BOSTON, Mass. – A furious comeback from the Fairfield University men's basketball team nearly gave Stags fans something to be thankful for, but the team ran out of time as Northeastern University held on for a 57-48 victory. Fairfield nearly erased a 20-point second half deficit, pulling within seven points with 53 seconds remaining after Steve Smith's second three-point field goal. But, the Huskies kept Fairfield from scoring again to earn the eight-point victory.

                Northeastern grabbed the early lead by scoring the first four points of the game courtesy of baskets from T.J. Williams and Scott Eatherton. The Stags posted points at the 17:01 mark after Marcus Gilbert's corner jumper cut the deficit in half 4-2. The Huskies responded with five straight points to take a seven-point lead at 9-2 with 15:38 remaining.

                Gilbert's three pointer and KJ Rose's drive to the hoop brought the Stags with a hoop at 9-7, but the home team used an 8-0 run to push the lead to double figures at 17-7 with 9:34 remaining. Nelson halted the run with a three-point field goal  with 9:34 on the clock. Nelson and classmate Jerome Segura would be responsible for the rest of the team's points in the half. Nelson added a pair of free throws to his total while Segura netted a pair of baskets to close out the Stags scoring. Northeastern eventually carried a 33-16 advantage into the locker room when the first half buzzer sounded.

                More scoring options opened for the Stags to start the second half as four different student-athletes put the ball in the basket, courtesy of Rose, Gilbert, Coleman Johnson, and Amadou Sidibe. Northeastern still managed to improve on their lead at 42-24 with 15 minutes remaining at the first media timeout.

                The Stags put together a 12-4 spurt that brought them back within 12 points at 46-34 with 9:33 remaining. Sidibe scored four points during that stretch but it was Marcus Gilbert's slam that brought the fans to their feet. The run forced Northeastern to call a timeout and regroup. The Huskies did just that by scoring the next seven points off a David Walker three-point field goal followed by layups from Eatherton and Stahl, making it a 53-34 game with 7:05 left.

                Steve Johnston put an end to the Northeastern run with a three pointer at the 6:01 mark, drawing the Stags within 53-37 with six minutes remaining. Northeastern tacked on a basket when Kwesi Abakah made a layup to bring the lead to 18 points, 55-37, with 2:42 remaining.

                The Stags took control from that point as the team scored 11 straight to bring the score to 55-48 with 50 seconds remaining.  The run started with a basket from Segura, which Smith followed with a three pointer, making it 55-42 at the 1:59 mark. After a missed one-and-one by the Huskies, Rose added a three-point play before Smith tacked on an NBA-length three pointer making it a 55-48 score with 53 seconds on the clock.

                T.J. Williams made one of two free throws for Northeastern to push the lead back to eight points. Fairfield would not score in the final minute however, resulting in Northeastern posting the nine-point win, 57-48.

                Marcus Gilbert and Rose led all Fairfield scorers with nine points each. Sidibe posted a game-high 11 rebounds for the Stags. Eatherton led all scorers in the game with 18 points while Stahl added 14 points for Northeastern.

                Fairfield returns to action on Monday, December 1 when it hosts Bucknell University at Webster Bank Arena. Game time is slated for 7 pm. Tickets are available at the Webster Bank ticket office and through www.ticketmaster.com.