First Home Game - Fairfield, just loses to Bucknell

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – It didn't take Jay Young very long to put his mark on the Fairfield University men's basketball program. One game to be exact. In Young's first game at the helm of the Stags basketball program, the 2019-20 edition showed resiliency and determination with just the right amount of grittiness, nearly overcoming a 15-point deficit with four minutes left in the game before running out of time in a 68-64 setback to Bucknell University at Webster Bank Arena.



The disappointment of the opening night loss goes without saying but the Stags showed promise and traits that Young emphasized throughout the preseason. Before the campaign, Young stated that this team would rebound and take care of the basketball and the Stags did just that. Fairfield secured 41 rebounds in the game, eight more than its opponent, and had one less turnover by a 13-12 margin than Bucknell."



"We took care of the basketball in the second half after having some bad turnovers in the first half that led to some baskets for Bucknell," Coach Young said. "For the most part, we'll take 12 turnovers because we'll be real good if we turn over the ball over that few times."



The team's ability to play its game and not press or panic when the Bison turned a deadlocked game at halftime, 33-33, into a 15-point lead by using their three-point shooting prowess to turn the tie score into a double-digit advantage. With the margin standing at 40-37 after Jesus Cruz's layup, Bucknell would use five three-point field goals to turn that edge into a 15-point advantage with 5:15 on the clock.



Still trailing at 64-49, Fairfield would find its footing on the court and put together a run of 13 straight points to turn what seemed to be an insurmountable lead into a one-possession game. The string began with Landon Taliaferro finding his range from behind the arc to bring Fairfield within 12 points at 64-52 with four minutes remaining in the game.



Cruz was the one responsible for transforming the three-point shot into a legitimate run by scoring back-to-back baskets in the paint, bringing the Bucknell lead down to a single digit at 64-56. Newcomer Vincent Eze added another short jumper in the paint which Cruz followed with another pair of layups that completed the 13-0 run with 29 seconds left in the game.



Bucknell was able to stave off the rally when Walter Ellis made both ends of a one-and-one to push the game back to two possessions with 12 seconds remaining. Taj Benning missed a jumper but picked up his own rebound and put the ball back into the basket to turn the score to 66-64 with three seconds left. Once again, the Bison kept Fairfield from completing the come back with a pair of free throws, this time by Andrew Funt with two seconds left to end the threat.



"I was pleased with the effort but I don't know if I was pleased with the execution tonight," Coach Young said. "Bucknell is a good basketball team that will make free throws and make open jump shots. I certainly thought we competed but execution in crucial moments is something that we need to improve on for sure."



Jesus Cruz tied his career high with 24 points and added two assists to pace the Fairfield offense. Landon Taliaferro accounted for both Fairfield three-point field goals and finished with 17 points. John Meeks came off the bench to lead all Bucknell scorers with 19 points while Bruce Moore was the top scoring starter with 15 points.



"Jesus is a warrior and proved to be a tough match up for them," Young said. "We scored enough points to win the game. We just needed more stops and to limit runs to be successful."



Fairfield returns to the court on Saturday when it hosts the University of Massachusetts at Webster Bank Arena. Game time is scheduled for 1 pm.