BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- When Head Coach Sydney Johnson steps onto the basketball court before each game, he knows that someone is going to have a special night. The problem is he is not sure who that will be on any given night. 

On this night, Johnson watched freshman Jerry Johnson Jr. take center stage and help the Fairfield University men's basketball team rally from 13 points down with 11 minutes remaining in the game to defeat Marist 76-73 at Webster Bank Arena.

"We've had contributions from many different guys and tonight was Jerry's night," Johnson said. "We are really fortunate to have really, really good freshmen who have helped us win ball games. Jerry has a great shot and a lot of confidence and he has been fantastic for us."

Fairfield did most of its damage from behind three-point line,  making nine  three pointers in the second half and 13 in the game. Freshman Jerry Johnson Jr. came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points and made seven of nine three pointers in his 31 minutes of work. He made five of his six three-point attempts and scored 17 points in the second half.

The Red Foxes were without the services of leading scorer Khallid Hart, who leads the conference in scoring with just over 21 points per game. His absence was felt early as Fairfield opened up an eight point lead at 23-15 with 6:55 remaining in the first half. The Red Foxes answered with 10 straight points to erase the deficit following David Knudsen's three pointer which made the score 25-23 with 3:51 remaining.

Marist built that lead into a five-point advantage by halftime, going into the locker room with a 33-28 lead. Over the first four minutes of the second half, Marist improved on its advantage with a 10-2 run that raised the score to 43-30 at the 16:06 mark. Fairfield still trailed by 13 points with 11:30 remaining, 51-38, but scored nine straight points to bring the deficit own to a manageable four points, 51-47. Johnson Jr., Marcus Gilbert, and Tyler Nelson each netted a three pointer to account for the Stags' nine points.

Fairfield eventually tied the score at 68-68 on a pair of free throws by Gilbert and took the lead for good when Johnson Jr. tossed in another three pointer with 1:27 remaining in the game, making it a 71-68 score.

Gilbert finished with 20 points and Nelson added 15 points for the Stags. Brian  Parker led the Marist offense with 20 points, followed by Kristinn Palsson's 17 points.

We have a ton to play for and we obviously wanted to get this win," Johnson said. "We have some big things in mind for this team and want it to be a special year. Tyler Nelson said at halftime that we are winning this game, we are winning this game and everyone really bought in. Marcus stepped up in addition to Jerry and made big plays. He's a senior who wants to have a special season."

Fairfield will head to upstate New York for a pair of games later this week, taking on Canisius Thursday night and Niagara on Saturday afternoon.