Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. - Doug Chappell scored a game-high 16 points and added seven rebounds as the Fairfield University men's basketball team dropped a 59-52 decision to Loyola University on Saturday night.

Fairfield never led in the first half as Eric Laster scored the first five points for Loyola to give the Greyhounds an early lead. Dylon Cormier built on the advantage when he hit a free throw and added a jumper that made it 8-1 with 17:35 remaining. Fairfield netted its first field goal of the game when Sean Grennan went to the basket for a layup that cut the deficit to 8-3.

The Greyhounds continued to attack the basket which led some quick foul calls on the Stags, two of which went to Amadou Sidibe and forced the sophomore to the bench at the 18:10 mark. He would not return for the rest of the half. Despite his absence, Fairfield was still dominant on the boards as his replacement, Coleman Johnson, made the most of his minutes. The forward finished the half with nine rebounds, six of which were offensive caroms.

Fairfield used its offensive rebounding to fuel a comeback, scoring 13 points off rebounds that helped the team cut a 12-point deficit at 18-6 to a four-point disadvantage at 23-19 with four minutes left. Freshman Doug Chappell was instrumental in that run as he scored six of his eight points on three-point shots that were just 90 seconds apart. His second three pointer provided the points that made it a four-point game.

After Chappell's long-range jumper, Loyola closed the half with a 9-4 run that allowed the home team to grab a nine-point lead at intermission, 32-23. The Stags ended the half by nearly doubling up their opponent in rebounding, collecting 25 rebounds against 13 for Loyola. The Stags bench also accounted for 20 of the team's 23 first-half points, led by Chappell's eight points and Johnson's five markers.

Fairfield's defense really kicked in for the second half, as the Stags did not surrender a field goal for the first 12 minutes of the second half. While the defense yielded just four free throws in that time, Fairfield was able to score 14 points during that run which allowed the team to take its first lead of the game at 37-36 with 11:47 remaining in the game.

More importantly, Fairfield kept Loyola's top scorer Cormier off the scoreboard from the 15-minute mark of the first half until the 8:51 mark of the second half. When Cormier did score that basket, it put Loyola back in front at 38-37. It was the third lead change of the night with four more to follow. The last lead change came when Cormier sliced to the basket to regain the lead for the home team for the final time at 42-41 with 6:44 remaining.

Before Fairfield could mount another come back, Cormier converted a three-point play to make it a two-possession game at 45-41 with four minutes remaining. The Stags would not come closer than two points the rest of the way.

Chappell finished the game with a team-high 16 points, making four three pointers and making five of nine shots from the floor. Johnson just missed a double-double on the night, registering nine points and 11 rebounds in 16 minutes of work before fouling out in the second half. Malcolm Gilbert also narrowly missed a double-double as well with eight points and nine rebounds while blocking a pair of shots.

Fairfield will return to the hard wood on Wednesday, November 20 against the College of the Holy Cross at Webster Bank Arena. The game will tip off at 7 pm. The contest is also part of the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip Off, the second of four games in that Classic.