HAMDEN, Conn. -- With about six minutes remaining in the first half, Head Coach Sydney Johnson looked down his bench for the one player who could stop the Quinnipiac University men's basketball team's momentum. His eyes locked on Aidas Kavaliauskas and he motioned him toward the scorer's table.

                Kavaliauskas provided exactly what his head coach has hoped for, a stabilizing factor in the middle of a Bobcat run. In his six minutes of play, Kavaliauskas scored a pair of points that would give Fairfield its last lead of the half, dish off a pair of assists, secured a couple of rebounds, and draw two offensive charges.

                The numbers only improved in the second half but were not strong enough to keep Quinnipiac from coming away with an 80-78 win over the Stags at People's Bank Center. By the end of the game, Kavaliauskas would contribute seven assists, a season-best five steals, and four points to the Fairfield cause.

                "Experience shows when you get into league play and Aidas has been through it," Coach Johnson said. "He is a team-oriented guy so he tries to make plays in so many different ways and that showed up with his assists, steals, and charges drawn. Sometimes you need to get yourself organized on the court and he can give us a positive influence on the court as well as with our other guards."

                In the second half, Kavaliauskas made several plays that helped the Stags compete in a tough road game. With Fairfield down a point at 55-54, Kavaliauskas found Felix Lemetti open 12 feet from the basket and set him up for a basket that put Fairfield in the lead. Two minutes later, the Stags added to that lead when he drew an offensive foul then set up Landon Taliaferro for a three pointer that extended the advantage to 59-55 with 10 minutes remaining.

                Later in the half, Kavaliauskas earned a steal and an assist by sending the ball to Lemetti for another layup that improved Fairfield's lead to 68-65. The Bobcats answered with seven straight points to take a 72-68 lead. Jesus Cruz cut the lead in half with a drive to the basket and Kavaliauskas followed with a steal and layup that tied the game at 72-72 with two minutes remaining.

                "I am older and have more experience than most of the team so I can use that experience to help calm things down and run whatever plays coach wants us to run," Kavaliauskas said."Overall, it's important to know how the defense works and understanding where the help comes helps me use the screens that the guys set so I can find the open players. I am just looking to be in the right position at the right time to make plays that will help us."

                The Bobcats scored the next six points to take control at 78-72 with 22 seconds remaining before Calvin Whipple's three pointer made is one-possession game 11 second left. After Rich Kelly made two free throws, Cruz made a long three pointers to make it 80-78 with one second left. Quinnipiac inbounded the ball after the basket and ran out the clock to secure the win.

                The game featured 13 lead changes and saw the score tied on eight other occasions. Fairfield's largest lead came early in the game when the freshmen scored nine points to open up an 11-3 lead for the Stags. Quinnipiac secured a seven-point lead with 17 minutes remaining before the Stags went on a 14-3 run that gave the visitors a 59-55 edge with 10 minutes remaining. Cruz scored seven of those points including a three pointer that ended the run.

                As Kavaliauskas provided the intangibles today, Cruz was responsible for a majority of the team's paint points. The guard continually attacked the basket which allowed him to finish with a team-high and season-best 20 points. Cruz's performance today capped an impressive week that saw him average 14 points and seven rebounds per game in a 2-1 week for the Stags.

                Lemetti was also on task this afternoon, scoring 16 points over his 35 minutes on the court. The freshman made six of his 10 field goal attempts including two from three point range. Jonathan Kasibabu enjoyed another solid effort on the boards with nine caroms in addition to his seven points.

                Quinnipiac's Cameron Young paced the Bobcats offense with 20 points.

                Fairfield, which just finished a run of five games in 11 days, has a few days to recover before heading to Monmouth University for a Thursday night game. The Stags will start a three-game home stand after they return from New Jersey, beginning with a January 19 game against Canisius College at Alumni Hall.