make the score 20-17 with 8:47 left on the clock.
Fairfield pulled to within in two points at 22-20 with 6:57 remaining on an Oglesby three-pointer. However, the Friars used an 11-5 run to take its biggest lead of the half at 33-25. The lead remained at eight points, 35-27 with 1:43 remaining in the half, but the lead evaporated like a rain puddle on a hot, summer day thanks to five straight points by Oglesby and a hoop by Terrence Todd to close the half at 35-34.
The Stags came out in the second half with a 6-0 run to regain the lead at 40-35 with 18:38 left in the game. Oglesby, Michael Van Schaick, and Todd were responsible for the run. Fairfield improved its lead to six points at 51-45 with 13:15 on the clock, but Providence scored seven straight points in 13 seconds to recapture its advantage at 52-51. The visitors continued its scoring spurt with another six points to make the score 58-51 following Donnie McGrath's three-pointer at the 11:32 mark.
Once again, Fairfield fought back with a seven-point run which tied the score at 58-58. Van Schaick, Todd, Alvin Carter, and Herbie Allen contributed to the run. Over the next two minutes, Providence outscored Fairfield by a 9-2 count to take a seven-point lead at 67-60. The lead reached as many as eight points in the closing two-plus minutes, before a late rally pulled Fairfield to within three points after Van Schaick's buzzer-beating three-pointer, 81-78.
Todd and Van Schaick reached double digits with 14 points each, while Han closed his game with 12 markers. Hanke led the Providence offense with 20 points, followed by Geoff McDermott's 15 points, and Curry's 14 points.
The Stags return to action against nationally-ranked University of Iowa on Friday night, the first game of the Hawkeye Classic in Iowa City, Iowa.
