Box Score

Photo Gallery


                BRIDGEPORT, Conn. –  You could not have asked for a better way for this game to follow. On senior night, the Class of 2012 combined for 34 of the team's 61 points as the Fairfield University men's basketball team coasted to a 61-38 win over Saint Peter's College. The victory extended the Stags winning streak to six games and improved the team's overall record to 16-10 and its MAAC mark to 11-4.

Rakim Sanders was the top senior scorer with 15 points while Sean Crawford came off the bench to register 12 points, five rebounds and a career-best six assists.  Ryan Olander added five points, and Gary Martin closed out the senior scoring with two points.

                The Stags never trailed in the game, scoring the first points of the game. The seniors started things off for Fairfield as Ryan Olander opened the game with a three-point play and Rakim Sanders followed with a layup for a 5-0 lead. A few minutes later, the Stags lead reached double figures for the first time when Maurice Barrow added another layup to push the score to 12-2 with 15:$5 left in the half.

                Saint Peter's cut the deficit back to a single digit at 12-4 and 14-6, the last coming at the 12:36 mark. But Fairfield responded with four straight points off layups from Colin Nickerson and Barrow for an 18-6 edge with 11:27 on the clock. The lead continued to grow over the coming minutes, reaching 15 after a jumper by Derek Needham. The advantage improved to 18 points at 31-13 after Sanders netted a jumper at the 1:58 mark. The halftime lead reached 33-13 when Nickerson ended the half with a layup to send the Stags into the locker room with a 20-point lead.

                Sanders led all Fairfield scorers with nine points as seven different Stags put up points in the scoring column. The home team took advantage of a strong bench as the reserves accounted for 12 points in the opening 20 minutes. Darius Conley paced the Saint Peter's attack with six points.

                The second half stared with the teams trading baskets as Fairfield did not increase its advantage over the first six minutes of the period. The Stags still remained in front by 20 points at 38-18 with 14 minutes remaining. Crawford tallied three of the team's five points in the first six minutes of the half. Fairfield eventually doubled up the Peacocks after Needham's fast-break pass led to another Barrow layup, giving the Stags a 44-22 lead with 11 minutes remaining.

                Needham helped himself to a three-point shot at the 9:30 mark that presented the Stags with their largest lead of the night at 47-22. A couple plays later, Needham set up Sanders with an entry pass that led to a dunk and a 49-22 lead with eight-plus minutes on the clock. Saint Peter's managed to shave off some of the lead, pulling within 23 points at 59-33 with 1:30 remaining.

                With under a minute left, the crowd came to its feet when Crawford executed a perfect backdoor play as senior Gary Martin benefitted from the pass for an open layup that made the score 61-36.

Needham finished the game with 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds to aid the Fairfield cause. No Saint Peter's student-athlete reached double figures as Darius Conley led all Peacock scorers with eight points.