Dec. 3, 2005
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Michael Van Schaick scored a career-high 17 points, while Jonathan Han added 15 points in Fairfield University's 75-59 loss to 15th-ranked University of Iowa in the first round of the Hawkeye Challenge. While the game was a 16-point margin of victory, the Stags trailed by only five points with three-plus minutes left in the game.
The Stags battled with one of the nation's best teams for the entire 40 minutes, even though the final score may not be indicitive of the game. After falling behind 2-0, Fairfield rattled off the next five points off two free throws by Van Schaick and a three-pointer by Michael Bell. The Stags pushed their advantage to six points at 13-7 following another trey by Bell at the 14:38 mark.
Iowa answered with a 9-0 run over the next two-plus minutes to make the score 16-13 in favor of the Hawkeyes. The home team remained in the lead for the rest of the game, but could never fully pull away from the pesky Stags until the closing minutes.
Iowa eventually took a nine-point lead with 2:17 on the clock, but Fairfield closed the half with an 8-2 run to make the score 32-29 at intermission. The rally was highlighted by Van Schaick's mid-court buzzer beater to end the half.
The Hawkeyes slowly built upon its halftime lead to the point that it finally reached double figures at 59-47 with 6:50 remaining in the game. Once again, the Stags put together a solid run at the Hawkeyes which resulted in an 11-4 spurt to cut the lead to five points, 63-58, following Han's three-point basket.
Iowa held Fairfield scoreless for the next 3:17 to take control of the game with a 12-0 run and push the advantage to 75-58. Han tallied the last point of the game with a free throw at the 15-second mark.
Iowa forward Greg Brunner paced the home team's attack with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Bell completed his homecoming with an 11-point night, the third Fairfield player to reach double figures on the night.
Fairfield will play Tulane University in the consolation of the Hawkeye Challenge on Saturday night. Game time is slated for 6:45 EST.
