Box Score

                ORLANDO, Fla. –  Rakim Sanders tallied 17 points while Ryan Olander added 11 points as the Fairfield University men's basketball team dropped a 56-49 decision to the University of Dayton in the Old Spice Classic. The loss set up a match up with Indiana State University on Sunday for the final game of the tournament. Game time is 4:30 pm and will be broadcasted on ESPN2.

                For the second straight game, one Stag owned a hot hand and used that hand to push Fairfield in front early in the contest. Tonight, Ryan Olander gave the Stags a push start by scoring the team's first eight points of the game, netting all of his points in the opening five minutes. But Olander would have to leave the lineup a couple minutes after his initial scoring flurry because he picked up his second foul at the 11:27 mark.

                Still, the Stags held a slight 14-11 lead at the time of his departure and would continue to hold that lead until Dayton's Josh Parker found his shooter's touch. The guard would score the Flyers' final 13 points of the half which gave Dayton the offensive output necessary to gain a 27-23 lead at halftime. In addition to Parker's touch, Fairfield went into a scoring slump that lasted more than 10 minutes.

                After Derek Needham's basket at the 12:24 mark, the Stags would not put a shot through the hoop until the 2:48 mark when Jamel Fields finished a layup off a stellar pass from Adam Jones. The basket pulled Fairfield within a point at 19-18, but that deficit would disappear after Sean Crawford's three-point basket from the wing regained the lead at 21-19. Parker returned the favor for Dayton with another three pointer that put his team ahead at 22-21.

                Rakim Sanders recaptured the lead for Fairfield with his second basket of the half, making the score 23-22. Once again, Parker had an answer with a three pointer, which he followed with a pair of free throws in the final minute to put Dayton in the lead at intermission.

                Halftime adjustments seemed to open the offense a little more at the start of the second half as the two teams combined for 15 points in the first four minutes. Fairfield scored eight of those points to cut the deficit to three points at 34-31 with six of the Stags' points coming from Rakim Sanders.

                Dayton responded by scoring seven of the next 10 points to take its biggest lead of the game at 41-34 with 11:39 remaining. Kevin Dillard scored five of those points for the Flyers, including a layup at the tail end of the run.

                The Stags chipped away at the lead and came as close as three points at 49-46 following Olander's basket. Dayton came back with an answer when Matt Kavanaugh converted a five-foot jumper to make the score 51-46. Desmond Wade picked the proper moment for his first points when his three-point shot took away more than half of the deficit, pulling the Stags within a pair of points at 51-49 with 3:10 on the clock.

                Both teams picked up a defensive stop giving Dayton the ball with just over a minute to go. Dayton took the next possession which resulted in a three-point play by Dillard to give the Flyers a 54-49 lead with under a minute remaining.  Dayton converted a pair of free throws to give it a seven point lead with 10 seconds remaining, providing the final margin of 56-49.