BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- It hasn't taken long for the Fairfield University men's basketball freshmen to come of age. For various reasons, the freshmen class has earned valuable playing time in the early season and tonight, that experience paid off.

Jonathan Kasibabu and Curtis Cobb each scored a game-high 14 points while Matija Milin added 13 points to lead the Stags over Rider University, 74-70, at Webster Bank Arena. Tyler Nelson also reached double figures for Fairfield, netting 13 points with six assists.

The youth movement came through with the Stags playing without leading scorer Marcus Gilbert, who went down with an injury during the Iona game earlier in the week. Without his production and leadership on the court, Head Coach Sydney Johnson turned to several others to pick up the slack.

"These guys are really competitive," Johnson said. "It's something that comes naturally to them. We don't have to beg or plead. They just like playing hard for each other. We saw a team that was a little tired with eight games in 20 some days, but they wanted to win and play well for each other. You can recruit that and I think we've done a great job in letting that come out."

There were several times during the course of this game that Fairfield could have pulled their collective foot off the pedal especially with this being the team's eighth game since November 13. But battling every minute of every game has become the norm for the Stags and tonight, it paid off with a win.

The first half was competitive with each team taking its turn at holding the lead. It wasn't until Fairfield put together a surge midway through the first half that the game became under the home team's control. Trailing by a point at 19-18, Fairfield used an 11-2 run to take the biggest lead of the game at 29-21 with five minutes remaining.

But Rider also showed its heart and answered with six straight points off a pair of three-point field goals from Jimmie Taylor that made the score 29-27 with 3:53 on the clock. The Stags managed to push the lead back to six points at 33-27 after a layup from Jerry Johnson Jr. and a pair of free throws by Jerome Segura. Once again, the Broncs came back with a quick run that would tie the game at halftime, 37-37 with equalizer coming off a three pointer by Teddy Okereafor with one second on the clock.

Each team opened the half with a three-point shot to keep the game knotted at 40-40. Rider would eventually build a five-point lead over the next four minutes and hold a 51-46 advantage, a run boosted by five points from Kealen Ives. The Stags rallied to tie the score on their next two possessions, starting with a layup by Johnson Jr. and a three pointer by Cobb. 

Fairfield would continue that run with six more points, the last of which came off an emphatic dunk by Kasibabu that made the score 57-51 with 11 minutes left. Rider answered with n 8-0 run of its own to take its final lead of the game at 59-57. The lead disappeared quickly with Fairfield netting six straight points, two each from Cobb, Kasibabu, and Milin.

Rider came as close as one point at 71-70 with under two minutes remaining, but Milin tossed in the final three points to end the game.

Okereafor led all scorers with 25 points, one of four Broncs in double figures. 

Fairfield will have a two-week layoff as the student-athletes prepare for exams. The Stags get back on the court on December 18 when they host Wagner University at Webster Bank Arena. The team finishes its three-game home stand on December 22 with a 7 pm game against Loyola, Md. at the arena.