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Box Score

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Rakim Sanders scored a team-high 25 points and was one of four starters in double figures as the Fairfield University men's basketball team dropped an 80-72 decision to Providence College.

The game lived up to the hype as two teams went toe-to-toe and played their hearts out in front of 6,375 fans, a regular-season record for the Fairfield University men's basketball program. It was the home opener for Head Coach Sydney Johnson. It was the return for former Head Coach Ed Cooley. But when the ball was thrown up, all the hype went away and left two teams to fight it out. The only negative from the Stags' perspective was that they came up eight points short despite coming back from a double-digit deficit twice in the second half.

The Friars led most of the first half, not surrendering their advantage until the final minutes of the half. With a narrow one-point edge, Providence scored 12 straight points to build a 13-point advantage at 19-6 with 13 minutes left in the half. The lead held at 21-8 with 12 minutes remaining, but it was at that point when the Stags began to chip away.

Fairfield immediately cut that deficit in half with a 9-2 spurt that made the score 23-17 with nine minutes remaining. Four points from Sanders and a three-point shot from Derek Needham sparked that comeback. After Providence's Vincent Council pushed the lead to eight points, the Stags answered with seven more point to pull within a point at 25-24 with five minutes remaining. On this run, Sanders put together five straight points to put pressure on the visitors.

Bryce Cotton's basket brought the lead back to three points, but Ryan Olander gave Fairfield its first lead with a dunk and a lay up that gave the Stags a 28-27 edge with two minutes remaining. The lead hit three points when Sanders dunked the ball to delight of the crowd, a direct benefit from Sean Crawford's steal and outlet pass. By the half, the Stags held a one-point lead at 30-29.

Fairfield opened the second half with a quick run that gave the team its biggest lead at  37-33 with 17:49 remaining, the big basket coming from Olander's 21 footer. But it was Providence who rallied from the deficit at this point and as the team put together 14 straight points to boost the lead back to eight points at 47-37. Council tallied eight points during that 14-point run, including a four-point play that tripled a two-point lead into a six-point edge.

As would be the case all night, the team that trailed mounted a furious comeback and Fairfield kept that trend intact by scoring 12 of the next 14 points to tie the game at 49-49 with 11:30 remaining. Sanders added six points during this particular stretch, including the tying basket.

Providence would put the game out of reach by netting 11 consecutive points, the team's third double-figure lead of the game. This time, Fairfield could not recover and ended up on the short end of the result.

Ryan Olander tallied 17 points, while Maurice Barrow and Derek Needham added 15 and 10 points, respectively for the Stags. Council finished with a game-high 26 points, followed by Bryce Cotton's 24 markers.

The Stags return to action on Thursday, November 17 when they take on the University of Minnesota. The game is slated for a 7 pm start (EST) and is being televised on the Big Ten Network.