Fairfield (11-18) Going to NCAA Tournament

Fairfield became only the 12th team to earn an NCAA tournament berth with a losing record, defeating Canisius, 78-72, Monday night at Buffalo, N.Y., in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game.

Fairfield (11-18) finished last in the eight-team MAAC during the regular season. Rated 252nd in the Ratings Percentage Index, the Stags knocked off top-seeded Iona and St. Peter’s to reach the tournament final.

Greg Francis scored 26 points and Shannon Bowman had 22 for Fairfield.

Canisius finished its season at 17-12.

Fairfield is the fourth sub-.500 team to reach the NCAA tournament in the last three years. Central Florida was 11-18 and San Jose State was 13-16 when both made it last season, and Florida International was 11-18 the previous year.

The last 10 teams to make it with below-.500 marks all were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Bradley, which in 1955 became the first team to reach the field with a losing record, went 2-1 in the NCAA tournament.

The Stags used an 18-2 second-half run to take control of what had been a tight game. Francis scored seven points during the 8:03 stretch that put the Stags out front 64-54 with 3:02 to play.

Canisius closed within four on Kevin Thompson’s three-pointer with 37 seconds left and again on Ryan Collins’ three-pointer with 10 seconds to play, but Fairfield answered with a basket each time. Collins led Canisius with 20 points.

The Stags had been the MAAC coaches’ pick to win the conference before the season but injuries to several key players, including ankle problems that took Bowman out of the lineup for several games, hurt the team.

The Golden Griffins beat the Stags, 52-46, in last year’s MAAC final and had won nine in a row against Fairfield. Second-seeded Canisius is now a long shot to make the NIT.

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Colonial Athletic--Odell Hodge scored on a layup with 21 seconds to play in overtime and Old Dominion escaped with a 62-58 victory in the championship game at Richmond, Va. The Monarchs (22-10) beat the Dukes (16-13) in the title game for the third time in six seasons. Hodge took an inside pass from E.J. Sherod as the shot clock wound down and laid the ball in, capping a 16-point, 18-rebound performance.

Mid-Continent--With Valparaiso’s two leading scorers in foul trouble and on the bench, Craig Brunes led the Crusaders (23-6) to an 88-82 overtime victory over Northeastern Illinois (16-12) in the semifinals at Moline, Ill. Brunes scored seven of his 11 points in the overtime, including the Crusaders’ final five points. Valparaiso will play Western Illinois (19-9) on tonight for the conference championship. The Leathernecks blew an 18-point lead against Buffalo (17-11) but managed to escape with an 80-77 victory, thanks to two free throws by Clint Ford with 36 seconds left in overtime and a game-preserving steal by Janthony Joseph.

Missouri Valley--Rico Hill had 31 points as Illinois State (25-5) became the first Missouri Valley Conference school to win the regular season and conference tournament in six years, posting a 75-72 victory over Southwest Missouri State (24-8) at St. Louis. Dan Muller clinched the victory when he made two free throws with 4.2 seconds to play after Illinois State had nearly blown a 16-point lead. Ryan Bettenhausen had cut the gap to one with a three-pointer with 5.4 seconds to play. Missouri Valley referee Paul Janssen complained of chest pains following the game and was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

Northeast--Corey Albano made two free throws with eight seconds to play in double overtime and Monmouth (20-8) staged two significant comebacks in defeating Fairleigh Dickinson, 73-72, at Hackensack, N.J. The defending champion Hawks (18-10) overcame a 20-point deficit early in the second half and a four-point deficit with 16 seconds left in double overtime to earn the right to play Long Island University on Thursday for the conference’s NCAA tournament berth. The top-seeded Blackbirds (21-8) posted a 90-76 victory over fourth-seeded Rider (14-14).

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They’re In

Schools that have received automatic bids to the NCAA basketball tournament. All bids are by virtue of conference tournament championships with the exception of Big Ten, Ivy League and Pacific 10 conferences, which do not conduct postseason tournaments:

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School Conference College of Charleston Trans America Ath Charleston Southern Big South Fairfield Metro Atlantic Ath Illinois State Missouri Valley Minnesota Big Ten Murray State Ohio Valley Old Dominion Colonial Ath Princeton Ivy St. Mary’s West Coast Tenn. Chattanooga Southern UCLA Pacific 10

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