SAVANNAH, Ga –
Derek Needham scored a game-high 15 points, while Ryan Olander added eight points and five rebounds to lead the Fairfield University men's basketball team to a 41-39 win over Savannah State.
The Stags scored the first points of the game when
Derek Needham hit a jumper at the 18:40 mark. Savannah State netted the next three points to take its only lead of the half at 3-2 with 17:37 on the clock. Keith Matthew put together a traditional three-point play that pushed the Fairfield lead to 5-3.
After Jyles Smith made one of two free throws to pull the home team within a point,
Greg Nero hit a three pointer from the corner that built a four-point lead at 8-4. Savannah State came back to tie the game at 8-8 after Preston Blackmon scored off a layup and the team made of four free throws. Needham made a three-point basket to regain the lead for the Stags, before Jovonni Shuler tied it on the Tigers' next possession.
Fairfield finished the half with a 7-2 run that enabled it to head into the locker room with an 18-13 advantage. The first half featured 27 turnovers between the two teams as Savannah State registered two assists against 15 turnovers, while the Stags dished off five assists against 12 turnovers.
The two teams came out with a better offensive flow, as they combined for 15 points in the first four minutes. Both teams became more effective by going inside, as the Stags scored all six of its points in the opening four minutes inside the lane. Fairfield led by five with 16:48 remaining in the half at 24-19 but a three-point play by Cedric Smith brought the Tigers within two point s at 24-22.
Savannah State kept its run going with back-to-back baskets by Keirre Richards and Blackmon which put the Tigers in front at 26-24 with 13:46 remaining, the team's first lead since a 3-2 edge. Hawkins finally broke the Stags five-minute scoring drought with a lay up off a great pass from Needham, tying the game at 26-26 with 11:39 left.
Needham gave the Stags a two-point edge with a pair of free throws with 9:29 on the clock, which made the score 28-26. The point guard kept the Fairfield run going with another pair of charity tosses that bumped the Stags' lead to four points at 30-26. Savannah State was called for a technical foul which placed Needham back to the line. He made both free throws to increase the Stags advantage to 32-26. The lead grew to seven points when Jamel Fields made one of two free throws.
The Tigers used their defense to pull four points and quickly decrease the lead to three points at 33-30. Ryan Olander gave Fairfield some breathing room when he converted a pass from Hawkins for a lay up and a 35-30 lead. Darnel Jones scored his only points of the game to cut the lead to 35-32.
Fairfield took control from that point by scoring the next five points off a basket from
Greg Nero, a free throw by Fields, and two more charity tosses from Needham to take the biggest lead of the game at 40-32. Savannah State broke a near four-minute scoreless streak when Jyles Smith dunked the ball to make the score 40-34 with 30 seconds left.
The Stags inbounded after the basket, but the ball was swatted away and picked up in the back court by the Tigers. Shuler hit a three-point shot that was from NBA range to make it a one possession game at 40-37 with 16 seconds left. The Stags did get the ball into play after Shuler's shot, and Hawkins was immediately fouled. The senior missed both free throws, but Malcolm Barrow secured the offensive rebound and was immediately sent to the line with 10 ticks left. The freshman made the second of the two free throws for a 41-37 lead.
The Tigers came down court and scored after Joshua Montgomery secured an offensive rebound and put it back into the basket for a 41-39 with eight-tenths of a second left. Fairfield put the ball in the hands of Olander, who ran out the clock.
Fairfield returns to the court on Sunday when it hosts Loyola University in Stags' Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener at the Arena at Harbor Yard. Game time is slated for 3:30 pm.
