After not seeing the Fairfield University men's basketball in about a month, more than 2,400 fans packed Alumni Hall and voiced their approval for the effort put forth by the Stags in their only regular-season appearance at Alumni Hall this season. And while the final score was in favor of the opposition, one could not fault the effort put forth by the Head Coach Sydney Johnson's squad.

On five different occasions, Old Dominion University held the lead in the second half, including a nine-point edge with four minutes remaining in regulation. And all five times, the Stags battled back to either take the lead or tie the game, including Tyler Nelson's two free throws with 5.9 seconds on the clock that would eventually send the game into overtime.

But once that extra period started, the Monarchs led for nearly the entire five minutes and ended up leaving with an 82-77 decision over the Stags. Nelson's efforts were herculean once again, scoring a team-high 26 points including 19 after halftime that helped fuel Fairfield's comeback. Erasing a deficit five times cannot be the work of any individual but rather a collective team effort, and that was the case this afternoon.

Ferron Flavors Jr. gave the Stags the lead at the 17:36 mark after the Stags trailed at the half, and one of his three pointers tied the game at 63-63 with 1:28 on the clock. Matija Milin's back-to-back three pointers turned a six-point deficit into a 44-44 tie with 10 minutes left in the second half. Jesus Cruz made a pair of free throws with seven-plus minutes on the clock that put Fairfield in the lead at 48-47.  And of course there were Nelson's charity tosses that brought the crowd to its collective feet in the closing seconds.

"We have a lot of talent so I have a lot of trust in these guys," Coach Johnson said. "So when somebody's off and I can go the bench and a get a contribution, I think it's terrific for the program. I think they all feel a part of this. It's how we recruited them and what we build on. But when we have our most experienced guys do what they can do, then we are so much more versatile and so much deeper."

The depth saw nine players earn at least 12 minutes of work and score points during the afternoon. Nelson finished with 26 points while Milin added 16 points to back up Coach Johnson's premise. And with that experience leading the way, newcomer Flavors Jr. was able to net 11 points to pace all reserves, pacing a bench that outscored Old Dominion's reserves by an 18-6 count.

On two different occasions, the Stags trailed by nine points in the second half, the second of which came with four minutes remaining at 60-51. Jerome Segura, who has emerged as an offensive option over the last few games, took control and nearly cut that deficit in half with two drives to the basket on consecutive possession. The Monarchs did not flinch though and nearly picked all those points back up with Randy Haynes' three pointer, bringing the lead back to 63-55.

Nelson did not relent though and netted another three-point basket for Fairfield, setting off an 8-0 run that tie the game with 1:28 left on the clock. Jonathan Kasibabu contributed to the run with a dunk and Flavors Jr. added the tying points with a shot from behind the arc.

After Brandan Stith slammed home two points on the Monarchs' next possession with 58 seconds left, Nelson provided the all-important pair of charity tosses that would eventually send the game into overtime.

"It just happened so fast because I was fouled followed by a timeout," Nelson said. "I was just thinking that I had to make the shots because I didn't want to let my teammates down. I'm not really thinking about the time on the clock. It's more about sticking to the same routine and finishing my shot."

In overtime, Fairfield would hold the lead one time which came off Nelson's jumper at the 3:55 mark that pushed the home team in front at 67-66. Ahmad Caver, who played all 45 minutes for Old Dominion, regained the lead for the visitors with his three pointer which started a 10-3 spurt that seemingly gave the Monarchs a firm hold on the game.

Today's game started a three-game home stand that continues on Friday, December 22 when the Stags host the University of New Hampshire at Webster Bank Arena beginning at 7 pm. The home stand ends on December 28 with the team's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener against Saint Peter's University at Webster Bank Arena.