The Fairfield Warde boys basketball team could have thrown in the towel early against Staples on Monday night, but it fought back, nearly erasing a 15-point deficit. But it was too little, too late for the Mustangs as poor free-throw shooting cost them. Warde traded shot-for-shot with Staples in the final quarter but came up a point short in a 61-60 loss.
"When we were down that much, we could have easily called it a night," Warde head coach Ryan Swaller said. "But I'm very pleased that we showed fight. We realized it was now or never, and the guys started to compete like I see in practice. But Staples was very patient on offense."
Trailing 48-33 late in the third, Warde's fortunes changed when layups that had just missed started to go in. The Mustangs put together an 11-1 run over the last minute of the third quarter and the first four minutes of the fourth, pulling within three. Sal Sisciliano drew a foul on a layup and gave the Mustangs their first lead on the ensuing free throw, sending the Warde gym into a frenzy.
Staples' Luke Yeager quickly silenced them again, burying his third three-pointer of the night. Trailing by two, Warde's Kareem Mundle drew a foul with seven seconds left. He converted only one of his free throws. Staples rebounded and killed the remaining time.
Sisciliano led the Mustangs with 14 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. Max Garrett finished with 11 points, while Greg Hyman and Terrell Walden notched eight each. Looming large on the stat sheet was Warde's paltry 12-for-24 showing at the free throw line.
"We need to find some consistency with our free throws," Swaller said. "I told the guys if we keep shooting only 50 percent from the line, it's going to be a dogfight every night."
The loss to Staples snaps a four-game FCIAC winning streak for Warde. The Mustangs have a game against Trinity scheduled for Wednesday, but the looming snowstorm is likely to postpone it. Stay tuned to The Daily Fairfield for schedule updates.
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