Fairfield Downs Niagara on Derek Needham's 32 Points; Top 25 Action on Super Saturday

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, February 3, 2012

Junior guard Derek Needham pumped in a career high 32 points to lead Fairfield to their fourth win in its last five games with a 77-69 win over Niagara.

Needham made 11 of 16 shots, including six threes and hit four of six from the foul line as the Stags turned a 34-31 half time deficit into a win with 46 second half points.

Even though the Stags were out-rebounded and turned the ball over 19 times, they shot 56% for the game (24-43) and hit 12 three-pointers, while the Purple Eagles converted on just 24 of 64 shots, a 37.5% clip.

The Stags, 7-4 in the MAAC conference, are alone in 4th place, behind the trio of Iona, Loyola (MD) and Manhattan, all bunched together atop the league at 10-2.

NOTABLE: After the usual paucity of games on Friday night, fans will be treated to a buffet of Top 25 action on Saturday. The premiere match-up comes out of the Big 12, where #4 Missouri hosts #8 Kansas at 9:00 pm ET on ESPN. The Tigers trail the Jayhawks by one game in the conference and will be looking to tie for the lead.

Prior to that prime time affair, #2 Syracuse gets their center, Fab Melo, back from a three-game academic absense when they travel to St. Johns for a noon tip. At 2:00 pm, #20 wisconsin hosts #3 Ohio State in a key Big Ten contest. The 7-3 Badgers have won six straight and are just 1/2 game behind the 7-2 Buckeyes for the conference lead.

21 of the Top 25 teams will be in action on Saturday, including #1 Kentucky traveling to South Carolina for a 6:00 pm tip with the Gamecocks. Elsewhere in the SEC, #11 Florida hosts Vanderbilt as the Gators try to keep pace with Kentucky. The game will be televised nationally on CBS at 1:00 pm. The Gators are riding a six-game win streak after opening SEC play with a loss to Tennessee and trail Kentucky by 1 1/2 games in the conference.

Fairfield Cruising to Metro Atlantic Title

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, February 11, 2011

The Fairfield Stags are within a game of capturing the Metro Atlantic Association regular season title after a 65-56 road win at Manhattan upped their conference record to 12-2, with just four games remaining on their MAA slate.

Chasing the front-running Stags is second place St. Peter's a 66-54 winner at Marist on Friday.The Peacocks are 10-4 in conference and host Fairfield on Sunday, Feb. 13. The Stags already have a win over St. Peter's - a 70-43 thrashing back in early January - and another win would clinch at least a tie for the regular season crown.

A win in any of their final three games - against Marist, Sienna and Iona - would then clinch the championship outright.

Sophomore guard Derek Needham was the only Stag in double figures, leading all scorers with 23 points, hitting four of seven 3-pointers in the first half and making 9 of 11 free throws. Needham was 5-for-9 from the field overall.

NOTABLE: Harvard held on at home for a 78-75 win over Yale Friday night, staying a game behind Ivy League-leading Princeton (6-0). The Crimson improved to 6-1 and 17-4 overall. Their lone loss in the Ivy was at Princeton - a 65-61 loss - on February 4.

Harvard hosts Princeton in both teams' season finale, March 5th, in a game that may determine the Ivy League champion.

At 11-1, Fairfield Stands Alone in Metro

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, February 4, 2011

With a 75-71victory over Iona on Friday, the Fairfield Stags have taken command of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with an 11-1 record and six straight wins.

Senior forward Yorel Hawkins surprised the Gaels - and his teammates - with a season-high 25 points, more than double his average, on 11-for-15 shooting. Hawkins worked the lane to near-perfection, adding three points from the foul line and grabbing seven rebounds, four on the offensive end.

Iona lost its 4th straight, knocking them down to 7-5 and out of serious contention for the conference title. Fairfield leads St. Peter's (9-3) and Rider (8-4) by two and three games respectively and have Sunday match-ups with those two foes over the next eight days with a Friday tilt at Manhattan this coming Friday.

Wins in those two key games would likely land the Stags the conference title, even though they play at Iona in their final regular-season game, Feb. 27. The Stags are 18-4 overall.

NOTABLE: Contentious Ivy: The Ivy league got a little little tighter on Friday as Princeton handed Harvard their first conference loss of the season, 65-61, and moved into a tie with Penn at 3-0 for Ivy lead. The Penn Quakers dispatched Dartmouth, 78-47, on Tyler Bernardini's 21 points for their 4th straight win and third in Ivy League play. Harvard sits right behind the co-leaders, at 4-1.