Box Score WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Twelve three-point field goals nearly pushed the Fairfield University men's basketball team to victory but the team fell one short of a win as Monmouth University posted a 63-60 decision over the Stags. Marcus Gilbert made six of those long-range jumpers and finished with 19 points. Maurice Barrow led all scorers with 20 points for the visitors.

After missing their initial shot of the game, the Stags made their next three field goal tries, two of which were behind the three-point arc, which allowed Fairfield to open up an 8-2 lead in the opening two-plus minutes. The sizzling shooting was short lived though as the Stags made just one of their next six field goal attempts, allowing the Hawks to rally and tie the game at 10-10 with 13:14 on the clock.

Barrow stepped up and ended the 8-2 Monmouth run when he dropped a three-point field goal at the 12:42 mark, pushing Fairfield back in front at 13-10. Barrow pushed the advantage to five points with his put-back layup. Tyrone O'Garro brought the Hawks within three with his layup, but the lead doubled after Steve Smith netted his first three-point attempt of the night, making it an 18-12 score with nine minutes remaining.

After Monmouth's Andrew Nicholas dropped in a layup, the Stags answered with five straight points to take their biggest lead of the half at 23-14 with 6:19 on the clock. The Hawks rebounded with eight straight points, six of which came from Nicholas, to come within a point, 23-22, with three minutes left in the first half.

A three-point field goal by Gilbert, his third of the half, stopped the Monmouth run and put Fairfield up by four points, 24-20. Josh James scored the next five points for the home team which gave the Hawks their first lead since the opening seconds at 25-24. The two teams traded baskets over the next minutes but Gilbert had the last word with his fourth three-point field goal at the buzzer that sent the Stags into the locker room with a 31-29 lead.

The Hawks started the second half with five points in the opening minute that erased the halftime deficit and pushed the team in front at 34-31. As he had all night long, Gilbert stopped the streak with a three-point field goal that tied the game at 34-34 at the 18:42 mark.

Barrow took over from that point and gave the Stags the lead at 36-34 and 39-36 as his three-point field goal started a 9-4 run that made it 45-40 with 14:29 on the clock. The Stags continued to build on that lead and went ahead by as many as eight points at 54-46 after KJ Rose made one of two free throws with 10 minutes left.

Monmouth came back with eight unanswered points to tie the game at 54-54 as four different Hawks scored during the run. Barrow made a pair of free throws to end the run and push the Stags in front at 56-54 before Zac Tillman tied the game with a layup. The Stags made a free throw and added a layup on the next two possessions to pull ahead 59-56 with 3:37 on the clock. Barrow made that layup which would be the Stags last basket of the game.

The Hawks ended the game with a 7-1 run that enabled the home team to post the 63-60 win.

Andrew Nicholas paced the Monmouth offense with 19 points while Josh James came off the bench to add 15 points.

Fairfield returns to the court on Sunday when it hosts Siena College for a 12 pm tip.