BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – One minute in basketball rarely defines a game. But tonight, there was 60 seconds of play that turned a potential defeat for the Fairfield University men's basketball team into a 103-100 overtime win against Iona College at Webster Bank Arena on Monday night. For in that one-minute span, the Stags erased a nine-point deficit on consecutive three pointers from Jesus Cruz, Tyler Nelson, and Aidas Kavaliauskas.

                The Gaels held a narrow three-point lead after Kavaliauskas hit a three-point shot that made the score 60-57 with 13:26 remaining in the second half. But Iona was able to steadily build upon that lead until the visitors enjoyed their biggest advantage of nine points which occurred at 68-59 and 70-61. It was the latter score that put Fairfield in the predicament of playing in a now or never scenario. And score now was exactly what the home team did.

                First, Nelson found Cruz open at the elbow extended and hit him with a pass that the freshman converted into a three-ball, cutting the score to 70-64 at the 9:01 mark. After an Iona turnover, Kavaliauskas fed Nelson with a pass that set up the second three-pointer in 22 seconds that turned the score to 70-67. And on the team's next possession, Kavaliaukas turned a pass from Omar El-Sheikh into the three points that knotted the game at 70-70 with 8:03 remaining in regulation.

                The Gaels scored the next five points and still held a two-possession lead at 83-79 with 3:14 remaining but Fairfield rallied once again and netted the next six points to gain an 85-83 edge with 1:51 on the clock. El-Sheikh was responsible for four of those points, a foreshadowing of things to come for the freshman.

                Iona sent the game into overtime when TK Edogi dunked the ball with just over a minute to go in regulation, making the score 85-85 where it would stay when the second half ended.

                In overtime, Fairfield scored first when Nelson converted his first two free throws of the night, but Rickey McGill's drive to the hoop tied the score again at 87-87. El-Sheikh regained the lead for Fairfield when he scored on a layup, just seconds before Schadrac Casimir tossed in a long-range jumper that pushed the Gaels back in front 90-89.

                On the next possession, Kavailiauskas dribbled the ball deliberately at the top of the key, surveying the court and looking for the right moment. At the same time, El-Sheikh recognized a defensive switch that created a mismatch and called for the ball. And with a flick of the wrist, Kavaliauskas sent the ball to his teammate under the basket. El-Sheikh received the pass and, with a spin move so tight it could have been executed in a phone booth, went to the basket and laid the ball in the hoop to regain Fairfield's lead at 91-90.

                Iona would take the lead one last time at 92-91 before Ferron Flavors Jr. provided the points that would give the Stags the game's final lead change, a three-point field goal that turned the score to 94-92 at the 2:23 mark. Kavaliauskas doubled the advantage with a fast-break layup that also completed his third double-double of the season, giving the sophomore his 10^th point of the night to go along with his 12 assists.

                The Stags kept the lead at two possessions for nearly the remaining two minutes of overtime as Nelson made five free throws during that time to keep Iona at arm's length. Nelson finished the game with 32 points which not only led all scorers but sent the guard past Derek Needham on Fairfield's career scoring list. Nelson now stands in third place all-time at the school with 1,888 points.

                 In addition to Nelson and Kavaliauskas hitting double figures, El-Sheikh registered a career high 15 points, while Flavors Jr. and Jonathan Kasibabu posted 13 and 10 points, respectively. The offense provided another strong showing on Fairfield's home court where it has averaged 98 points over the Stags' last three games at Webster Bank Arena.

                 "I think the team has been doing the right thing over the last few games," Head Coach Sydney Johnson said. "We are sharing the ball a bit more especially with Aidas giving us an infusion that has made us go offensively. So when you are doing good things, it's important to win so you can confirm all the good things the team is doing in games and in practice. We are getting heavy minutes from Tyler and Jonathan along with a group of guys who were not wearing our uniform last year and they are contributing and improving as we go."