Box Score

                BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Ryan Olander tallied a season-high 19 points while Derek Needham added 15 points as the Fairfield University men's basketball team won its fourth straight game with a 58-52 decision over the University of New Hampshire. The two student-athletes combined to shoot 14 of 18 from the field which included four for four from three-point range.

                The Stags trailed only once in the game when New Hampshire opened the game with a three-point field goal on its opening possession. But just like Friday's game against Old Dominion, Fairfield used a seven-point barrage to take the lead for good just a few minutes into the game. This afternoon, Needham tied the game with a three pointer, added a two-point jumper on the next possession, which Olander padded with a hook shot in the paint for a 7-3 Fairfield lead.

                Chandler Rhoads stopped the run by making one of two free throws, which the Stags answered with a three points from Rakim Sanders for a 10-4 advantage with 13:30 remaining in the half. The Wildcats proceeded to tie the game with six straight points, four of which came from Chris Matagrano. Fairfield answered with its own six-point run to retake the lead at 16-10 as Olander made a three-point play and Jamel Fields tacked on a three-point shot.

                Fairfield eventually built the lead to nine points at 25-16 with 3:56 remaining in the half, but Patrick Konan's long-range jumper cut deficit to six points at halftime, 25-19. The Wildcats carried its momentum at the end of the half into the second half, hitting back-to-back three pointers by Rhoads and Alvin Abreu to tie the game at 25-25 with 18:45 on the clock.

                The Stags scored the next nine points over two-plus minutes that pushed the advantage to 34-25 with 16:00 remaining. Olander scored four of those points on back-to-back layups. Fairfield would run the edge to 12 points eight minutes later at 45-33 following a three-point play by Sanders. The home team would still hold its 12-point lead with 1:29 remaining, before New Hampshire began cutting into the lead over the last 90 seconds.

                The Wildcats ended the game with a 9-3 run that finished the scoring at 58-52. Rhoads scored the first four points of the spurt, while Jordon Bonner added a three-pointer late in the run.

                Fairfield shot 10 of 19 in both halves, finishing the game with a .526 field goal percentage. The Stags' defense held New Hampshire to a season-low 52 points, the seventh time in 11 games that they held the opposition to a season-low in scoring.

                The Stags will have an 11-day break before returning to the hardwood on December 22, heading to Hartford for a match up with defending national champion University of Connecticut at the XL Center. The game will be televised on SNY and begins at 7 pm.