Box Score HAMDEN, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's basketball team established a season-high for scoring but the Stags could not overcome Quinnipiac University as the Bobcats opened the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schedule with an 83-79 decision over Fairfield. Most of the Fairfield offense came from the shooting hand of Marcus Gilbert, who established a career high with 31 points.

The Stags' offense clicked for the first 13 minutes of the half as they were successful both from the inside and the outside. Marcus Gilbert continued his offensive success by scoring 13 of the team's first 15 points which enabled Fairfield to grab an early 15-12 lead at the 13:52 mark.

The Bobcats kept the lead at three points with 9:29 on the clock after Ike Azotam, Quinnipiac's leading scorer, scored his first basket of the game. Fairfield responded with six straight points to take its biggest lead of the game at 30-21 as Gilbert, Steve Smith, and Coleman Johnson put together the string of points.

The lead remained at nine points after Gilbert's two free throws gave Fairfield a 34-25 lead with 6:41 left in the half. Those free throws would the Stags last points until Maurice Barrow netted a pair of charity tosses with 1:19 on the clock. During that stretch, the Bobcats went on a 16-0 run that turned the nine-point deficit into a 41-34 lead with less than three minutes remaining.

The Bobcats, who outrebounded their opponent in 38 straight games, made their run by keeping the Stags off the boards. Fairfield held a 17-12 advantage when it built its 30-21 lead. After that point, Quinnipiac outrebounded the Stags by a 12-3 margin to close out the half with a 24-20 edge on the boards.

Quinnipiac started the second half by scoring seven of the first nine points which allowed the Bobcats to build its first double-digit lead at 51-40 with 16 minutes remaining. Fairfield came within seven points a couple of times but Quinnipiac kept pushing the lead back to double digits, the last of which came at 70-60 with seven minutes remaining.

Fairfield began to chip away at the lead from that point, scoring four straight off a basket from Gilbert and a pair of free throws from Lincoln Davis. The Stags continued to cut the deficit until they made it a one-possession game when KJ Rose's layup brought the team within two points at 81-79 with two seconds remaining. An immediate foul on the in-bound pass put Zaid Hearst on the line for a pair of free throws. Hearst, who missed two attempts on the team's previous possession, connected on both attempts this time to end Fairfield's comeback hopes.

Gilbert reached the 20-point mark for the third time in the last five outings, complementing his 26-point night against Holy Cross and 23-point effort at Providence. He made 11 of 19 field goal attempts and six of 10 shots from behind the three-point arc against Quinnipiac.

Both teams took good care of the ball in this game as the squads combined for 11 turnovers. Fairfield posted a season-low five turnovers with only two Stags committing a miscue, while Quinnipiac was responsible for six turnovers. The Stags enjoyed an edge in the paint by outscoring their host 32-22, but the Bobcats kept their rebounding streak alive by securing 51 caroms to the Stags' 42.

Fairfield has little time to rest as it will host Iona College in the final game of the opening MAAC weekend on Sunday. The Stags and the Gaels will meet at Webster Bank Arena with game time slated for 1:30 pm.