NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Earlier in the season, Head Coach Jay Young alluded that having Jake Wojcik and Zach Crisler would be a luxury when he was basically playing an eight-man rotation. After getting cleared to play on Wednesday, it's easy to see why Coach Young has looked forward to having the duo on the court.

              Wojcik reached double figures with 11 points in a starting role while Crisler added seven points off the bench but it was not enough to overcome a poor shooting night overall by the Fairfield University men's basketball. The Stags dropped a 68-51 decision to Niagara University on the road after shooting 19 percent in the first half and 29 percent overall.

              "Our shot making was poor tonight," Coach Young said. "They are daring us to shoot so some guys need to make some shots. We need to get more consistent because it's tough to win a game shooting like we did tonight."

              The two transfers, who were declared eligible after the NCAA announced a blanket waiver for all transfers on Wednesday night, did not have a lot of time to get game ready. The two student-athletes have practiced with the team throughout the season but still faced the quick transition to game conditions.

              "I thought there might be some jitters or some rush with those guys in joining us," Coach Young said. "But they had some good moments for us and they helped us out offensively."

              Wojcik started his Fairfield career with a three-point field goal on his first shot of the game, which tied the game at 3-3 just two minutes into the game. Supreme Cook added a couple of free throws on the team's next possession to push Fairfield into the lead just 30 seconds later.

              Niagara responded with eight straight points over the next five minutes to take a six-point lead at 11-5, a run that ended when Zach Crisler netted a jumper at the 12:35 mark. The next time down the court, Taj Benning tacked on a three pointer to bring the Stags within a point which Caleb Green followed with a floater in the lane to give the lead back to Fairfield, 12-11, with 11 minutes remaining.

              Those points would be the last for Fairfield over the next nine minutes which allowed the Purple Eagles to score 12 straight points which made the score 23-12 with 2:55 on the clock. Wojcik stopped the scoreless streak with a three-point field goal with just under two minutes left in the first half.  Niagara went into halftime with a 28-13 lead.

              Benning tried to ignite the Stags at the start of the second half, scoring five straight points off a three pointer and another jumper but Niagara was able to answer most of Fairfield's field goals with a basket of its own to keep the double-digit lead intact. The Stags trailed by 12 points at 42-30 before the home team scored nine of the next 12 points to push the lead to 18 points with six minutes left.

              Green finished the game with a team-high 12 points for Fairfield while Wojcik added 11 points and Benning posted 10 points to aid the Stags' cause. Marcus Hammond paced the Niagara offense with a game-high 14 points, one point better than Kobi Nwandu.

              Fairfield and Niagara will play again on Saturday afternoon when the two teams tip off at 4 pm. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN3.