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BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Rakim Sanders scored a game-high 24 points, 20 of which came in the second half,  but it was not enough for the Fairfield University men's basketball to overcome a double-digit halftime deficit as the Stags fell to Iona College by a 71-62 count.

The two teams kept each other close for the opening 12 minutes of the game with the lead never going above five points. The Stags took their only lead of the game at the 15:58 mark when Derek Needham converted a three-point play that gave Fairfield a slight 5-4 edge. Mike Glover answered with a layup on the team's next possession which triggered a 10-2 run that pushed the score to 14-7 with 10:29 remaining.

Sean Crawford sparked the Stags offense with a three-point shot to cut the deficit to 14-10 at the 10:09 mark. Sanders tallied the next four points on back-to-back possessions to tie the score at 14-14. Sanders' points would be the team's last for more than six minutes which allowed the Gaels to put together 16 straight points that made the score 30-14 with 2:11 remaining. A free throw by Maurice Barrow stopped the Fairfield drought at 1:49, but Lamont Jones posted a pair of free throws and added a jumper to give Iona its biggest lead at 34-15 with 59 seconds remaining.

The Stags scored the last five points of the half on a three-point shot from Needham and a steal and dunk from Colin Nickerson. Fairfield forced a turnover a few seconds later but a three pointer at the buzzer just ticked off the rim to keep the score at 34-20 at halftime.

Iona built on its halftime advantage over the first seven minutes of the second half, pushing the lead to 19 points at 50-31 with 11:30 remaining. From that point, Fairfield began to put pressure on the Gaels which resulted in a decline in the deficit.  The Stags scored the next nine points with three coming from both Needham and Sanders to pull within 10 points at 50-40 with 8:51 remaining.

Fairfield finally brought the lead down to a single digit after Sanders layup made the score 52-44 with 7:30 remaining. The Stags came even closer at 61-57 after Barrow's layup with 2:39 remaining. Scott Machado gave Iona a little room when he made a free throw and added a layup on another possession that pushed the score to seven points at 64-57.

Fairfield eventually erased three points off the lead when Desmond Wade netted a three pointer with 38 seconds left for a 66-62 Iona lead. The Gaels iced the game by making five of six free throws over the final 34 seconds to finish the game with a 71-62 win.

Mike Glover tallied a double-double for the Gaels with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Jones paced the Iona offense with 20 points. Needham was the only other Stag in double figures with 11 points. Sanders, Needham, and Ryan Olander each grabbed eight rebounds for Fairfield.

Fairfield returns to the court on Sunday afternoon when it hosts Marist College at Webster Bank Arena. Game time is slated for 1 pm.