FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The final week of 2015 starts with the Fairfield University men's basketball team heading to Bucknell University for a non-conference match up. The game is slated for a 2 pm tip. The Stags hope their momentum carries to the road after winning five of its last seven games.
The Bison bring a 3-7 overall record into this game after falling to Princeton University by a 89-77 count on the road. The decision extended Bucknell's losing streak to six games which began with an overtime setback against Siena College on November 24. During the streak, Bucknell also lost to two Ivy League schools, namely Columbia and Princeton.
In the Princeton game, Bucknell was outscored 31-13 over the final 11 minutes of the game. The Bison shot well in the second half, making 20 of their 30 field goal attempts (66.7 percent) and made more than half of their shots in the game. Hass was the team's leading scorer with 21 points, netting nine of 13 field goal attempts in the game. Ten of the 11 Bucknell student-athletes scored in the game with Zach Thomas (16 points) and Stephen Brown (10 points) each reach double figures.
The losses have not come as a result of lack of effort as Bucknell has held second-half leads in five of the seven setbacks, including Wake Forest, Penn State, and North Carolina State. Hass is the team's leading scorer with an 18.0 scoring average, one of three student-athletes in double figures. Thomas (14.7 ppg) and Nana Foulland (12.3 ppg) are also averaging better than 12 points per contest. Foulland is also the team's top rebounder with 6.5 per game, while Thomas grabs 5.4 every forty minutes.
The Stags won their fifth game in seven outings with a 94-88 overtime decision over Loyola University at Webster Bank Arena. Fairfield held a two-point halftime lead but fell behind by as many as 13 points and by 11 points with just over minutes to go. The Stags outscored the Greyhounds by a 17-6 count to close out the game with Marcus Gilbert tying the game with a three-point play with just seconds remaining in regulation. Fairfield never trailed in the overtime period, taking the lead for good at 82-80 following a layup by Jerry Johnson. Gilbert finished the game with a game-high 27 points, followed by Tyler Nelson's 19 markers. Johnson came off the bench to add 13 points to the Fairfield cause.
Gilbert moved up to third on the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) scoring list, averaging 19.4 points per game. Nelson is also in double figures at 12.5 points every forty minutes. Johnson moved into a tie with Matija Milin for third on the team with nine points per game. Jonathan Kasibabu, secured a team-high seven rebounds which raised his season total to 5.6 caroms per contest, which places him 12th in the MAAC. The Stags improved to 4-1 at home following the Loyola win.
A couple of Stags are still ranked in the NCAA statistics, namely Jerome Segura, Gilbert, and Nelson. Segura places 55th in assists per game with 5.2 per game. Nelson, who leads the MAAC in assists/turnover ratio, is 54th in the nation in that same category with a +2.8 ratio (39 assists, 14 turnovers). Fairfield ranks 47th in the nation with 16.6 assists per game, 54th in defensive rebounds per game (28.2), 34th in three-pointers made per game (9.2). Gilbert stands 43rd in points per game at 19.4 ppg.
