Stags pass Waves
on way to rough road
Many teams have used the final of the Rainbow Classic as a springboard for tough upcoming conference games.
Fairfield plays in the Metro Atlantic Conference, but that doesn't mean the Stags can afford a letdown after tonight's tournament championship game against Hawaii. Coach Tim O'Toole's squad hosts Michigan on Saturday and visits Duke on Tuesday.
"Things don't get easier. And that's kind of how it's been. St. John's wasn't easy. George Washington was really good," O'Toole said, referring to two of Fairfield's seven wins against a lone overtime loss to Fordham nearly a month ago. "We're trying to become a good program. To do that you have to play good teams. Win or lose you try to figure things out."
The Stags certainly had a clue or two in their 60-56 semifinal victory over Pepperdine (5-7) last night.
Fairfield took the air out of the ball against a team that averages 80 points per game. The Stags led 27-17 at halftime; the Waves' score was around what their coach, Paul Westphal, averaged by himself per outing in the NBA.
Pepperdine didn't help by shooting 6-for-24 from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Wave improved somewhat in the second half, but shot only 32.7 percent for the game.
"It's frustrating," Westphal said of the Stags' slowdown. "It's good strategy. It shortens the game and makes every possession a lot more important. It's not as much fun to watch, but it was effective today."
So was Fairfield guard Michael Bell. Pepperdine fought back, and tied the game at 56 with 1:08 left on two free throws by Michael McGowan. But Bell hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 46 seconds left for the final lead, and then a free throw with two seconds left to seal it.
"Terrence (Todd) made the play with his penetration. He got into the lane, and they sagged off me," said Bell, who scored 13 points. "You don't think about it. You just go up and shoot."
Deng Gai, a 6-foot-9 forward from the Sudan, was also a big contributor for Fairfield. He had 10 rebounds and six blocks.
"When we didn't challenge him, but ... kicked it out for shots we got good shots," Westphal said. "When we went in there he blocked them all."
Terrance Johnson led the Waves with 16 points, Alex Acker added 15 with 11 rebounds, and McGowan had 11 points. Todd led Fairfield with 14 points and DeWitt Maxwell added 13.
American 73, Bowling Green 64: Andre Ingram led the way with 19 points as the Eagles (4-6) beat the Falcons (3-6).
Ingram's 3-pointer after a steal by Raimonda Petrauskas gave American a 61-59 lead with 6:45 left. Bowling Green never regained the lead.
Jernavis Draughn added 16, including six points in a nine-point run early in the first half giving American an 18-10 lead.
Bowling Green's Ron Lewis scored 29 to lead all scorers.
American outrebounded Bowling Green 35-22, with Draughn grabbing 11.
East Tennessee State 75, Lamar 62: Buccaneers forward Jerald Fields made eight of 12 shots from the field and finished with 18 points to lead ETSU into today's consolation title game at 1:30 p.m.
ETSU (6-5) opened up a 37-25 lead at halftime and held off the Cardinals the rest of the way. Bucs guard Tim Smith scored 16 points and Ben Rhoda added 11.
Lamar's Blake Whittle led the Cardinals (6-5) with 13 points. Terrell Petteway and Jonathan Burnett had 12 each. Lamar made 33 percent of its shots from the field and was lost the rebounding battle 52-39.