Box Score

                BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Maurice Barrow posted a double-double with a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds as the Fairfield University men's basketball team won its third straight game with a 69-59 decision over Rider University.

                The Broncs took the first of three leads in the game when they scored the first six points of the contest. Daniel  Stewart scored the first four points and Anthony Myles finished the run with a layup. Fairfield responded with seven straight points to take the lead, the last of which came off  a three-point basket by Desmond Wade. Rider regained the lead with off a pair of free throws from Anthony Myles to make it 8-7 with 14:30 remaining in the half.

                The Stags answered with a layup from Colin Nickerson, a play which started with a steal from Barrow. Khalil Alford's jumper pushed the Broncs in front at 10-9 before Nickerson used two free throws to give the Stags the lead for good at 11-10 with 10:35 on the clock.

                Fairfield scored seven more points during that 9-0 run for its biggest lead to that point at 18-11 with 8:51 remaining. Coleman Johnson and Barrow each scored four points during that key run for Fairfield. Rider rallied to pull within three points on two occasions later in the half, the last coming at 31-28 after Tommy Pereira with 2:07 remaining. The home team would pull into halftime with a five-point edge at 35-30.

                The Broncs opened the second half with a 6-2 spurt that brought them as close as they would come in the second half at 37-36, but back-to-back layups from Nickerson and Amadou Sidibe as well as a three-point play from Barrow stretched the lead back to eight points, 44-36 with 15:20 remaining. Fairfield's lead reached as many as 11 points in the game before the team settled for a 10-point win.

                Needham was the only other Fairfield student-athlete to hit double figures with 15 points. Stewart paced the Rider offense with 22 points, 10 of which came from the free throw line. Myles and Jonathon Thompson both added 10 points for Rider.
                The Stags enjoyed one of their best nights at the free throw line, making 22 of 25 attempts. Barrow made all nine of his free throw tries as did Needham (6 for 6) and Wade (4 for 4). Another huge statistical discrepancy came from the bench as the Stags reserves outscored Rider's bench by a 41-11 margin. In addition to Barrow's performance off the bench, Nickerson added eight points, seven rebounds, and four steals in 35 minutes.

                Fairfield returns to the court on Monday night with a game at Siena College. The game is slated for a 7 pm tip at the Times Union Center.