ALBANY, N.Y. – Resiliency is vital over the course of a long basketball season. And the Fairfield University men's basketball team has certainly showed just how resilient it can be over the last seven games. Tonight, the Stags erased a six-point halftime deficit to defeat Siena College, 70-69, at the Times Union Center which extended the team's winning streak to three games.

                "I have a ton of respect for what Jimmy has done here because it is a tough place to win games over the years for all MAAC opponents," Head Coach Sydney Johnson said. "So it's a big step forward for this team to come out of here with a win with a ton of guys who have never played here before. Obviously the leadership of Tyler (Nelson) and Jon (Kasibabu) showed tonight."

                Fairfield has won four of its last five games in which it trailed at halftime, defeating Iona, Monmouth, Quinnipiac, and now Siena. And every one of those games, the Stags battled to win the game in the closing seconds. Just as he did against Quinnipiac, Tyler Nelson provided the points that put Fairfield in position to win the game. His layup with nine seconds left helped keep Quinnipiac at bay, while two free throws tonight made Khalil Richard's buzzer-beating three pointer irrelevant.

                "A lot of the stuff I have been saying to the team has not changed, but now the understanding is so much better," Johnson said. "One of our main tenets has been mental toughness and now they are showing they understand that by the way they respond to a tough call, a turnover or a missed shot shows how they center themselves after those situations and execute and stay with what we want to do."

                Trailing by a 36-30 margin at halftime, Fairfield used an aggressive defense and good ball movement to open the second half with an 8-2 run that tied the game at 38-38 with just four minutes expired. Siena managed to hold onto the lead a little while longer, including a 43-42 advantage with 14:32 on the clock.

                Ferron Flavors Jr. netted a three-pointer at the top of the key that gave Fairfield the lead on its next possession, the first time the team was in front since 18-17 with 10 minutes to go in the first half. Siena answered with four straight points to recapture the lead and would see it improve to three points at 50-47 with 11:32 remaining.

                Back-to-back baskets by Kevin Senghore-Peterson and Aidas Kavaliauskas secured a two-point lead for Fairfield, setting up a run of three lead changes, the last of which would put the Stags in front for good. With the score 53-52 in Siena's favor, Fairfield put together five straight points to make it a 57-53 score as Flavors Jr. added another three pointers and Kavaliauskas posted a jumper.

                The Stags led by as many as five points including a 67-62 edge with 33 seconds remaining in regulation. The Saints would make things interesting after Kadeem Smithen's layup brought the home team within two points, 68-66, setting up Nelson's deciding free throws with 10 ticks on the clock.

                Fairfield will finish out the regular season with a home game against Monmouth University on February 24 at Webster Bank Arena. The program will celebrate the careers of their seniors – Tyler Nelson, Jerome Segura and Jared Harper with a presentation at center court prior to tip-off.