FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The excitement and enthusiasm echoed through the rafters of Alumni Hall on Friday night. It was one of those rare nights where the past meets the present with the future also making its presence known to the 1,500 fans who watched the Fairfield University men's basketball open the 2015-16 campaign with a 91-80 exhibition win over the University of Bridgeport at Alumni Hall.
On a night that the Fairfield University community came together to honor former Head Coach George Bisacca by naming the basketball court after him, the current Stags showed that the present has promise with a strong showing by the veterans and the emergence of the newcomers on both ends of the court.
Marcus Gilbert scored a game-high 28 points, shooting 10 of 17 from the floor and adding seven rebounds with three assists.
“Marcus showed great leadership,” Head Coach Sydney Johnson said. “He scored points and grabbed rebounds but tonight he was as vocal as he has ever been. The entire team has bought in and he exemplifies that. It's been fun seeing him growing up and mature in the program.”
Jerome Segura and Tyler Nelson added 19 and 18 points, respectively. Curtis Cobb paced the freshmen class with eight points with Jerry Johnson Jr. and Matija Milin right behind with six points each.
“Jerome has arrived in terms of his confidence and direction,” said Coach Johnson. “He is the point guard on this team and is ready for that responsibility. Tyler is a proven player who is embracing getting better as a sophomore. It was a really great start for them.”
The Stags systematically built a 12-point lead early, pulling ahead 17-5 in the first four minutes of the game. But the offensive prowess of Bridgeport kicked in and the Purple Knights worked their way back into the game. Using a 20-6 run over the next eight minutes, Bridgeport would secure its first lead of the game at 25-23 with 7:53 remaining in the half.
Fairfield responded with the next seven points, which started with a three-point field goal by Nelson, and regained the lead for the Stags at 30-25. The home team would grab an eight-point lead by halftime, 42-34.
“We took a punch and what I liked was that our response was staying true to our goals as a team,” Coach Johnson said. “We had guys not jacking up threes but instead making the extra pass to open shooters. And, we made those shots.”
The Purple Knights rallied with eight straight points in the opening 90 seconds of the second half to tie the game at 42-42 with six of those points coming from Jesse Jones. The two teams stayed within range of one another for the next eight minutes with ties coming at 47-47, 54-54, and 60-60. The Stags used a 10-0 run to break the game open to make the score 70-60 with eight minutes left in the game.
Jones led all Bridgeport scorers with 26 points while Ernest Rouse and Muhammed Ahmed added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Fairfield opens the regular-season on November 13 when it plays Yale University in the first game of the Connecticut 6 Classic, hosted by Central Connecticut State University.
