Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Yorel Hawkins scored a game-high 16 points, while Derek Needham added 13 assists to lead the Fairfield University men's basketball team to a 72-52 win over Howard University at Alumni Hall on Tuesday night. The victory was the fourth in a row for the Stags, improving their overall record to 5-3.
Howard scored the first four points of the game but Fairfield rallied for nine straight points to take a five point lead six minutes into the game. Yorel Hawkins scored four points during that opening Fairfield run. Anton Dickerson stopped the streak with a three-point to bring the Bison back within three points at 9-7.
The visitors would eventually tie the game at 11-11 following Alphonso Leary's jumper with 11:16 on the clock. Fairfield scored on its next two possessions courtesy of a layup from Warren Edney and another by Keith Matthews. The lead would improve to six points following two free throws from Colin Nickerson, making the score 19-13 at the 7:39 mark.
Howard would come as close as two points at 19-17 after a three-point play by Gary Lawrence and another free throw by Dadrian Collins. Greg Nero, Nickerson and Derek Needham scored on three straight Fairfield possessions to push the advantage to eight points at 25-17. The lead would reach as many as 13 points at 34-21 following a layup from Nero, before the Stags would settle for a 12-point halftime lead, 36-24.
The Stags started the second half with an 11-3 run that raised their advantage to 20 points following Ryan Olander's three-point play, giving the team a 47-27 lead with 14 minutes remaining. Fairfield tacked on a couple more points to the lead at 57-35, before Howard scored six straight points to bring the Bison within 16 points.
After a media timeout, Fairfield responded with a three-point field goal from Nickerson and a layup from Maurice Barrow regained a 21-point lead for Fairfield with six minutes left in the game. Fairfield took its biggest lead of the game after Jamel Fields drilled a three-point shot from the top of the arc for a 24-point margin, 69-45 with three minutes remaining.
Maurice Barrow just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. He added three assists and three steals to the Fairfield cause as well. Leary and Dickerson led all Howard scorers with 11 points each, while Gary Lawrence came off the bench to score eight points and secure a team-best seven rebounds.
The Stags takes on Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Siena College on Friday night in a rematch of the 2010 MAAC Tournament championship game. The contest will be played at the Times Union Center in Albany beginning at 7 pm.
