Fairfield came up one win short of its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1997, falling 83-71 in Monday night’s MAAC championship game to league power Iona.
Watch: Fairfield coach Sydney Johnson says tearful goodbye to senior star Tyler Nelson
Man. All of the Championship Week feels.
The loss was assuredly difficult to stomach for all Fairfield players, but especially for Tyler Nelson. The senior guard was playing the last game of an illustrious college career that saw him score 2,172 points, the most in school history and the seventh-most in the history of the MAAC.
In the game’s waning moments, Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson called his star player over to the bench for the last time. While the player was able to keep it together, the gravity of the moment was too much for the man who had helped mold him for the past four years.
Even with all the issues the sport is currently dealing with, this was a nice reminder that college basketball can still be very special. Especially in March.
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