Box Score                FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Basketball analyst Jeff Goodman cited Supreme Cook as the best name in college basketball in a pregame tweet when the Stags opened the season against Providence College. But based on his performance tonight, Cook may well be become better known for his play on the court rather than the branding on his jersey's back.

               The freshman was a rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds as the Fairfield University men's basketball team dropped a 66-61 decision to the University of Hartford in the Stags' home opener at Alumni Hall.

               Whether tonight's game was an ember or an igniting spark in the career of Cook will be better determined as the season progresses. But in this game, his play brought plenty of excitement to the program during his 30 minutes on the court.

               "Supreme gave us a good night,"  Head Coach Jay Young said. "I appreciate how hard he played tonight and he showed he's going to be a really good player. He really showed the type of effort he can give on any night and I hope we can continue to count on that kind of performance every game."

               Young received a lot of good efforts from a number of student-athletes with Jesus Cruz posting a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds while Caleb Green netted a team-best 15 points for the Stags. But the one number that did not sit well with Coach Young was the 16 turnovers that the Hawks turned into 15 points including a few in the second half that helped the visitors turn a close game into a double-digit lead.

               "I give Hartford a lot of credit after playing last night," Young said. "They came in and outplayed us and played with great energy. We gave up too many points in the second half and had some awful turnovers that they turned into points."

               Fairfield erased a small first-half deficit and entered the locker room with a two-point lead at 28-26, scoring the final eight points of the period. Cook posted three of the eight points while Green added a bucket with two seconds left that pushed the Stags in front.

               The Hawks began to get their energy back in the second half and began to pull away from Fairfield through the first 10 minutes of the half. Trailing by a 30-27 count just a minute into the second half, Hartford went on a 21-7 run that gave the team its biggest lead of the game at 48-37 with 11 minutes remaining.

               Jalen Leach came off the bench and netted a three-pointer to set the Stags straight, a jumper that started a 13-3 spurt over the next five minutes that enabled the home team to pull within a point at 51-50. Five different Stags scored during the run with Cruz highlighting the spell by adding a couple of baskets.

               Fairfield eventually tied the game on a corner jumper from Taj Benning, making the score 53-53 with 5:34 on the clock. Hartford responded with one more run that set it up for victory, registering seven of the next eighth points to take command at 60-54 with 3:28 remaining,

               The Stags fought back brilliantly and came within a possession following another Benning three pointer brought the score to 64-61 with 18 seconds remaining. On the next possession, Traci Carter made both ends of a one-and-one opportunity that sealed the game for Hartford at 66-61.

               Four of the five Fairfield starters reached double figures as Benning joined Green, Cruz, and Cook with his 13-point performance. The Stags received just eight points from the bench with six of those coming off the hands of Leach. Tshiefu Ngalakulondi added the other two points with a pair of paint points.

               Tonight, started a three-game run in six days, a stretch which continues with a game at Stony Brook University on Friday afternoon and ends with an afternoon rematch at the University of Hartford.