STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Playing defense down the stretch is something that every coach wants to see from his team, especially in close games. The Fairfield University men's basketball team has taken that philosophy to the extreme over the last two games and it has translated into back-to-back wins. Today, the Stags held Wagner scoreless for nearly nine minutes in the second half to earn a 66-54 win on the road.

                Today's defensive effort came one game removed from holding Oakland University without a point for the final five-plus minutes of regulation to erase a double-digit lead and go on to win in overtime. Fairfield basically repeated the strategy this afternoon. After Alex Morales' basket brought Wagner within a point, 46-45, with 10:13 left in the second half, the Stags did not allow another Seahawk point until Curtis Cobb's long three pointer made the score 58-48 with 1:16 remaining.

                "Wagner just came off a game in which they made 11 threes (pointers)," Head Coach Jay Young said. "We wanted to give up twos instead of threes and we were able to do that today. For the most part, we did a good job defending the three-point line and we did not allow them to go to the free throw line. They had only three (free throw) attempts the whole game."

                Two student-athletes were at the heart of Fairfield's second-half run that took an early deficit and turned into the double-digit victory. Vincent Eze registered a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

                "The best part of Vince's game was that he drew eight fouls in the game," Young said. "That allowed us to get to the foul line early because he was drawing fouls. Vince did what he does every day in games or practice and that is he comes to play. That's the best skill a player can have."

                Landon Taliaferro also showed off his offensive capabilities with a team-high 17 points, 13 of which came in the second half. And, the senior made both of his three-point attempts and all five of his free throw tries to account for the point total.

                "Landon cut harder and worked harder off the ball in the second half," Young said. "He drove the ball which is something he has really improved on. He needed to put the ball on the deck more and was able to do that effectively in the second half."

                Fairfield led by a point at halftime after Taj Benning beat the buzzer with a driving layup to send the Stags into the locker room ahead, 28-27. Wagner doubled up the Stags to start the second half with an 9-4 spurt that pushed the Seahawks in front, 36-32, with 15:32 on the clock.

                The Stags were able to regain the lead a few minutes later, equaling its biggest lead of the game at 46-43 after a three-point field goal from Aidas Kavaliauskas broke a 43-43 tie. Following Morales' jumper that cut the lead to one point at the 10:13 mark, the Stags put together 12 straight points to take command at 58-45 with two minutes remaining.

                Fairfield's points were primarily from the free throw line as it netted 10 of its final 20 points at the line. Taliaferro and Kavaliauskas mixed in a three pointer each during that run at the charity stripe, keeping Wagner from getting any momentum over the closing minutes.

                The Stags closed out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 4-7 record but won back-to-back road games for the first time this season. Fairfield now looks to start Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play next week with a pair of games in upstate New York. Fairfield starts with Friday night match up against Niagara University followed with a January 5 date versus Canisius College.

                "We said we wanted to go on a winning streak and this is a great start with a pair of wins to start this four-game road trip," Young said. "But we have a tough two-game trip against Niagara and Canisius next weekend so we need to get back to practice and figure them out. It's a good feeling especially with two road wins."