Box Score

                FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Maurice Barrow tied his career-high for scoring with 19 points while Rakim Sanders added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Fairfield University men's basketball team to a 67-61 win over Robert Morris University in the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) at Alumni Hall. The Stags will play a semifinal game on Saturday, March 24 at Alumni Hall against Mercer University. Tip time is slated for 7 pm.

                The Colonials grabbed an early lead with a dunk on their first possession, a lead which they eventually pushed to five points at 9-4 with 17:45 remaining. Coron Williams netted five of those points, including a three-pointer. The Stags answered with eight straight points to take their first lead of the game at 12-9. With the score tied at 9-9, Maurice Barrow went to the free throw line and made the first of two free throws. The second caromed off the rim but was tipped in by Rakim Sanders to make it a 12-9 game with 14:30 remaining.

                Fairfield's run continued with four more points to give it a 16-9 lead a minute later. Williams nearly cut that deficit in half with a three-point shot on the team's next possession, ending a five-minute scoring drought. Robert Morris continued to chisel away at the lead and pulled with three points at 20-17 with 9:19 mark, a run that ended a three-point play by Mike McFadden.

                The Stags went on a 13-1 run over the next four minutes that stretched the deficit to its largest of the first half at 33-18 with 4:43 remaining. The Colonials scored the next five points to bring it back to 10 points as McFadden factored into the offense again with a layup. A three-point shot from Colin Nickerson pushed the edge back to 13 points before Lijah Thompson made a pair of free throws in the final minute to close the scoring and give Fairfield at 36-25 lead at halftime.

                Fairfield carried its double digit lead for first 15 minutes of the second half, the advantage fluctuating between 10 and 15 points throughout that time. Colin Nickerson scored six points and Barrow added five points during the initial six minutes to help the Stags equal their biggest lead of the game at 49-34 at the 11:36 mark which Robert Morris tallied four straight points on layups by McFadden and Jones that brought it back to 11 points.

                Still trailing by 10 points at 53-43 with 5:34 on the clock, the Colonials made a strong run at the game. A three pointer from Anthony Myles and a dunk by McFadden made it a 55-50 score at the 2:45 mark. Sanders stopped the momentum with a jumper at 2:08, making it a 57-50 game. Robert Morris continued its comeback bid with five consecutive points – three from Jones and two from McFadden – to come within a basket at 57-55.

                After trading baskets to keep it at two points, Fairfield rallied for four points on a layup by Ryan Olander and two free throws by Sanders for a 63-57 advantage with 56 seconds left.  Those points sealed the win for the Stags as Robert Morris never came closer than four points the rest of the way.

                McFadden led all scorers in the game with 20 points, making eight of 12 shots from the floor. Jones was the only other Colonial in double figures with 12 points. Nickerson also reached double figures for the Stags with 14 points by making six of eight shots.