WEST POINT, N.Y. – He may not have known when the rally would start, or who would start the comeback bid. But, Head Coach Sydney Johnson knew that the Fairfield University men's basketball would make a run against Army West Point. And while the Stags fell short by a 63-60 count to the Black Knights, Fairfield made the game interesting despite trailing by 18 points in the first half.

                "This team has heart and the players have responded to us pushing them hard and coaching them hard," Coach Johnson said. "We didn't respond as well as we should have in the first half and dug ourselves a hole. We were able to get out of that hole but didn't get the result we wanted in in the end."

                Throughout the season, one player always seems to spark the Stags, whether it be the long-range shooting of Landon Taliaferro or the scrappy play of Neftali Alvarez. Today, Wassef Methnani provided the ember as the forward scored all 12 of his points in the second half and added 10 rebounds to complete the double-double. But just as explosive was his defensive effort, swatting shots down the stretch that led to fast breaks for the Stags.

                "Wassef is really talented and his future is very bright here," Coach Johnson said. "We need him to settle into that type of effort so that he gives it to us every game. As a sophomore, you want it to happen overnight. It's been a little bit slow but I really, really like what I've seen over the last three or four games from him."

                Fairfield looked sharp in the opening minutes, using a 7-0 run to jump out to a five-point lead just three minutes into the game. Army West Point answered that spurt with its own three-minute stretch of success and scored 13 unanswered points to secure a 15-7 lead with 14 minutes left in the half. The Stags eventually would tie the game after a pair of free throws from Jesus Cruz, making the score 17-17 with 11 minutes on the clock.

                The Black Knights once again put together a long run that would enable them to take their biggest lead of the game at 38-20, outscoring Fairfield by a 21-3 margin over eight minutes. The Stags made the deficit more manageable when the half ended off a basket from Calvin Whipple and five straight points from Neftali Alvarez, closing out the half at 38-27 in favor of the home team.

                Army West Point still held a nine-point advantage with 11 minutes left in the second half before the Stags found their offensive rhythm and started to make plays. Methnani started the rally with a three-point field goal and added a pair of charity tosses on the next possession, making the score 49-45. The Stags tied the score a few minutes later after Jonathan Kasibabu tacked on a pair of free throws, bringing the score to 49-49 with six minutes left.

                The Black Knights netted the next eight points and seemed in control of the game before the Stags put together a string of nine points with five of those points coming from Methnani to take the lead 59-58 after Alvarez's layup with 1:31 on the clock.

                Army West Point made six of its final eight free throws to regain the lead and hold on for the win. It was the fourth straight Fairfield game in which the outcome was decided by three points or less and the sixth time in eight games overall.

                "I think they are learning and understanding the value of possessions," Coach Johnson said. "We had a couple of out of bounds that we executed very well and a couple of others that were late game shot clock possessions and we really didn't understand the situation. And we need to understand that we need to play in both the first and second halves."

                Fairfield will return to the court on Thursday night when they host Oakland University at Alumni Hall. The game is scheduled for a 7 pm tip.