SEATTLE, Wash. – The Fairfield University men's basketball team opened up play in the Elgin Baylor Classic this evening against Longwood University, the first of three games that the team will play in this four-team event. Tonight, their Big South opponent came away with a 67-65 decision over the Stags, despite Fairfield making several strong runs in the second half.

                Senior Jonathan Kasibabu was the heart of those comebacks, sparking the second-half runs with his play as well as with his experience. With just under 10 minutes remaining in the game and the shot clock winding down, Kasibabu stood at the top of the key and yelled to his teammates, "Stay in it. Stay in it. Stay in it."

He was referring to let the play run and don't panic despite the display showing less than 10 seconds. The patience paid off as the Stags managed to score a pair of points against Longwood University on that particular play.

                "On that play, I think he was mimicking the coaching staff, Head Coach Sydney Johnson. "He has become of an extension of me and the other coaches when he is on the floor. He showed that tonight on several occasions."

                The Stags trailed by as many as eight points, 48-40, during the second half. With strong defense and patience on offense, Fairfield stayed close to its opponent and came within a possession at 53-51 after Landon Taliaferro's three-point field goal at the 7:38 mark. The lead doubled on the Lancers' next possession, before Kasibabu exerted himself with successful plays on back-to-back possessions.

                The senior made a pair of free throws with 5:46 remaining and followed up with a driving layup on his next touch to tie the game at 55-55. Kasibabu seemed to find himself in the right place at the right time all night long, something that did not happen by accident.

                "Jonathan is the heart and soul of the program and we rely on him so much to set the tone," Coach Johnson said. "He is always the guy right there making plays in practices and in games that can turn things for us and that's a sign of his maturity and leadership. I was talking to our coaches the other day about how far he has come. His heart was always in the right place as a freshman but now he is able to connect with guys and take that responsibility to make us better and he is doing that now as a senior."

                Kasibabu finished the game with 12 points, one of four Stags in double figures, and a team-best six rebounds, four of which kept plays alive off the offensive glass. His ability to keep his teammates going and in plays is something in which he takes great pride.

                "As a group, we played hard tonight and I think that showed in the second half," Kasibabu said. "We were right there, but we just need to rebound and make plays down the stretch to win these type of games. Down the stretch as one of the veteran guys, I can see when we need to slow things down, see what we have in front of us, and finish the play. We have a lot of young guys on the team and it's my chance to help them get that experience that will help us win close games like tonight."

                Tonight was Fairfield's third close game in five outings this season, having already beaten Bucknell and losing to LIU Brooklyn on plays that occurred in the final few seconds of regulation. The Stags showed promise in the first half when they were able to score from outside, hitting three of their first four three-point tries which allowed the team to open an early lead.

                Fairfield's biggest lead stood at five points, 27-22, after Kasibabu layup with seven minutes left in the opening half. Longwood chipped away at the deficit until it recaptured the lead at 30-29 with under four minutes remaining. The two teams would trade baskets and leads through those final minutes before eventually going into halftime tied at 35-35.

                Longwood scored the first five points of the second half to take an early lead over the first 42 seconds. The Lancers would reach their largest lead of the game at 48-40 after Juan Munoz's three-point play at the 14:23 mark. Fairfield came within two points four times over the next few minutes before tying the game after Kasibabu's personal four-point run made the score 55-55.

                Like it did to start the half, Longwood used a 5-0 run to regain control of the game but would have to withstand another Stags run that brought the team within a point at 65-64 with eight seconds left following Landon Taliaferro's fifth three-point field goal of the night. The Lancers managed to hold on though and left the Redhawk Center with a two-point win.

                Taliaferro ended the night as Fairfield's top scorer with 19 points while Neftali Alvarez worked out 16 points and Jesus Cruz collected 11 points. Sean Flood paced Longwood's offense with 19 points.

                Fairfield will play host Seattle University on Saturday afternoon with the game scheduled to tip at 6 pm ET. The Stags end the three-day event with a game against the University of Denver on Sunday at 3 pm ET.