Fairfield edges SHU on last second basket by Fields

FAIRFIELD — As Fairfield head coach Jay Young began building his team for the 2022-23 season, he wanted to find a fearless leader, someone who would not shy away from the spotlight.

He found it in Bowling Green transfer Caleb Fields.

“We are a Jesuit school, and my prayers were answered when we got Caleb,” Young joked.

Trailing by two in the final minute Wednesday night, Fields converted on a pair of layups inside, the latter coming with less than a second to play, propelling Fairfield to a 61-59 victory over Sacred Heart before 2,819 at Leo D. Mahoney Arena.

Fairfield trailed by as much as nine with 12 minutes to play, but slowly cut into the deficit, setting up Fields’ heroic minute.

After Fields’ first score inside the final minute knotted the score at 59, Sacred Heart’s Mike Sixsmith missed a shot around the basket. After Fairfield secured the rebound, Fields once again had the ball in his hands with a chance to send everyone home.

“I looked up and I saw the mismatch, so I cleared everybody out,” Fields said. “My teammates trusted me in that moment, and I made a tough shot.”

Fields, who finished with a game-high 18 points, saw himself guarded by Sacred Heart forward Bryce Johnson. After a crossover to the left and then to the right, Fields got toward the basket and flipped a shot off the backboard.

After a successful opening of the Leo D. Mahoney Arena with a conference win against St. Peter’s, Fairfield brought its crosstown rivalry with Sacred Heart on campus for the first time in the matchup’s history.

“When I got the job here, I didn’t understand why they weren’t playing Sacred Heart on a home-and-home basis,” Young said. “I called Anthony (Latina) and said if we can play a game in November or December that is exciting and creates a buzz, then that’s what we have to do. I think it’s good for college basketball, this is what these games should be about.”

Prior to last season’s matchup, the two programs met in various locations, including Mohegan Sun Arena and the University of Hartford during the former Connecticut 6 Classic tournament held in the beginning of each season. While Total Mortgage Arena (then-Webster Bank Arena) was the former home for Fairfield, it’s proximity from campus gave it a neutral site feel.

According to Latina, the lack of willingness to host the games on each school’s campus was a driving force to eliminating the yearly matchup between 2016 and 2021.

“It makes no sense to not have it on campus. I’ve been arguing that since I was an assistant coach,” said Latina, whose Pioneers dropped to 5-5. “You saw how great it was today. Whoever thought that it was the way it should go, I thought it was wrong. Obviously, Fairfield agreed with us.”

Both Latina and Young shared the sentiment that the crosstown matchup will continue in the immediate future, with the 2023 meeting likely to return to the Pitt Center, located on Sacred Heart’s campus.

Fairfield’s win over the Pioneers extends the all-time series history to 9-0 in favor of the Stags. More importantly, it gives Fairfield the experience of winning a tight game, something that had rarely happened to this point of the season.

“I think it gives us a better approach,” said Fairfield forward Supreme Cook, who finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. “Since we won this game by playing good defense down the stretch, I think we can apply that to other games.”

Sacred Heart was led by Sixsmith and Johnson, who each scored 13.