Box Score

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Yorel Hawkins scored a career-high 25 points, while Ryan Olander added 19 points as the Fairfield University men's basketball team extended its winning streak to six games with a 75-71 win over Iona College before 4,094 fans at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard.

The Stags took control of the game early with a 14-2 run that turned a 6-4 deficit into an 18-8 lead with 10:31 on the clock Hawkins scored all eight of his first-half points during that stretch. The lead reached as many as 14 points after Olander made one of two free throws to make the score 25-11 with six minutes remaining.

Fairfield still held a double-digit lead with four minutes remaining in the half at 27-16 after Olander's dunk at the 4:09 mark. From that point, Iona steadily cut into the lead over the closing minutes, using an 11-4 spurt to pull within four points at half time, 31-27. Trinity Fields' steal and lay up with one second left capped the Gaels come back.

The home team found the momentum at the start of the second half by scoring seven straight points, five of which came off the hands of Hawkins. Iona rebounded by netting nine of the next 11 points in the game to carve the deficit back to four points at 40-36 with 17 minutes on the clock.

As it would for the rest of the half, Fairfield found a way to keep Iona at arms length. The Stags scored four straight points to double its edge at 44-36, and would eventually push the lead to nine points before made another run to pull within three points at 47-44 with 13 minutes left. A three-point shot by Jermel Jenkins was the finishing touch of the 8-3 run that made the game close once again.

Fairfield responded with its own mini-run, outscoring its opponent by a 9-2 count which made the score 56-46. The Stags would equal its biggest lead of 14 points after Warren Edney's jumper changed the score to 64-50 at the 7:26 mark.

Still facing a 14-point deficit with 4:53 remaining, Iona began to whittle away at the lead. Over the next four minutes, the Gaels would outscore the Stags by a 17-5 count to come within two points at 73-71 with 25 seconds remaining.

Fairfield tacked on another point to the lead when Colin Nickerson made one of two charity tosses that still kept Iona within a possession of tying the score. The Gaels seemed to be setting up for a three-point shot but the Stags thwarted that plan by fouling before a shot could be taken. With eight seconds left, Jenkins went to the line for a one-and-one opportunity but missed the front end. Hawkins grabbed the rebound and was fouled immediately with six seconds left.

Of all the points Hawkins scored during the game, none was more important than his final one. The senior made one of two free throws to make it a two-possession game.

Mike Glover led all Iona scorers with 18 points and added seven rebounds. Scott Machado, who entered the game as the nation's leader in assists with 7.8 per game, finished the game with five points and one assist before fouling out.

Derek Needham tallied eight points and dished off nine assists for the Stags.

Fairfield returns to the Webster Bank Arena for the final game of its four-game home stand when it hosts Rider University on Sunday, February 6 at 3:30 pm. The game will be part of a doubleheader as the women's basketball team takes on Marist College at 1 pm.