ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – After grinding out a win on Tuesday night in a defensive battle against Manhattan, Fairfield University held the conference's top scoring team in Monmouth University to a season-low for scoring in a 79-60 win in a 2021 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Basketball Championship quarterfinal game.
Nearly half of the Stags' offense and more than half of the team's rebounds came from
Taj Benning and
Supreme Cook, both of whom tallied double-doubles in the game. Benning surpassed the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season with his career-best 24 points and added a personal-best 12 rebounds in 37 minutes of work. Cook posted 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to complete his double-double, the first of his career.
But just as gaudy as the numbers were for the offense, the Stags defense held the Hawks to 60 points, only the fourth time in 20 games that Monmouth failed to reach 70 points in a game. Monmouth came into the game averaging just over 76 points per game and surpassed 75 points in 11 of its 20 games this season.
"I thought the defensive effort we had was outstanding," Head Coach
Jay Young said. "They are a great offensive team so we locked in and made it difficult for them. They missed some shots which allowed us to get out and run. We took advantage of those opportunities tonight."
The Stags trailed early in the game, facing its biggest deficit of the first half at 20-14 with eight minutes remaining. After a timeout, Fairfield found its footing and scored 10 straight points to take a 26-20 lead with five minutes on the clock.
Allan Jeanne-Rose was the spark, converting a traditional three-point play and a three-point field goal for the first six points of the run. After George Papas ended the string of Fairfield points, the Stags answered with a 10-3 run that pushed the lead to double figures at 36-25 with 2:22 on the clock.
After settling on a seven-point halftime lead, Fairfield opened the second half by scoring eight of the first 10 points in the second half to reacquaint itself with a double-digit lead at 49-36. Fairfield would eventually lead by as many as 22 points late in the second half as Benning's points made the score 78-56 with two minutes remaining.
While Benning's offensive numbers may catch headlines, it was his work on the defensive side of the court that drew praise from his head coach. The senior, who played all 45 minutes last night and an additional 37 minutes tonight, went up against Deion Hammond who entered the game as the conference's number two scorer.
"I certainly appreciate the 24 and 12 but it was really about the work he did on one of the best if not the best offensive player in the league," Coach Young said. "I am really proud of the effort he put into defending tonight."
The team's defensive effort has led to the opposition averaging just 59 points per game through the first two MAAC tournament games. It's no coincidence that Fairfield's defense has shined in the first two outings as it was a point of emphasis for the team.
"Our mindset was that if we come in and defend than the sky is the limit," Benning said. "Coach Young tells us everyday that if we come into every game and do what we need to do and defend than we will be in a good spot to win the game."
In addition to scoring points and rebounding the basketball, Benning and Cook also combined for all three of the team's blocks, just another indicator of how important the duo's defense was tonight.
"Defense is the most important part of the game and if we can be successful on defense and bring it every night than we will win games," Cook said.
Caleb Green and
Jake Wojcik both scored 12 points to support the Fairfield cause. Melik Martin was the only Monmouth student-athlete in double figures with 12 points, half of which came from behind the three-point arc.
Fairfield advances to the MAAC Basketball Championship semifinals where the team will play third-seeded Saint Peter's University on ESPNU at 8pm.
