KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A quick start by the Fairfield University men's basketball was not enough to pull off a victory as the Stags fell to the University of Southern California by a 54-47 score in the first round of the Orlando Invitational on Thursday afternoon.

                Fairfield led for nearly the entire first half, holding an eight-point advantage with 12 minutes remaining in the period. The Stags cultivated most of their offense from behind the three-point line, trying to combat a size disadvantage in the paint.  The strategy was effective in the beginning as the Stags netted four of their first five long-range attempts with two of those tries coming from Jesus Cruz. Taj Benning's three pointer completed that run from behind the arc, a shot that gave Fairfield its biggest lead at 16-8 at the 12:17 mark.

                After that, the team managed just one more three pointer on six attempts which helped USC work its way back into the game. The Trojans sliced into the lead slowly but methodically until they eventually went in front with 23-22 with two minutes left in the half. USC added one more basket before the half and took a 25-22 edge into the locker room.

                The lead grew to nine points in the 73 seconds of the second half after Elijah Weaver netted a three-point field goal on his team's first two possessions of the period, pushing the score to 31-22. Weaver added a two pointer to provide USC with its first double-digit lead at 33-22.

                Landon Taliaferro brought the game within eight points with his first of his three second-half three pointers to bring the lead back to eight points on Fairfield's next possession. USC was able to nearly double that lead over the next 11 minutes, outscoring the Stags by a 17-11 count to take their biggest lead of the game at 50-36 with seven minutes remaining.

                The Stags would cut that lead back down to seven points by game's end as Taliaferro's final three pointer finalized the score at 54-47. Taliaferro led all Fairfield scorers with 16 points, 13 of which came in the final 20 minutes. Cruz ended his night with 13 points, registering 11 of his points in the first half.

                Neither team reached 30 points in either half as USC outscored Fairfield by a 25-22 count in the first half and followed up by holding a 29-25 edge in the second half. Part of the reason for Fairfield's struggle was USC's ability to keep Fairfield away from the rim and force the Stags deep into the shot clock which created some difficult shots in the closing seconds. By game's end, Fairfield shot 27 percent from the floor (17 of 63) and 35 percent from three-point range (9 of 26).

                We fought but they take away everything around the rim," Head Coach Jay Young said. "I didn't like the pace we played today and we worked late into the shot clock way too many times. Our numbers are reflected from taking shots with the shot clock winding down. But I liked how we defended and held them to only seven offensive rebounds and that was important for us."

                Fairfield will play Davidson on the second night of the Orlando Invitational with tip time listed for 7 pm. The game will be broadcasted on ESPNNews