WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Landon Taliaferro led all Stags scorers with 18 points including four three-point field goals as the Fairfield University men's basketball team fell to Monmouth University by a 69-45 score at the First Ocean Bank Center.

                The Hawks led from the outset, scoring the first seven points of the game. Monmouth rode the sizzling shooting of Ray Salnave, who netted his first five three-point field goals which helped him post 23 first-half points. Despite the guard's shooting, Fairfield still managed to stay close with strong play at the end of the half.

                Fairfield posted the next four points to cut the lead in half and come within a possession at 7-4. Monmouth used a 16-3 run to take command of the game at 23-7 as Salnave was responsible for 13 of those points. After the Hawks run seemed to take control with that run, Fairfield started to find its offensive footing and began to creep back into the contest.

                Down 14 points at 31-17, Allan Jeanne Rose made a three-point field goal to kick start the Stags offense. Chris Maidoh followed with a pair of free throws to bring the deficit under 10 points at 31-22 with 5:44 remaining.

                Taliaferro started to heat up and made two three-point field goals in an 8-2 run that brought the score back to within a possession at 33-30 with four minutes remaining in the first half. Salnave stopped Fairfield's momentum with a basket and the Hawks were able to win back some of their advantage by halftime, taking a 39-31 edge into the locker room.

                The second half found Fairfield without much accuracy as the Stags would finish the half with just two made field goals, both coming from Taliaferro. The senior picked up the first field goal with a pull up jumper in the lane with 13 minutes remaining in the second half. His second and the team's final field goal came with 7:20 on the clock, a three-point field goal from the elbow extended that made the score 59-41.

                Fairfield found most of its offense from the free throw line, scoring nine points from the charity stripe in the second half. The Stags ended the game with 20 points off the free throw line with Vincent Eze leading the way by making five of his 10 attempts.

                "We started the game slow but still managed to be within three late in the half and within eight at halftime," Head Coach Jay Young said. "Salnave had a big night and that continued in the second half. We missed some assignments so I'm disappointed in the way we played. But give Monmouth credit because they are well coached and had some great guard play. We have one regular season left and have the conference tournament coming up so we will need to regroup and be ready."

                Fairfield will finish up the 2019-20 regular season on the road when it travels to Manhattan College on Friday, March 6. The game is slated for 7 pm at Draddy Gymnasium.