Box Score : HD Box Score
If you were to just glance past the final score of Fairfield's 65-52 victory at Rider, you would have no idea what a ridiculous basketball game this was, full of impossible to comprehend statistical oddities.
Read on for a series of bullet point observations on the Stags as well as a few details about the Broncs, who Princeton shall face at Jadwin Gym in 11 days.
Postgame audio from Sydney Johnson can also be found after the jump.
1. It took me a year, but I've finally figured out what it feels like to watch Sydney Johnson coach Fairfield: Watching Sydney Johnson coach Fairfield is like going to an ex-girlfriend's wedding.
2. There were 53 combined turnovers in this game, 30 of which were given away by Rider. The Broncs turned the ball over 18 times in the first half, 12 times in the second. Incredibly, the Stags only had six TOs following intermission after 17 miscues the opening 20 minutes.
3. Four turnovers - two by each team - transpired in the initial :53 prior to a single field goal attempt on either side.
4. Sticking with turnovers, one of my all-time favorite statistical lines has to be the assist-to-turnover ratio by Rider's Jonathon Thompson. He handed out four assists against one turnover. The other 10 Broncs combined for a 0:28 ratio. Good lord.
5. Rider's two leading scorers - Anthony Myles (13.9 ppg) and Nurideen Lindsey (13.7) - both did not have a point, a composite 0-10 from the field with as many turnovers as field goal attempts.
6. Maurice Barrow's putback gave Fairfield an 11-7 lead with 12:40 left in the first half. 7:29 would tick away before the Stags scored again as Rider ran off 17 straight. Those who have seen Fairfield play more than I in 2012-13 have commented on how difficult it has been for Johnson's team to score in certain lengthy stretches but this was an extreme example. Fairfield missed 10 straight shots and had six turnovers during this period. "When you're getting stops you need to score and we've run into that," Johnson acknowledged. "We've had two or three games now where we've gone into droughts. I think our guys are doing a much better job of figuring out what that is. Sometimes it is a simple as making a layup."
7. As soon as Colin Nickerson was able to drive coast-to-coast through the Rider defense for a basket with 5:11 left, Fairfield's state of mind immediately changed. This play seemed to suddenly make everything coalesce. Justin Jenkins recorded a steal six seconds later and drove for a pair of his own. Nickerson finished with 13 points.
8. The Stags somehow closed to 30-29 after trailing 24-11 but a three point play by Daniel Stewart with :24 left created the halftime margin. The two teams found the time for three more turnovers in the half's final six seconds.
9. The poorly play in the middle of the half was diametrically opposed by how well Fairfield performed to start the vesper frame. Daniel Stewart split a pair for Rider, then the next 16 points belonged to the Stags. It was what some on the Fairfield message board have taken to calling "Sydney Ball" - attacking the rim for layups, playing ferocious defense through the end of possessions to seriously bother opposition, thus create turnovers and scoring quickly when possible. During their run Fairfield got five layups, four free throws and a long jumper with no turnovers. It was fun to watch, seemed fun to play and if the Stags can execute like they did here for six good minutes more consistently, they're going to be pretty decent come next month.
10. Johnson is starting two freshmen in forwards Amadou Sidibe and Marcus Gilbert while four additional freshmen see rotation minutes. However, it was not the freshmen who were most frequently making "freshmen passes." Senior guards Desmond Wade and Colin Nickerson seemed to want to complete a three quarter court diagonal feed so badly that they tried them several times over. Not a one was successful.
11. I especially liked what I saw from the freshman Jenkins, who scored seven points off the bench on 3-4 shooting. He's smooth and in a chaotic realm like this one fairly poised.
12. After getting into a 13 point hole the final 25:11 was 54-28 in favor of Fairfield.
13. On one hand, a team with so many young pieces like this would be better-served by an Ivy League schedule where conference games such as this one start at the earliest in mid-January, not on the first day of Hannukah. However, since all the MAAC schools are basically just playing for tournament seeding it may not ultimately matter. "We just have to get good at being who we want to be over and over," Johnson said. "Our freshmen just need games under their belt and we may have a chance to get where we want to be." Through the first weekend of conference play Canisius is 2-0, Siena 0-2 and everyone else 1-1.
14. Rider is off from this contest until December 20th when they visit Princeton. That's a long stretch to think about their performance. The Broncs' athletic guards are going to give the Tigers problems but throwing any level of wing pressure at them could likely cause ill-advised passes to the interior I trust Princeton to treat as Fairfield did. It also seems possible that the Tiger centers will be able to go around Rider's long bigs. A few shots by Hummer, Darrow, Barrett and Connolly will likely be blocked but I think reverse pivots and pump fakes could get the likes of Dera Nd-Ezuma and Junior Fortunat scraping Jadwin's ceiling.
15. Nd-Ezuma had one of the best outfits I've ever seen on a basketball court. He wore a headband, face mask, two knee pads and hiked striped black socks simultaneously.
Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson:
