The Fairfield Stags visit the Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds in a battle of two of the top MAAC squads. Fairfield had looked very impressive over the last few weeks with six consecutive victories including a rout of Canisius. The hot streak came to a halt in a 71-67 loss at Niagara when the defense allowed an opponent to reach the 70 point plateau for the first time in ten contests. It was disappointing on several fronts with the Stags shooting 52.8% but giving the ball away 21 times that handed the 40% shooting Purple Eagles too many chances. Niagara was dominant at the foul line with 27 FF personals turning in to a 27-6 scoring edge at the stripe and the win. Derek Needham led a balanced Stags offense with 13 points, with Keith Matthews tossing in 12 while Colin Nickerson and Desmond Wade scored eleven apiece and hauled in nine rebounds. Early on, I have seen nothing to say Loyola-Maryland won't make another run at the top spot in the MAAC. As long as the Greyhounds can score consistently, the defense appears strong enough to rack up plenty of wins in the conference. LMU had zero problem disposing of Saint Peter's 74-58 and exerted their dominance quickly with a 13 point bulge heading in to the locker room. The Peacocks never found the shooting touch with just 35.1% while Loyola-Maryland fired away at 49% with a 6-12 effort on threes. Erik Etherly was the star of the game with 24 points, seven rebounds and five blocks, with Dylon Cormier scoring 18 followed by a 17 point, five board performance from Robert Olson. These teams look like two of the better squads in the MAAC and to be honest I wasn't sure about Fairfield coming in to the season. Both tend to play each other close to the vest so that has me taking the points...
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The Fairfield Stags visit the Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds in a battle of two of the top MAAC squads. Fairfield had looked very impressive ove...
