WEBSTER BANK ARENA -- The Fairfield University men's basketball fell behind early, but battled back. The team fell behind in the second half, but battled back. But in the end, Monmouth University was able to hang on for the third time and left Webster Bank Arena with a one-point win over the Stags.

The two teams fought through four lead changes and three ties in the opening five minutes of the game before Monmouth secured a 14-10 advantage with 12 minutes remaining. A three-point basket by K.J. Rose touched off eight consecutive points for Fairfield and gave the home team its biggest lead of the game at 18-14.

The Stags remained in front with just under five minutes left when Mike Kirkland's layup made it a one-point lead at 20-19. The Hawks closed out the second half with a 10-2 run that pushed the visitors in front 29-22 at halftime. Seven different Fairfield players scored in the opening 20 minutes led by Tyler Nelson's six points, all coming from three-point shots.

Monmouth's lead hovered between six and eight points for the first five minutes of the second half until Andrew Nicholas' three-point field goal gave the Hawks their biggest advantage at 39-28 with 14:41 on the clock. Once again, Fairfield would fight its way back into the game, outscoring Monmouth by a 19-8 count to tie the game at 47-47 with four minutes remaining.

The comeback started simply enough with a layup from Amadou Sidibe, which Nelson quickly added his third three-point field goal to pull the Stags within six points at 39-33. The run continued when Jerome Segura and Nelson scored back-to-back layups on consecutive possessions to bring the Stags within a basket, 39-37. Monmouth padded its lead with a dunk from Zac Tillman and a layup courtesy of Deon Jones.

Once again, the two teams played evenly for several minutes as Monmouth really could not add to its advantage while Fairfield had trouble cutting into its deficit. Down six points at 43-37, Fairfield finally put together a solid run that would end up tying the score following two free throws from Marcus Gilbert, making the score 47-47 with 4:06 left. The Hawks responded with four straight points as Justin Robinson netted two charity tosses and Max DiLeo took the ball straight to the basket for a layup, pulling the visitors in front 51-47 at the 3:27 mark.

Monmouth would lead by as many as six points in the closing minute, but Fairfield made another valiant effort for the victory. Austin Tilghman connected on one of two free throws to make it a 57-51 lead, but Marcus Gilbert's three pointer cut that in half with 16 seconds remaining. Robinson added two more free throws to the Monmouth total but Gilbert added another layup to keep it a one-possession game.

Jones was fouled with 1.6 seconds remaining, giving him a chance to ice the game. He missed the first attempt but swished the second try which proved to be critical for the Hawks. Rose launched a 70-foot shot at the buzzer that dropped through the basket, leaving Fairfield one point shy of posting the victory.

Gilbert finished the game with 15 points while Nelson and Sidibe added 13 and 10 points respectively. Jones led all scorers with 18 points, and Zac Tillman posted 14 points for the Hawks.

The Stags will have little time to dwell on the game as they host Iona College on Monday, February 2 at Webster Bank Arena. Game time is 7 pm. Tickets are available at the Webster Bank Arena ticket office or by navigating to www.ticketmaster.com.