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By ROB SULLIVAN When the Fairfield Stags visit Mohegan Sun Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., it wont be about playing the slot machines. Instead, the local hoopsters will be traveling to Uncasville for a showdown with the Louisville Cardinals, a game that, shall we say, might be something of a challenge. The Cardinals are currently the number two team in the nation behind Michigan State and are the defending national champions. The Stags are 1-3 and boast one senior on their roster, the scrappy Maurice Barrow. As one Fairfield follower quipped, Well be lucky to score one point against this team. Given Fairfields performance against visiting Holy Cross at the Webster Banker Arena Wednesday night, that wag may just be right. The Stags turned in an absolutely dreadful performance as the Crusaders pasted their hosts by a score of 63-49. A few seconds into the game, Cullen Hamilton stepped back and drilled a three, and for all intents and purposes, that was about as close as Fairfield would get the rest of the way. The Stags did manage to cut the lead to two points with 9:27 left to play, but this was a game in which Holy Cross would never trail. Holy Cross scored the first five points of the game before Barrow took a nice pass from guard Marcus Gilbert and drove it home for two. However, Holy Cross opened up a seven point lead (14-7) and eventually upped their edge to 11 points at 22-11 on a layup by Taylor Abt. The Stags made a strong bid to get bank in the game late in the first half thanks to Gilbert. With the score 24-13 the sophomore hit a bucket following a nice move inside, drove for two more points and then canned a three. Gilberts seven consecutive points slashed the Holy Cross lead to four points at 24-20, but the Crusaders quickly regained momentum and took a 29-22 advantage into the locker room at halftime. Gilbert had a breakout game for the Stags, leading all scorers with 26 points. He was Fairfields lone offensive threat in the game. Gilbert and Amadou Sidibe (13 rebounds) were the lone bright spots for the locals. To their credit, the Stags hung around for the opening minutes of the second half, before Holy Cross turned the game into a rout. K.J. Rose hit a three to kick start the second 20 minutes of action, but the Crusaders bolted to a 43-33 lead following another inside power by Abt. Fairfield then made its last great run as Sidibe hit two straight baskets, Barrow sank a free throw and Gilbert nailed a trey. The score was 43-41 and the Stags were as close as they had been all night. But that was all. Gilbert suddenly got cold and the Stags had no chance. Holy Cross outscored Fairfield 20-6 the rest of the way and champagne corks were soon popping in Worcester, Massachusetts. So, yes, Louisville may present a challenge as Rick Pitinos squad comes into Connecticut unbeaten at 4-0. The two teams have one common opponent, the University of Hartford. Hartford beat Fairfield 63-53 while the Cardinals squeaked past the Hawks by a mere 39 points at 87-48.
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