FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- There are a lot of attributes that Head Coach Sydney Johnson examines when evaluating his men's basketball team. Sharing the basketball, rebounding the basketball, and running the court efficiently top that list of attributes. And on Friday night, the Stags checked all three off the list as Fairfield University handed the University of Bridgeport a 91-59 defeat in an exhibition game at Alumni Hall.
As for sharing, the Stags earned 21 assists on 29 baskets. As for rebounding, the Stags grabbed 50 caroms and owned a +15 margin against their opponent. And in regard to being efficient, the Stags scored 91 points by netting 14 three pointers out of their 29 field goals.
"I thought we rebounded well and I thought we shared the ball well in adversity," Head Coach Sydney Johnson said. "Those are two things that are very important. We were able to get a few stops which allowed us to get out there in transition so getting stops was important to get a lead tonight. We want to play at a fast pace so we will take every wide open jump shot, every single one, so that was nice to see. The nights that we don't make those shots we will have to make sure we defend and create other opportunities."
Fairfield jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the opening three minutes of the game as Jerome Segura paced the quick start with five points. The Purple Knights tallied the next eight points to pull within 9-8 with four of those points coming off the hands of Kyle Benjamin.
Bridgeport would eventually tie the game and take the lead with a 12-0 run that turned a 17-10 deficit into a 22-17 edge with 8:50 remaining in the first half. Sam Joseph scored the last eight points of the run including two three-point plays. The Stags responded with an 18-8 spurt over the final seven minutes of the game that gave the home team a 35-30 lead at intermission. Nelson finished the opening 20 minutes with 14 points while Cobb added six points, nine rebounds, and five assists in his 19 minutes of work.
The Stags opened up the second half by scoring seven of the next nine points to grab their biggest lead to that point at 42-32 with 16:25 remaining in the game. Nelson's three-pointer started a 13-3 run that ran the lead to 17 points at 52-35 with 13:33 remaining. The Stags would push the lead to 20 points after Nelson's layup made the score 70-49 at the 6:28 mark and never led by less than 20 points for the rest of the game.
Tyler Nelson entered this season as the team's top returning scorer and certainly showed he is ready to pick up where he left off from the 2015-16 campaign. He netted a game-high 28 point by making six of nine three-point attempts.
"He leads in the toughest moments and he has the skill level to play a lot of minutes but I want to challenge him to help us win," Johnson said. "That's what he does. We all know he can shoot the ball and is good at the rim. But his leadership level going forward is what is going to make this a winning program."
Fans were also treated to the return of Amadou Sidibe, who missed last year but returns for the 2016-17 season ready to make his mark on this program. He came off the bench to score four points and collect 10 rebounds for the Stags.
"He is the heart and soul of our program," Johnson said. "He is everything to us. It's great to have him on the court and to have him in uniform again."
Curtis Cobb posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Jerry Johnson Jr. came off the bench to tally 13 points for Fairfield. Bridgeport starters Joseph and Benjamin each netted 11 points to pace their teammates.
Fairfield returns to the court on November 11 when it starts the regular-season with a 7 pm game against Sacred Heart University at Webster Bank Arena. It's the second game of a doubleheader as the two women's basketball teams will start the night with a game that tips off at 5 pm.
