Box Score
BRIDGEPORT, CONN. - Rico Pickett's half court heave ricocheted off the front of the rim at the buzzer as Manhattan (7-9, 2-4 MAAC) was edged by Fairfield (12-4, 5-1 MAAC) 88-85 on Sunday in Bridgeport, Conn. Pickett led the Jaspers in scoring for the fourth straight game finishing with a career-high 29 points on a 13-for-20 shooting night. Manhattan senior Darryl Crawford had 21 points and junior Laurence Jolicoeur contributed 14 points and nine rebounds. Fairfield was led by Anthony Johnson who had 27 points helping the Stags improve to 7-0 on their home court.
The Jaspers scored 13 unanswered points erasing a 2-0 deficit after Johnson's lay up 54 seconds into the contest and led the remainder of the first half. The Stags fell into a 0-for-6 shooting slump and missed all four free-throws over a four minute span following their initial bucket. The Jaspers gained momentum during this stretch as Pickett and Crawford found their shooting groove. The duo combined for Manhattan's first 17 points.
Fairfield battled back into the contest as their shots began to fall. The Stags converted 12-of-19 (63.2%) field goal attempts over the final 14:41 of the first period to pull within 39-37 at the break. Pickett had 15 points and Jolicoeur posted 10 points and seven rebounds as the Jaspers shot an efficient 45.5% (15-33) in the opening 20 minutes.
Defensively, the Jaspers were solid in the first stanza as they forced 12 Fairfield turnovers. The Stags turned the ball over 26 times in the contest. Manhattan's senior guard Patrick Bouli contained freshman guard Derek Needham who entered the contest as the Stags leading scorer with 15.8 points per game. Bouli held Needham without a field goal for the first 15 minutes. Needham finished with 11 points, but was just 2-for-11 from the field.
Fairfield stormed out of the gate in the second half as it rallied for the first seven points regaining the lead (42-39) on Sean Crawford's 3-pointer at 19:08. Johnson also came up big for the Stags as he scored 17 second half points and did not miss a field goal (6-6). Johnson shot 10-for-12 from the floor and added eight rebounds in the game.
The Stags got very familiar with the free-throw line in the second half as they converted 22-of-25 (88%) attempts. Fairfield shot 78.4% (29-37) at the charity stripe in the contest to Manhattan's 88.5% (23-26) mark.
Manhattan's deficit did not grow larger than 10. The Jaspers continued the battle and used an 11-3 run to pull within 77-76 with 2:36 remaining. Then with 1:23 left Pickett tied the contest at 80-80 on a lay up in transition after a defensive stop by Crawford who swiped the ball from Needham.
The Jaspers had an opportunity to take the lead after Johnson missed the back end of a pair of free-throws. But with Fairfield leading 81-80 under one to play, Jaspers' junior Andrew Gabriel could not capitalize on two shot attempts around the hoop.
Fairfield hit seven of its final eight free-throws to maintain its advantage. Manhattan had a final opportunity to send the game into overtime with just three seconds left. Pickett launched a shot from mid court, hoping to replicate the half court bucket he hit that was waived off at the end of the first half. This time the attempt bounced off the front of the rim.
Manhattan shot 46.9% (30-64) in the contest, but only 15.4% (2-13) from beyond the arc. The Stags were 56.5% (26-46) from the field and 63.6% (7-11) downtown.
The Jaspers made 17 steals, including four apiece from Bouli and Gabriel. Manhattan scored 36 points off turnovers. Fairfield won the battle of the boards 37-25.
Manhattan returns to the hardwood on Saturday when the Jaspers host Canisius at Draddy Gymnasium. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
