EVANSTON, Ill – No one could say that the Stags did not show heart. No one could say that the Stags did not give a great effort. Although the final score showed Northwestern University posting a 79-72 decision over the Fairfield University men's basketball team, this game came down to the final minute. This time, it just didn't go Fairfield's way.

                “I saw countless positives tonight," Head CoachSydney Johnson said. "We rebounded the ball well. After getting doubled up in the season opener, we were within six rebounds of North Carolina which has players that will go onto the NBA. Tonight, we outrebounded a well-coached team. I also saw unselfish players sharing the ball and a team that dealt with adversity on the road. I love this basketball team. We just came up short tonight.”

                Marcus Gilbert showed what he could do on both ends of the court with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Curtis Cobb proved that he can contribute as a starter or a reserve, coming off the bench to score 13 points. And Jonathan Kasibabu continues to impress by registering 12 points, five rebounds, and a blocked shot in 20 minutes of work.

                Right from the first possession, the Stags attacked the Wildcats from the outside as Kasibabu netted his first career three pointer to push Fairfield in front 3-0. Northwestern answered with 10 straight points to take a seven-point lead. Gilbert stopped the run with a three-point field goal to cut the lead nearly in half at 10-6. Scott King Jr.'s three-pointer kept Fairfield within four points at 13-9 before the Wildcats used a five-point burst to take their biggest lead at 18-9.

                Fairfield nearly erased all that Northwestern progress when Gilbert's basket and Cobb's three pointer was wrapped around a home team free throw that brought the score to 19-14 with 10 minutes left. Northwestern's lead would eventually reach 13 points at 27-14 after Bryant McIntosh's three point field goal. The Stags scored the next eight points, with four coming from Cobb, to pull within five points at 27-22. Northwestern would double up that advantage by the end of the half with a 12-7 run, taking a 39-29 lead into intermission.

                The second half started with Northwestern taking control by scoring six of the first eight points to take a 14-point lead at 45-31. After a three-pointer from Scottie Lindsey gave the Wildcats their biggest lead at 57-41 with 13 minutes left, the Stags began to chip away at their host's advantage. Fairfield made eight straight free throws to help cut the lead back to 10 points at 59-49. After a Wildcat basket, Cobb and Gilbert went back-to-back for five points to make it 61-54 with eight minutes left.

                Milin kept the run going with four more points to bring the Stags within one possession at 61-58 with seven minutes left. The lead remained at three points, 68-65, with three minutes on the clock. Northwestern's Bryant McIntosh netted the next five points to push his team up by eight points, 73-65, with 52 seconds remaining. The Stags came as close as five points at 75-70 after a Gilbert dunk, but could not come any closer.

                McIntosh led all scorers with 20 points while Tre Demps posted 14 points to pace Northwestern. Tyler Nelson posted nine points in the second half to give him 11 points, one of four Stags in double figures for the night.

                The team outrebounded their Big Ten foe by a 41-33 count and allowed just nine second-chance points. The Stags missed their two free throw attempts in the first half but responded by netting 17 of 19 charity tosses in the final 20 minutes.

                The Stags will open the home portion of their schedule on Saturday, November 21 when they host Sacred Heart University at Webster Bank Arena. Game time is scheduled for 7 pm, the second game of a doubleheader. The Fairfield women's basketball team will also host Sacred Heart with their game time slated for 5 pm.