Box Score

                NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – While the road trip may not have finished the way that Head Coach Sydney Johnson had hoped, the Fairfield University men's basketball team saw some flashes from several student-athletes that may have assuaged their head coach.

                Once again, the Stags used a balance attack that saw 11 different players score highlighted by double-digit efforts from Tyler Nelson (16 pts), Ferron Flavors Jr (13), and Jonathan Kasibabu (10). But when the final buzzer sounded, those flashes were not enough to hand Iona its first home loss of the season as the Gaels walked away with an 84-65 score.

                That score is somewhat deceptive thought because the Stags were close for a good part of the game and held a first-half lead. When the first half ended, it was a 12-6 run over the final five minutes that helped Iona eliminate a three-point deficit and take a three-point edge into the locker room.

                "I thought we played hard and we executed a lot of what we wanted to do," Head Coach Sydney Johnson said. "But when we did make a mistake or two, Iona took advantage and made plays. We were only down three at the half and down seven late in the game so I think we were in the game. I thought we were ready to play two halves today which is encouraging to me as we move forward."

                The Stags grabbed an early lead by outscoring the Gaels 7-2 through the first few minutes of the game. Deyshonee Much erased that deficit quickly for Iona by making two three-point field goals on consecutive possessions. The shots were the first of Much's five first-half three pointers which he made on his first five attempts.

                The Gaels pushed the lead to seven points at 20-13 with 11:15 mark after another Much long-range jumper. But the Stags netted the next nine points to regain the lead at 22-20, a run that started with consecutive layups from Jesus Cruz. A three-point shot from Flavors Jr. tied the game while Wassef Methani's layup put Fairfield in front.

                Fairfield continued to add to its lead and eventually ran the advantage to 28-23 after three free throws from Nelson and a three-point shot from Aidas Kavaliauskas. Iona finished the half with a 14-6 run that sent the home team into the locker room with a 37-34 lead.

                The deficit remained at three points after Kasibabu's layup put the score at 41-38 just two minutes into the second half. Iona opened things up with eight straight points with six of those coming on back-to-back three pointers by Schadrac Casimir within a 14-second span that would put the Gaels ahead, 51-38 with 16:22 on the clock.

                Still, Fairfield did not relent and fought its way back into the game, beginning with a three-point field goal from Flavors Jr. and Wassef Methnani's layup that cut the lead to eight points. Iona built the lead back up to 16 points with 11 minutes to go, taking advantage of second-chance opportunities that came about from several offensive rebounds.

                "We were disappointed with how we did not exploit our rebounding advantage which has been a strength for us," Head Coach Sydney Johnson said. "That was something we wanted to do and the take away from this game was that we didn't rebound at the level we want and that hurt us because that is one of our strengths."

                Fairfield still rallied down the stretch after falling behind 66-51 as the Stags managed to trim the deficit down to seven points with a 9-1 run that included five points from Nelson and a dunk from Kasibabu. But Iona responded with its own spurt by scoring 11 of the game's next 13 points that pushed the lead to 16 points at 78-62 with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

                Fairfield returns home for a match up with Manhattan College on Thursday night at Webster Bank Arena. The game is scheduled for a 7 pm start.