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                BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Maurice Barrow tied his career high with 19 points and added eight rebounds as the Fairfield University men's basketball team posted an 81-53 win over Marist College at Webster Bank Arena. Barrow made eight of 12 field goal attempts and three of his four free throws to come up with his 19 points.

                The Stags enjoyed one of their best shooting games of the season, netting 55 percent of their field goal attempts. The fact that team shot 67 percent from three-point range (12 of 18) was even more impressive. Sean Crawford and Rakim Sanders each went three for three from behind the arc, while Derek Needham added four three pointers in seven attempts.

                Fairfield started the game with the first four points behind a jumper from Sanders and a layup by Maurice Barrow. The Stags continued to hold the lead for another three minutes the last of which came at 8-5 when Colin Nickerson converted a layup at 15;09. The Red Foxes tied the score after Devin Price netted a three pointer at 14:39 to knot the score at 8-8.

                Marist continued its run with four more points to grab its biggest lead to that point at 12-8. Fairfield cut the lead to one point on several occasions over the next five minutes, the last of which was at 15-14 at the 9:04 mark. Once again, the Red Foxes used a quick run to regain control, this time adding a 5-1 spurt for a 21-15 advantage at 7:03.

                From that point, the Stags defense found its way to keep the Red Foxes off the scoreboard for most of the final seven minutes. Still trailing by four points at 25-21, Fairfield finished the final three-plus minutes with a 12-1 run that turned a four-point deficit into a seven-point halftime lead. Five different student-athletes scored during the run, including Needham's three pointer at 2:41 which propelled Fairfield back in front at 26-25.

                Fairfield nearly doubled its lead at the buzzer. After Price was called for an offensive foul, Sean Crawford covered two-thirds of the court in two-plus seconds and hit a buzzer-beating three pointer from NBA range turned the four-point Fairfield lead into a seven-point margin at the half, 33-26.

                The second half was all Stags despite Marist scoring the first four points of the second half. Jay Bowie was responsible for the Red Fox points, bringing the visitors to within three points at 33-30. The Stags responded with six straight points to take its biggest lead to that point at 39-30 with 16:06 remaining. Marist whittled the deficit down to five points with baskets on consecutive possessions.

                The Stags put the game out of reach with 18 unanswered points which included four three pointers – two each from Sanders and Wade. Fairfield would make six consecutive three-point attempts during the stretch that saw the lead reach 23 after Wade's second trey at 57-34 with 10:34 remaining.

                Fairfield's lead would reach 28 points with six minutes to go at 67-39 after Ryan Olander posted a layup. The team would reach that advantage one more time which came after Keith Matthews' jumper with six seconds left for a final score of 81-53.

                In addition to Barrow, Fairfield had three other student-athletes in double figures, namely Rakim Sanders (17 points), Derek Needham (12 points), and Wade (12 points). Marist had two players in double figures, both of whom came off the bench. Manny Thomas and Chavaughn Lewis each tallied 10 points for the Red Foxes.

                Fairfield will play its third straight home game when it hosts Niagara University on Friday evening at Webster Bank Arena. The game time is slated for 7:30 pm.