FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- With a season-long four-game winning streak in hand, the Fairfield University men's basketball team will look to extend the run with another road game on Saturday afternoon. The Stags will take on Niagara University at the Gallagher Center beginning at 3 pm.
Head Coach Sydney Johnson leads one of the most improved teams in the nation on Saturday as the Stags are +9 wins from last year to this year which ties the team for fourth with St. Joseph's (13 wins to 22 wins) and Southern Illinois (12 wins to 21 wins). Tennessee State ranks first at +13 (5 wins to 18 wins), followed by Ball State (7 wins to 17 wins) and Arkansas-Little Rock (13 wins to 23 wins) at +10 wins.
Niagara halted a five skid with the win over Marist on Thursday night. The Purple Eagles led for most of the game until the Red Foxes used a run midway through the second half to take their largest lead of the game, 57-50, with nine minutes remaining. Niagara scored 11 of the next 15 points to tie the game at 61-61 following a Dominic Robb's free throw at the 4:07 mark. After the Robb charity toss, Niagara went on a 9-0 run to take command in the closing minutes. Four of the five Purple Eagle starters reached double figures, highlighted by Emile Blackman's 21 points. Robb added 13 points followed by Cameron Fowler and Matt Scott who both scored 12 points in the game.
The 76 points scored against Marist was the most since an 80-79 overtime loss to LIU Brooklyn and the most in regulation since a 76-72 win over Quinnipiac. Scott leads the team in scoring both overall (15.8 ppg) and in MAAC play (15.8 ppg). Blackman is next in line with a 15.0 scoring average overall and a 14.9 average against MAAC foes. Scott is also the team's top rebounder, collecting 7.0 per game.
The Stags bring a four-game winning streak into today's contest, the longest run of victories this season. The Stags won their fourth straight with its 74-71 decision over Canisius, completing a season sweep against the Golden Griffs. Senior Coleman Johnson was instrumental in the win with three points, a co-leading seven rebounds, and six blocked shots. His three points came at the free throw line over the final 30 seconds, the last two raising the Stags lead to four points with eight seconds remaining. Tyler Nelson led all scorers with 22 points, followed by Marcus Gilbert's 17 markers.
Gilbert's three pointer pushed Fairfield in front 52-50 with 12 minutes remaining and the Stags would not trail after that point. Gilbert stayed atop the team's scoring leaders with 17.6 points per game, followed by Nelson's 15.9 scoring average. Nelson, who has the team's longest current streak of double-digit scoring games with nine, is the Stags' top scorer in MAAC play at 16.6 points per game. Marcus Gilbert took over the team with 5.4 rebounds per game, eclipsing Jonathan Kasibabu's total of 5.3 per game.
