FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Head Coach Sydney Johnson could not have asked for this game to turn out any better than it did. Granted, every coach wants to win every game whether it's the home opener or the home finale. But when the Stags walked out on to their home floor for the final time in 2018-19, the night wasn't so much about the game. Tonight, it was about a group of three seniors who celebrated their final appearance at Alumni Hall with a 59-44 win over Marist College.

                And as any story teller would have it, it was the seniors who carried this team to its ninth win of the season. Tom Nolan, Matija Milin, and Jonathan Kasibabu started the game tonight, but more importantly, finished what they started when they first came on campus four years ago.

                "Tonight was special," Kasibabu said after the game. "You don't know how fast this (his career) goes. I remember like it was yesterday when me and Matija stood right over there on this court and shot together the first day we came on campus. And walking to the bench after getting the W and hearing the crowd's support was very special to me."

                Kasibabu, Milin, and Nolan all earned those cheers not only for their play throughout their career, but especially for their play tonight which encapsulated their hard work and effort in one 40-minute game. Kasibabu registered his sixth double-double of the season by tying his career high of 22 points and adding 11 rebounds. Milin netted 12 points to give him back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts for the first time this year. And Nolan secured his first start of the season and played a season-high nine minutes in this game.

                And while the sold-out crowd of 2,479 showed their approval, no one was more appreciative of these student-athletes than Coach Johnson.
                "All year, I've told anyone that would listen how important Jonathan is to this team," Coach Johnson said. "We can't do anything without Jon offensively or defensively because he is that much of an influence on the team. Matija is team first, all day every day. All he cares about is winning. It's been fun to see his impact on the guys because he just cares about the team. Tom is one of my favorite people because he has work hard for us. He celebrates the success of his teammates more than anyone. And because he plays so hard every day, I'm going to miss him.

                Kasibabu and Milin were truly a dynamic duo tonight as they combined to score the team's first 18 points, each scoring nine points through the first 12 minutes of the game. The first non-senior to put points on the board was Taj Benning, who laid the ball in the basket with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half

                The Stags never trailed in the game and saw only one tie at 2-2 during the opening minutes of the game. Milin broke that tie with a layup that pushed Fairfield in front for good. The Stags took their first double-digit lead at 14-4 with 10:52 remaining in the first half after Milin made a three-point shot. Kasibabu added another two points to the advantage a couple of possessions later when he finished an alley oop play started by Neftali Alvarez.

                Fairfield would keep that 12 point lead going into halftime, 32-20, which was one point off its biggest lead of the half which stood at 25-12 with 4:45 on the clock. The Stags shot 50 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes (14 of 28) and made four of 10 three pointers.

                The second half started similarly to the first half as Milin made a three-point field goal, Alvarez added a layup, and Kasibabu netted a jumper just inside the three-point line to complete a 7-0 run that brought the lead to 19 points, 39-20, with just over 15 minutes remaining.

                Marist rallied with a 13-3 spurt that dropped the deficit to a more manageable margin of nine points, 42-32, over the next five minutes. The Red Foxes continued to whittle away at the lead until they came with six points at 45-39 as the clock approached eight minutes.

                Fairfield halted the run with back-to-back baskets as Kasibabu and Alvarez made layups that regained a double-figure lead for the Stags, 49-39. Marist was able to cut that lead in half after Aleksandar Dozic's jumper made the score 49-44 before Fairfield scored the game's final 10 points to close out the win, 59-44.

                While the seniors were instrumental in the win, the Stags' future also were omnipresent in the team victory. Benning dished off a personal-best seven assists tonight while Alvarez scored four points, added four assists along with three steals to the cause.

                "Tonight was a direct reflection of the maturity of Neftali and Taj," Coach Johnson said. "There is so much leadership and growth with them. Their intensity and execution offensively and defensively and leadership is apparent because they are running this team right now. They are much more poised and able to weather the storm. We hoped that it would come earlier in the season but they needed their growing pains and now it's fun to watch."

                Fairfield will close out the regular season on Sunday when the team travels to Jersey City for a game against Saint Peter's University. The game is scheduled for a 1 pm tip.