BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – After the game, Head Coach Jay Young said it was the best timeout he never received.

With the final four seconds ticking away and overtime seeming very apparent, freshman Allan Jeanne-Rose grabbed the ball at the Monmouth free throw line and hesitated for a brief moment. Coach Young tried to call a time out but the officials did not grant his request. So, Jeanne-Rose took off down the court, went straight at the basket and laid the ball in the hoop with two-tenths of a second remaining. The layup was the difference in the Fairfield University men's basketball team's 55-53 win over Monmouth University, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's (MAAC) standings leader.

"I was trying to call a timeout but they didn't give it to me," Young said. "Thank God they didn't give it to me. I thought he (Allan) was stuck because he was in the middle of a crowd and then it just opened up for him. He broke through the defense so luckily I didn't get the timeout."

For Jeanne-Rose, it was just instinct that told him that he needed to make a quick decision and stick to it.

"I wasn't sure how much time was left on the clock," Jeanne-Rose said. "After I grabbed the rebound, I just thought I had to go right to the basket and make a play. I just wanted to score and help us win the game."

For the rookie, it was a culmination of series of games that has allowed the guard to show his ability to make a contribution. Over the last three dates, Jeanne-Rose has set his career high in each successive game, starting with four points against Canisius. He surpassed that total with his five points at Rider which was eclipsed by his six points tonight,

"Coach has always told me to stay ready and be aggressive whenever I get in the game," Jeanne-Rose said. "I'm just trying to play defense and give everything that I have and help the team win the game. That's the thing I wasn't doing at the beginning of the year. But now I feel more comfortable out there and I'm just trying to help out."

But of the 15 points over the last three games, none were more memorable or more important than his final basket tonight. Jeanne-Rose's aggressiveness was certainly evident with that final play of tonight's game. Taj Benning ran the court with him, setting up a 2-on-1 for the final seconds. Benning's presence was enough to freeze the defender for a few tenths of a second, allowing Jeanne-Rose to get past the Monmouth player and get to the basket for the winning points.

The reason that Jeanne-Rose's points were even pertinent in the game was Fairfield's defense came to play tonight and kept one of the best offensive teams in the MAAC off balance. At one point in the first half, the Stags were able to keep Monmouth scoreless for eight minutes, giving the Fairfield the chance to take the lead early in the first half and carry the advantage into halftime.

The Stags led by as many as 11 points in the opening 20 minutes but went into the locker room with a 23-16 advantage, the second time this season that the Fairfield defense kept an opponent to 16 points in the first half. The team also accomplished the task at Canisius in a 46-42 win.

Fairfield continued to build on its lead in the second half as well, Landon Tailaferro recaptured the team's double-digit lead with a three-point field goal less than two minutes into the second half, pushing the score to 26-16.

The Hawks would not go away and kept attacking the Stags defense primarily with shots inside the lane and occasional long-range jumpers. While Fairfield was able to fend off Monmouth for periods of time, the visitors still managed to cut into the lead. The 10-point lead stood at seven points with 16 minutes left (28-21), four points with 14 minutes left (30-24), two points with 12 minutes left (32-30), before it completely evaporated when George Papas made a running one-hander in the paint to give Monmouth its second lead of the game at 38-37 with eight minutes remaining.

Jesus Cruz responded with a pair of free throws and a driving layup on consecutive possessions to put Fairfield back in front at 41-38 with 7:24 on the clock. The Hawks rallied to tie the score at 44-44 with 4:05 remaining before Benning netted a pair of free throws and Taliaferro contributed a two-point basket to regain a four-point lead, 48-44.
Jeanne-Rose inflated the lead to five points after his fast-break layup at the 1:59 mark, making the score 53-48. Monmouth rallied with five unanswered points as Ray Salnave recorded a three-point play and a jump shot on back-to-back possessions, tying the score at 53-53 with 1:11 remaining.

After a Fairfield turnover, Monmouth had three shots at the basket on its next possession but none fell for the Hawks. The last of those three shots caromed into the hands of Jeanne-Rose, setting up the game-winning opportunity.

Jeanne-Rose's rebound was the team's 44^th of the night, 12 more than Monmouth's team total of 32. The Stags' rebounding margin mixed with another strong defensive effort put them in position to win this game.

"We just wanted to get back to playing the game at our pace and try to keep possession down like we always do," Coach Young said. "We have a great deal of respect for Monmouth's program. Their guards are really, really talented so we were worried about them. I thought Landon did a great job chasing down their guards tonight. All in all, we'll take the win against a very good team."

Wassef Methnani returned to the lineup after not playing against Rider. The junior responded with a double-double, registering 13 points, 10 rebounds and adding three blocks. Taliaferro also reached double figures with 14 points, highlighted by four more three-point field goals. Deion Hammond led all Monmouth scorers with 13 points, followed by Ray Salnave's 12 markers.

The Stags will return to the road on Friday night when they travel to the Times Union Center for a date with Siena College. Following that trip, Fairfield will come back to Connecticut for its final home game at Webster Bank Arena on Sunday when Iona College comes to Bridgeport. The Stags still have four more home games after Sunday, but all will be played at Alumni Hall.