BRIDGEPORT, Conn. –    Taj Benning led all Fairfield scorers with 16 points while Vincent Eze tacked on 14 points and a team-best seven rebounds as the Fairfield University men's basketball team fell to Iona College, 78-54 at Webster Bank Arena.

The Stags scored the first five points of the game to build its only lead of the game. Eze opened the scoring for the Stags with a basket from close range which Landon Taliaferro followed with a three-point field goal on the team's next possession.

                 The advantage was short lived as Iona answered with seven straight points to take a 7-5 lead with 16 minutes left in the first half. Vincent Eze tied the game with a dunk, the first of three successive ties between the two teams. Iona's E.J. Crawford and Fairfield's Taj Benning traded three-point field goals to keep it tied at 10, while Tajuan Agee and Eze came back with a field goal each to secure a 12-12 tie.

                On its next possession, Iona took the lead once again when Agee dropped in a layup, the first points of an 11-0 run that allowed the Gaels to take command at 23-11 with 11:06 on the clock. Jesus Cruz stopped the Iona run with a three-point play that brought the deficit down to eight points, but Ross answered with a three-point field goal that quickly pushed the lead back to double-digits at 26-15.

                Iona's biggest lead of the first half came with five minutes remaining after Isaiah Washington connected on a three-point shot that made the score 34-21. Fairfield cut the lead by six points before the period ended, trailing the Gaels by a 38-31 count after a 10-4 run closed out the half. Five different Fairfield players scored two points during that close out of the half.

                The Stags opened the second half by scoring five of the first seven points which brought the deficit down to four points at 40-36 after Eze converted another layup. Fairfield would not be able to come any closer as Iona used a 17-3 run over the next seven minutes to push its lead to 18 points at 57-39.

                Isaiah Rose paced Iona with a game-high 23 points, making six of seven three-point field goal attempts. E.J. Washington was next in line for the Gaels with 22 points, followed by Agee's 17 points.

                "I give a ton of credit to Iona today because they were at a high level offensively and we were not on a high level on either side of the court," Head Coach Jay Young said. "Now, we just need to get back in the gym and get back to our cores of defending and rebounding."

                Fairfield will play both of next week's games on the road, starting with Marist College on Friday, February 14. After a day's rest, the Stags will head back on the interstate for a quick trip to Saint Peter's University on Sunday, February 16. After the two game-road trip, the Stags will return home for their final four home games of the season, starting with a match up against Niagara on February 21 at Alumni Hall.