Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Ryan Olander scored a career-high 23 points while Derek Needham added 17 points to lift the Fairfield University men's basketball team to a 69-61 win over Army, extending the Stags winning streak to eight games. The eight-game win streak is the longest in Head Coach Ed Cooley's tenure.

Fairfield used a fast start to take control of the game early, beginning the contest with an 11-3 run. The Black Knights took away that edge just as quickly by scoring 14 unanswered points for a 17-11 lead with just under 11 minutes to play. The Stags finally found their touch and put together a five-point run all of which came from the hand of Ryan Olander.

Army staved off the Fairfield rally with a three-point shot from Ella Ellis, but back-to-back lay ups from Derek Needham tied the score at 20 with 5:29 on the clock. The score remained tied at 25-25 with just over three minutes remaining, but that quickly turned into a five-point advantage for Army as Jeremy Hence scored off a lay up and Nathan Hedgecock hit a three-point shot for a 30-25 lead.

Once again, Fairfield fought back to tie the score with 28 seconds remaining after Warren Edney made a pair of free throws to make the score 32-32. Mitch McDonald ended the first-half scoring with two charity tosses with 20 seconds remaining, giving the visitors a two-point edge at halftime, 34-32.

Yorel Hawkins opened the second half with a dunk that tied the game at 34-34. After a defensive stop, the Stags took the lead for the first time since early in the first half when Needham took the ball to the basket for 36-34 edge at the 18:32 mark. Fairfield doubled that edge at 43-39 with 14:01 remaining as three different Stags scored during that 7-5 spurt.

Army scored the next four points off shots from Hedgecock to knot the score for the eighth time at 43-43 with 12:39 on the clock. Army retook the lead briefly at 45-44, but Fairfield tied the game at 47-47 with 10 minutes left in the game. After nearly two minutes of scoreless basketball, Fairfield broke the lull when Needham made one of two free throws to push his team in front at 48-47. Good ball movement between Needham and Nickerson created a wide-open jumper for Hawkins to move the score to 50-47 with 6:35 remaining.

The Stags' defense secured another turnover on the next Army possession, which led to an Olander put-back basket for a five-point edge at 52-47. Ellis finally broke the Army drought with a jumper to pull his team within three, but Needham went right down court and regained the five-point edge with a lay up at the 4:23 mark. Army cut the lead to two points with 3:50 remaining, but once again the Stags had an answer. This time it came in the form of two free throws from Olander, making it a two-possession game at 58-54.

Fairfield matched its biggest lead of the game after Needham nailed a three pointer for a 62-54 lead with two minutes remaining. Army came as close as three points with 24 seconds remaining at 64-61, courtesy of two free throws from Julian Simmons and a three-point shot from Jason Pancoe.

After two defensive stops following Pancoe's shot, Fairfield used two free throws from Hawkins with 11 seconds remaining to ice the game.

Hence led all Army scorers with 14 points, while Simmons added 13 markers for the Black Knights.