Box Score NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – A late surge by Marcus Gilbert and Steve Johnston enabled the Fairfield University men's basketball team to stave off a late comeback bid by Niagara University as the Stags posted a 72-66 win over the Purple Eagles at the Gallagher Center. The duo combined for 18 of the team's final 20 points after Niagara cut a 10-point halftime deficit to just four with seven minutes remaining. But Gilbert and Johnston came up with big baskets down the stretch to keep Fairfield in front the rest of the way.

The Stags used the three-point field goal throughout the first half, as nine of their first 13 points came from behind the arc. Coleman Johnson scored off a jumper on the Stags first possession of the game. The Purple Eagles went to the free throw line seven times in the first two-plus minutes of the game but were only able to connect twice to tie the score at 2-2 with 17:38 on the clock.

Antoine Mason netted Niagara's first basket of the contest three minutes in which also gave the home team its first lead at 4-2. The Purple Eagles built that advantage to five points at 9-4 before the Stags used a barrage of three-point shots which created a 9-0 run that pushed the visitors back in front at 13-9. Steve Johnston was responsible for two of those long-range jumpers. Niagara regained the lead on a Mason three pointer but Maurice Barrow netted his second three-point field goal of the half to give Fairfield a 16-14 lead.

From that point, there would be a couple of ties and four lead changes until Fairfield established control after Johnson's jumper put the Stags in front for the rest of the half at 21-20 with 6:21 on the clock. Fairfield would allow just four points over the final nine minutes of the half and would go on a 15-4 run to end the half and take a 34-24 advantage into the locker room.

The Purple Eagles scored five of the first six points of the second half which brought them within six points at 35-29, but back-to-back layups from KJ Rose and Amadou Sidibe regained the Stags' double-digit lead with 16 minutes remaining. Fairfield an 11 point lead after Barrow posted his third three pointer of the game that raised the team's advantage to 44-33. Niagara answered with four straight points from Wesley Myers to come within seven points with 12:57 remaining.

Fairfield's lead would eventually become 13 points as Barrow made back-to-back three pointers which made it a 50-37 advantage with 10:50 on the clock. Niagara used an 11-2 run that brought it within four points at 52-48 with seven minutes remaining as Ramone Snowden scored four points during the run. Marcus Gilbert found his scoring touch at that point and personally outscored the Purple Eagles by a 6-1 count that brought the lead back to nine points at 58-49 with just under six minutes remaining.

Niagara would come as close as five points but Steve Johnston's three pointer at the shot-clock buzzer pushed the advantage back to eight points at 61-53 with 3:47 on the clock. The Purple Eagles did not come closer than five points the rest of the way as the Stags would eventually post the six-point win.

Fairfield netted 11 three point field goals in the game with five coming from Barrow and four from Johnston. Barrow led all Fairfield scorers with 19 points. The Stags also outrebounded the Purple Eagles 42-40. Antoine Mason was the game's high scorer with 22 points.

The Stags complete their two-game upstate road trip on Saturday with a 2 pm tip against Canisius College.