FAIRFIELD, Conn. – On some nights, you have it. On other nights, you don't. Fortunately for Jerry Johnson Jr., he's had a lot more haves than have nots.  The freshman made all four three-point field goal attempts he took in the opening half, giving him 13 of his career 20 points as the Fairfield University men's basketball team defeated Dartmouth College by a 97-85 score at Alumni Hall.

                The point total and five three pointers both set career highs for the freshman guard. He was one of three Stags to net 20 or more points, joining senior Marcus Gilbert (21 points) and sophomore Tyler Nelson (20 points). The Stags shot an amazing 68 percent  from the floor in the second half (17 of 25), while Dartmouth made half of its second-half attempts (17 of 34).

                Before the game, the Big Green would have felt pretty good if you told the team that it would score 85 points. Dartmouth was 4-0 when it reached the 70-point mark this season. But the Stags high-octane offense was unfazed by the stat as they went on to score more than 90 points for the fourth time in 13 contests.

                The Stags did most of their damage in the opening five minutes, building a 14-4 lead with Tyler Nelson finishing the run with five consecutive points. It took most of the first half for Dartmouth to rebound from that fast start, but the Big Green methodically cut into the lead and came within a possession on a few occasions.

                But each time Dartmouth found its footing, Johnson Jr. found his touch. With Fairfield leading by the slimmest of margins at 20-19, Johnson Jr. pushed the lead back to seven points within 38 seconds by netting back-to-back three pointers that brought the score to 26-19. After Connor Boehm laid the ball in the basket to bring the visitors within five points, Johnson Jr. buried another three pointer to give the Stags a 29-21 advantage.

                “When I first came into the game, they (Dartmouth) did not seem to respond to me,” Johnson Jr. said. “Coach told me to be aggressive. I did not really have a good game at Manhattan so I guess they watched the film and didn't think I was a threat. I've been in the gym the last two days working and it paid off tonight.  But this is a team game and what is most important is that we got the win.”

                Boehm continued to battle for Dartmouth late in the half with a personal five point run that brought the score down to three points at 35-32. Once again, Johnson Jr. stepped up and connected from long range to double the edge at 38-32. Dartmouth scored the next six points including the tying basket by Boehm to make it 38-38 with 11 seconds remaining. But in the closing seconds, Nelson made a 20-footer from the top of the key to send Fairfield into the locker room three points better at 41-38.

                Neither team could manage much headway through most of the second half. The Stags could not really add more than a couple of points to their lead through  most of the second period while Dartmouth managed to grab the lead just once through the first 12 minutes of the half.

                After Fairfield built the lead to 51-46, Dartmouth came right back and tied the game with a 7-2 run that knotted the score at 53-53 with 14 minutes remaining. The Big Green managed to grab its only lead of the second half 59-58 after a Boehm jumper at the 12:22 mark. But Johnson Jr. followed with a  layup on the next possession that regained the Stags' edge at 60-59.

                A couple of minutes later, a technical foul was called on the Dartmouth bench which allowed Nelson to add two free throws to the deficit. On the ensuing possession, Johnson Jr. posted his fifth three pointer of the night that doubled the lead to six points at 65-59. The Big Green came within four points after Evan Boudreaux's layup, making the score 69-65 with 7:26 on the clock.

                The Stags put the game away over the following few minutes, scoring 13  of the next 17 points that raised the deficit to double figures at 82-69 with five minutes remaining.

                Curtis Cobb tied his career high with 16 points against Dartmouth, giving the Stags four double-figure scorers. Boehm led all scorers in the game with 24 points while Boudreaux added 18 points to support the Big Green.

                Fairfield heads out on the road for its next two games, playing Siena on Thursday night and Rider on Saturday night before returning home for a match up with Monmouth University on January 11.