Category: Fairfield

Big Apple Buckets Metro Area Awards

College basketball in the New York City area is quite competitive. LIU Brooklyn and Iona both won their respective league tournaments and went to the NCAA tournament and St. John’s and Stony Brook both headed off the NIT. There are talented players playing in all five boroughs – I know because I saw them. The All-MET awards will be announced shortly, but here are my choices. Continue reading “Big Apple Buckets Metro Area Awards” →

Fairfield Seniors Leave Lasting Legacy

SPRINGFIELD – In the final minute two of Fairfield’s most important four-year seniors in the history of the program exited the court.

With 51.3 seconds left Colin Nickerson exited the game down 57-42 to an embrace from head coach Sydney Johnson. With 27.3 seconds remaining, perhaps the most prolific player in recent history, Derek Needham, exited the floor to an embrace from his coach that lasted almost until the final buzzer.

“He’s a great kid to coach,” Johnson said of Needham. “These young people give you so much, so I just wanted him to know how much I appreciate it. Special kid.”

Fairfield fell short of their goal with a 60-42 loss to sixth-seeded Manhattan in the MAAC semifinals. The seniors had a remarkable run reaching the semifinals four times, advancing to the championship game twice under two different head coaches.

“I feel like we had a lot of success since we’ve been here,” Nickerson said. “We’ve always had good teams, good coaches and we’ve fallen short so now for the future program they have to figure out how to get over that hump.”

Needham said that when they were juniors the transition from Ed Cooley to Johnson went seamlessly.

“We had great years, great four years,” Needham said. “During coaching transition still great teams. We’re blessed to have coach Johnson. Usually when you bring some coaches in they switch everything up. Coach Johnson trusted us even when we were juniors so just as we’re going the program is in building. We’re still going up it’s not going to go down.”

Needham said when he talked to then-Senior Anthony Johnson in his freshman year, he realized how quick the four years might go.

“I remember talking to Anthony Johnson my freshman year he’s like you’re dunking now but you’ll be tired by the end of this season and I feel like that just happened yesterday,” Needham said. “Four years go quick, man. That’s what I’m trying to tell our younger guys.”

After the buzzer sounded Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello embraced the senior Needham close to mid court during post game handshakes and had words for him before shaking the rest of the remaining Stags’ hands.

“I’m a big fan of his from afar,” Masiello said. “I’ve watched his numbers over his career, I’ve watched him play. He came into this league as rookie of the year, I think he averaged 17 a game. He has done whatever it takes for his team to win.”

“He’s gone from a scorer to a point guard, a point guard to a scorer. He is a class act, he doesn’t say a word on the court. He plays the game the way its supposed to be played. I have so much respect for how hard he plays every night. He gets everyone’s attention whether he’s scoring the ball or not. He plays defense, he is all about his teammates. He is what MAAC basketball is about. Wasn’t  heavily recruited, came here had a great career here, one of the best guards to ever play at Fairfield. I love kids like that and seeing kids like that have success just told him that. That’s what it’s about these young men having success. I told him if I could do anything for you in life pick up the phone because he’s what kids should be all about in college.”

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets, follow him on twitter @ryanarestivo.

Manhattan’s Second Half Spurt Leads to 60-42 Win over Fairfield

SPRINGFIELD – The sixth-seeded Jaspers continued their improbable run, making the championship game with a 60-42 victory over seventh-seeded Fairfield Sunday.

Manhattan advances to play Iona in the MAAC championship game for the first time ever.

Emmy Andujar led the Jaspers with a game-high 16 points. Fairfield’s Mo Barrow led the Stags with 15 points.

Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello said that Andujar makes the game look very easy.

“The game comes very easy to him and it looks very easy to him,” Masiello said. “Sometimes I don’t give him enough credit and I’m very hard on him he’ll sit here and say he needs that but he doesn’t. He knows how to play, he has a great feel for this game and he has mid-ranges, he goes off the bounce he shoots it, unbelievable passer, he rebounds, the whole package.”

“The only one to stop Emmy Andujar is Emmy Andujar and that’s it. You’re looking at a kid who wasn’t heavily recruited and has been through more adversity than most people in their life this year. No one deserves success more than him. He’s humble, he’s what being a Manhattan Jasper is all about.”

Manhattan controlled the second half of the game after carrying a one-point lead into halftime. Andjuar drove past Barrow through contact for a layup to extend the Jasper lead to 31-28. After a Barrow jumper miss from the free throw line, Mohamed Koita drilled a three-pointer from the baseline next to the Manhattan bench to give the Jaspers a seven-point lead, forcing a Fairfield timeout with just under 11 minutes left.

Second team All-MAAC center Rhamel Brown was held in check early, picking up his second foul with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. Brown scored his first points, a basket plus a Needham foul on the bucket with 10:06 left.

The Jaspers went inside to Brown on their next offensive possession, got fouled by Barrow and made both shots. The Jaspers extended the lead to nine with free throws to get it as large as 44-35.

Brown led the Jaspers with a team-high seven rebounds to go with his seven points and three blocks.

Masielllo said that with Brown struggling it helped get Roberto Colonette active who scored nine points and had three rebounds.

“The most unsung guy in this program is Roberto Colonette,” Masiello said. “He tells us guys what we need to do even when he’s not in the game and then when he’s in the game he does all the dirty work. He came in and listen we miss Rhamel when he’s not in the game he’s one of the best in the country, but Roberto is a different type of player. He’s going to take charges, he’s going to rotate and we change we adjust to it.”

“Emmy stepped up we played more physical on guards, we can’t get beat off dribble penetration and we adjusted they do that. That’s the beauty of this team they understand that and that’s what I think makes this group of young men so special.”

Off a missed layup from Nickerson, Andujar went coast to coast for a layup to cap an 8-2 run, giving the Jaspers a 46-35 lead. From there the Jaspers held a lead greater than 10 for the rest of the game.

Kates drove to the free throw line, his pass found Brown on the block and the junior threw down a two-handed dunk to give the Jaspers a 50-37 lead with 3:17 left.

For a time it didn’t look like the Jaspers were going to continue their late season run to the finals. Fairfield opened up the game scoring the game’s first six points and led by as many as 11 after a Derek Needham layup gave the Stags a 16-5 lead.

“I just said we were down 12-2 to this team about eight days ago,” Masiello said he told the team at the first media timeout. “We’ve been down 17, been down 15, been down 19. We’ve seen it all. These kids know what to do, I believe in them. They can go out and play this game without me, they’re those type of kids. My job’s easy, they do the hard stuff. I just give them some advice. I tell them some things to do things I see on the side, these kids do it all themselves. If every coach had these kids he’d be successful.”

However, the Jaspers closed the gap throughout the next eight minutes. Following a Colin Nickerson turnover, Donovan Kates buried a three-pointer with 50 seconds left to give the Jaspers their first lead. That 23-22 lead capped a 7-0 run and put the Jaspers ahead going to halftime.

Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson said that his team’s 12 turnovers cost them and let Manhattan get back into the game.

“I thought turnovers helped get them back in the game,” Johnson said for his team who turned the ball over eight times in the second half. “Once they got back in the game, we’ve had scoring droughts all season long and that showed up in the second half so we let them get back into it. Credit them they didn’t give up and that was it. We just couldn’t turn the corner.”

Fairfield did not have any answers offensively, going cold. The Stags were held to shooting just 34.9% for the game, including no three point shots made. It’s the first time this season the Stags failed to make a three-pointer in a game, missing all nine of their opportunities from beyond the arc.

Manhattan shut down Needham, holding him to four points on two of 10 from the field.

“I think they like me,” Needham said of how hard the Jaspers guarded him. “I always hear their coach ‘don’t leave Needham, don’t leave Needham.’ I think they rush two guys at me all the time.”

“Some teams got your number and you can’t be afraid to admit Manhattan, they do a good job of guarding me.”

Michael Alvarado said Masiello preached in every timeout to make sure they stayed on Needham throughout.

“We just can’t lose sight of him,” Alvarado said. “Coach always said in every huddle don’t lose sight of him and don’t let him get off. Make someone else beat us so that’s what we tried to do the last three times we played them.”

With the 18-point victory, the Jaspers swept the three-game series from the Stags this season.

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets, follow him on twitter @ryanarestivo.

Fairfield Upsets Rider 43-42 in Defensive-Minded Battle

SPRINGFIELD – Coming into the third Quarterfinal at the MassMutual Center, the MAAC was featuring two of its best defensive teams in seventh-seeded Fairfield and second-seeded Rider.

Whenever Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson needed his team to make plays, they managed to get the critical bounces in a 43-42 victory over second-seeded Rider Saturday.

“We played motivated basketball,” Johnson said. ” [Needham, Nickerson] have been a joy to coach and they willed us to a win.”

“Derek was outstanding in terms of literally willing us to a win and Colin’s been remarkable. We just don’t want to go home and we are doing our best to stay in Springfield for as long as possible so it’s pretty fun right now.”

Senior Colin Nickerson inbounded the ball with 6.8 seconds left, in what was likely the last milliseconds he threw one up for his teammate Derek Needham covered by Zedric Sadler.

Sadler’s back hand touched the ball and a scramble ensued but Fairfield found the ball and passed it to Needham where he was fouled with 3.3 seconds left. His two free throws gave the Stags a 43-40 lead.

Rider’s ensuing inbounds Nurideen Lindsey had the ball at half court and was fouled by Coleman Johnson with 1.2 left. Lindsey made the first but accidentally made the second to cut the lead to 43-42.

Rider head coach Kevin Baggett said that they were planning for Lindsey to miss the second free throw but he accidentally made it.

“We were trying to,” Baggett said of planning for a Lindsey miss. “He just made it.”

Needham returned to the line with 0.9 seconds left, missing both and a desperation heave from Anthony Myles was released after the buzzer sounded to give Fairfield the 43-42 victory in the MAAC Quarterfinals.

“The week we had off from the MAAC tournament I was getting up shots up at night,” Needham said. “Our strength coach at the end of shooting [said] do wind sprints, then walk to the free throw line.”

“That’s all I thought about every time I went to the free throw line. Derek you’ve been here before, you’ve done this in your gym, in your own comfort, let’s knock these free throws down.”

Of Needham’s 19 points, 11 were in the final 3:54. The senior added eight of 12 from the line.

Needham had the ball in his hands and drew a foul on Anthony Myles on a drive to the basket. His two free throws gave Fairfield a 39-36 lead with 37.1 seconds left. Myles drove to the basket and his two free throws cut it back to one 39-38 with 21.5 left.

Needham went back to the line after being fouled by Thompson with 18.9 seconds left, he made both and extended the lead back to 41-38.

Fairfield freshman Coleman Johnson made a 15-footer to cut the game to a 34-32 Rider lead with 4:57 left. After a Fairfield timeout, Rider tried to back down with Daniel Stewart but he was called for a charge drawn by Mo Barrow.

The Fairfield seniors willed the team to the semifinals, making big plays during the final four minutes. After Daniel Stewart missed the front end of a one-and-one, Fairfield’s senior Needham nailed a three pointer to give the Stags a 35-34 lead with 3:40 left. Johnson could be seen at the Fairfield bench pound his hands on the floor to pump up his seniors.

“I got a little excited,” Nickerson said. “He’s a very intense coach, he gets us riled up as well as our other teammates so it’s good to have him coaching like that.”

“That was sign language for we need a stop,” Needham said.

After Barrow added two free throws to extend the lead to four, Needham picked off a Anthony Myles pass.

The Stags couldn’t convert on the offensive end but when Rider tried to come back on the ensuing possession, Myles’ putback missed and the ball went out to midcourt. Desmond Wade went to the ground near center court, calling a timeout with 1:55 left.

The game never was outside of a margin of four points throughout. Needham led all scorers with 19 points, Jon Thompson led the Broncs with 12 points.

This game is the second fewest points scored in a MAAC game, second to Marist’s 43-40 victory over Iona in 2009. Fairfield’s 43 to win ties the lowest-scoring point total for a winning team with Marist.

“I don’t know if you’ll believe this, I talked to my wife this morning and I said ‘Honey, I don’t care with we win by one point with the other team making the basket for us as long as we win’,” Johnson said.

“There’s something special about the guts these guys have shown, I’m embracing that not fighting it at all.”

The third quarterfinal in MAAC play featured more turnovers (35) than made field goals (27). However it was the second seeded Broncs who were doomed with no assists, 21 turnovers and making 61.5% of their free throws for the night.

“21 turnovers, no assists and you’re 16 for 26 from the free throw line especially the big ones coming down the stretch when we needed to make them,” Baggett said. “Daniel Stewart steps up in a one-and-one, it’s a crucial time in the game, those guys made theirs. They’re going to cost you a game. Free throws cost you games it’s not just our players it’s nationwide, I don’t think kids understand how important free throws are.”

Johnson said he is not a believer in fouling when ahead but his bench said the gamble would pay off.

“I haven’t really ever coached my teams to foul down the strech but I just had a feeling,” Johnson said. “They’re a good three-point shooting team and they’ve got big guards. There was not a lot of time left so we rolled the dice.”

“In terms of the free throw assistant coaches were right on it, you miss a free throw that came from the bench and I just let these guys know you miss that free throw. There’s nothing really no opportunity for them to make a hail mary or touchdown pass so I thought that was excellent with our assistant coaches. The intentional foul was just a whim that I had that seemed to pay off.”

Fairfield freshman Marcus Gilbert exited the floor with 7:23 left with what looked to be a finger injury. Johnson said he’s not sure to what extent the injury.

“He hit his finger pretty hard,” Johnson said. “The kid’s as tough as they come, he’s not as vocal or as boisterous as other guys but he has some hardness to him but we’ll see.” “He had it taped up at the end. If [Gilbert] can play he’s definitely playing, he should stay in everybody’s scouting report. We’ll see, right now it’s too early to know exactly how bad it is, if it is bad.”

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets, follow him on twitter @ryanarestivo.

Needham Wills Fairfield to 54-47 Win over St. Peter’s

SPRINGFIELD – Fairfield senior Derek Needham did not want Friday night to be his final game as a Stag.

The senior put his team on his back at times, helping rally them down by as many as seven in the second half, scoring a game-high 24 points in Fairfield’s 54-47 victory over St. Peter’s.

“I thought they show a ton of heart,” Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson said of his seniors. “We’ve had our backs up against the wall the last few games where we’ve come up short but they played inspired.”

“Our seniors, they were just outstanding. They played inspired basketball so it willed us to win.”

The Fairfield senior class collected 31 of the team’s 54 points on the night, 24 of those coming from 8 of 21 field goals from Needham.

Needham said he was not ready to end his four year career as a Stag.

“I don’t want to go home yet,” Needham said.

St. Peter’s held their largest lead of the game early in the second half at seven at 44-37 after a Desi Washington three pointer. Needham responded making a deep two followed by a drive to the basket old fashioned three-point play to cut the lead to two.

Minutes later junior Mo Barrow collected his own miss underneath the basket and laid it in to tie the game at 44.

After falling behind on a Chris Burke two pointer off the glass, Needham drove in transition off a Yvon Raymond miss and got a shot to go off the window to tie the game at 46.

MAAC co-rookie of the year Amadou Sidibe received the ball on a rotation late, getting fouled by Darius Conley on an open look. Sidibe’s free throws put Fairfield ahead 48-46. The next offensive possession the Stags’ Needham missed a three pointer but Colin Nickerson grabbed the rebound underneath the hoop. Nickerson missed the tip in but Sidibe tipped it in to give the Stags a four-point lead.

Sidibe finished with a game high 13 rebounds to go with six crucial points. Freshman Coleman Johnson blocked two critical shots on drives by Raymond to the basket to help shut down the Peacocks offense.

“We tried to tell them keep going it’s a long game,” Needham said of the play of the freshmen. “It’s a MAAC tournament game, these are the hardest games for you to win in your career. We just told our freshmen keep going we’re going to need you down the stretch.”

The Stags defense worked over the Peacocks in the second half, holding them to just one point over the final 4:55.

“The guys are just committed to it,” Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson said. “They work tremendously hard in practice.”

“Derek knows this, he’s been a joy to coach, the seniors have been a joy to coach and really they just work so hard so it’s just fun to be around. I think what you saw tonight is their practice habits that came out and they stayed true to the scouting report and we made enough plays to win.”

The Peacocks managed just one field goal over the final 11 minutes of the game.

“They don’t let you get to the rim and they take away your strengths,” St. Peter’s head coach John Dunne said. “They’re very well coached with their defensive game plan.”

“Clearly I would like to get Desi [Washington] more shots, especially from behind the arc but they do a great job sticking it to him, trailing him, bumping him on cuts but other guys have to make drives. I did think we had some layups there, [Yvon] Raymond had two to three drives where he’s good at driving right and finishing, they just didn’t go down. They didn’t go down for him.”

Fairfield was held without a field goal for over seven minutes for a part of the first half as they watched a their lead as large as 10 evaporate.

II think our energy went down,” Needham said. “In the MAAC tournament if your energy goes down a team can make a run at you and they put us in a hole.”

Needham gave Fairfield a 27-26 halftime lead on a three pointer with 1:29 left. Neehdam picked up his third foul early in the second half the Peacocks capitalized. St. Peter’s stormed out of the half, taking a game that was tied at 30 and expanding their lead as large as seven at 41-35.

The Stags advance to play the second-seeded Rider Broncs, who they beat twice during the regular season by 10 points or more.

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets, follow him on twitter @ryanarestivo.

Lewis’ Buzzer Beater Helps Marist Stun Iona

The MAAC might be the craziest conference in America and on Thursday night things got even wackier. The first place team and the two teams tied for second that played as winter storm Nemo plowed towards the East Coast all lost on Thursday night, some in stunning fashion. The end result of a crazy night is that a team that’s currently 7-6 in conference play might be the favorite. (Well, and that Niagara ended up as a pretty big winner even in defeat.)

Continue reading “Lewis’ Buzzer Beater Helps Marist Stun Iona” →