BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Derek Needham tallied a game-high 15 points but it was not enough for the men's basketball team to overcome the University at Albany as the Great Danes posted a 58-50 win in a Ramada BracketBuster game.

The beginning of the game was a back-and-forth affair where neither team could establish control over the other. Offense was not an issue as the two squads combined for 27 points in the first seven minutes of the game. In those same seven minutes. Fairfield and Albany combined for three ties and four lead changes, the last of which put Fairfield in front at 14-13 with 13:48 remaining.

Fairfield still held its one-point edge at 16-15 with 9:20 on the clock but Gary Johnson regained the lead for the Great Danes with a dunk at the 7:40 mark. The forward's basket started a 7-0 run that would allow Albany to take its biggest lead to that point at 22-16 with 3:54 left in the first half.

The Stags cut into that lead when Marcus Gilbert netted a three-point field goal to make it a 22-19 margin, the same three-point lead that the Great Danes would carry into the locker room at 27-24.

The visiting team carried its first-half momentum into the second half and opened with a 7-0 spurt that sent the deficit into double figures at 34-24 with 17:10 remaining. John Puk was responsible for five of those points, capping the run with a three-point play. The run ended when Keith Matthews made a jumper at the 16:48 mark, which Needham followed with a driving layup to pull the Stags within six points at 34-28 with 13:50 remaining in the game.

The Great Danes recaptured their double-digit advantage by scoring nine of the next 13 points that pushed the margin to its largest of the game at 43-32. The Stags never came closer than six points the rest of the way, getting the score to 56-50 after Gilbert's three pointer went through the net with 29 seconds remaining.

Matthews was the only other Fairfield player in double figures, scoring 11 points by making three of his five field goals and all five of his free throws. The junior was equally effective on the defensive side of the court, taking three chargers and collecting a team-high four steals. Sam Rowley and Puk finished the game as co-leaders with 13 points each.

Today was the final home regular-season game for the Stags as they finish the campaign at Manhattan College on March 1 and at Marist on March 3. Following the Marist game, Fairfield will open play at the 2013 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament in Springfield, Mass.