FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Throughout his career,
Jesus Cruz has served the Fairfield University men's basketball program both as a reserve and as a starter, and has held both roles at various times this year as well. Regardless of when he enters the game, the one common thread over his time with the program is that he can contribute and tonight was no different.
With the Stags down by 18 points with four minutes remaining in the first half, Cruz took over the remaining time of the period. He scored seven straight points to put Fairfield back in the game at 34-23 which was enough to give life to his Fairfield teammates. And by the end of the game, he was the team's top scorer with 12 points, the third time he was the team's leading scorer this season. The first two however came as a starter, netting 18 points at Stony Brook and 16 points at Hartford.
"Jesus gave us a spark tonight," Head Coach
Jay Young said. "He did a good job of getting us back into the game and allowing us to get some emotion back into the game. He definitely gave us a lift but we need to give more support to a performance like he gave us tonight."
The support came sporadically throughout the game but the consistency that Coach Young has sought all year was still not present. Once again, the Stags found themselves in a deep deficit during the first half before a late run fueled by Cruz gave the team a chance by halftime. Fairfield trailed Siena by 13 points at intermission at 40-27.
The second half provided ample opportunities for Fairfield to work its way back into the game, using the three-point shot early in the half to make some headway.
Zach Crisler started the period with the team's first three pointer after missing all eight attempts from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes. After Jalen Pickett scored four consecutive points.
Caleb Green found the mark with another three pointer that brought the Stags within 44-33.
Jake Wojcik was fouled on the next trip down the court as he was taking a long-range jumper which he converted into three free throws to bring the deficit under double figures at 44-36 with 16:50 on the clock.
After the Saint regained its double-digit lead at 48-38 off a layup from Jackson Stormo, Fairfield cut that deficit in half with five straight points courtesy of a Cruz three pointer and a
Supreme Cook layup that forced Siena to call for a timeout at the 14:02 mark.
After the brief talk, the Saints scored five straight points including a Nick Hopkins three pointer out of the timeout which was followed by a pair of free throws from Jordan King to make the score 53-43. Fairfield came within seven points on two different occasions, the first at 58-51 with 9:07 remaining and the next at 60-53 at the 8:25 mark. But, the Stags could not muster any more magic as Siena pulled away toward the end of the game.
"To beat a team like Siena, you have to play 40 minutes and we didn't do that today," Coach Young said. "We had moments throughout the game but we didn't have enough of them. We had another bad start which put us in the hole. If we played the first half the same way that we played the second half, it might have been a different result."
Wojcik was the only other Stag in double figures this afternoon, netting 11 points by making four of his eight field goal attempts and all three free throws. Cruz also paced the team on the boards by collecting seven in his 31 minutes on the court.
Pickett and Stormo paced the Siena offense with 15 points each with Stormo making all seven of his field goal attempts and Pickett netting a game-high three three-point shots.
Fairfield and Siena will complete their two-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series with a Sunday afternoon game at Alumni Hall. The game tips off at 4 pm. After hosting the Saints, Fairfield will play eight of its next 10 games on the road, starting with a pair at Marist College next weekend.
