FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The second half seems to be the time that the Fairfield University men's basketball finds some rhythm as of late, especially down the stretch. For the second straight game, the Stags made put together a valiant effort to tie the score after trailing by double figures only to see the chance slip away. Tonight, Fairfield erased a 13-point deficit to knot the score at 56-56 with five minutes remaining before succumbing to Rider by a 70-62 score at Alumni Hall.

                Rider started the game by netting 13 of its first 16 shots from the field which allowed the Broncs to open up a 30-17 lead with seven minutes remaining in the first half. Even though the visitors cooled down a tad through the rest of the opening half, Fairfield was able to trim just a few points off that lead but did cut it down to eight points at intermission.

                The single-digit deficit was brought about by four quick points in the closing seconds of the half when Chris Maidoh scored off a dunk and a defensive stop led to Taj Benning penetrating the lane and scoring the final points of the game to make the score 36-28.

                The Broncs opened the second half with six successive points that raised the lead to a game-high 14 points at 42-28 with 18:47 on the clock. Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson was responsible for four of those points as the forward would finish with nine points before fouling out later in the period. Rider still maintained its large lead with 14 minutes remaining at 48-35 but it was at that point that the Stags seemed to find themselves on both ends of the court.

                Fairfield used a 21-8 run over nine minutes which enabled the Stags to tie the game at 56-56. Benning, who entered the game as the top three-pointer shooter in the MAAC for percentage against conference opponents, made two long-range jumpers during the stretch. The senior finished with a career night by scoring a career-high 22 points and a tying a career-best with his nine rebounds.

                "Taj has been great for us this year and especially in conference play," Head Coach Jay Young said. "He has improved as a player and his three-point shooting has been outstanding. He has been rock steady on both ends of the court which has really helped us when we have needed it the most."

                The Stags tied the score when Maidoh converted one free throw at the 5:41 mark which ended a 7-0 spurt that lasted just over two minutes. Rider responded with six straight points of its own, four of which came off the free throw line, to regain the lead at 62-56 with under four minutes remaining.

                "We did a nice job getting back in the game but we are not getting the key stops or hitting the big shots when we really need them," Coach Young said. "We gave a good effort in the second half and were better defensively which allowed us to get back into the game. We were able to tie the game but just couldn't get the play or two that we needed to get us over the hump."

                Benning stopped the Rider run with a basket and Jesus Cruz added a free throw out of two attempts to bring it back to a one-possession game at 62-59 with 2:23 on the clock. But Rider responded with eight straight points, six coming off clock-stopping fouls that led the Broncs to the free throw line. Jake Wojcik closed the scoring with a three-point field goal with 14 seconds remaining to finalize the score at 70-62.

                The Stags finished the night with a rebounding advantage over Rider as Maidoh was responsible for 11 of the team's 33 total rebounds and just missed a double double with his nine points. He connected on four of his six shots from the floor.

                Fairfield and Rider will meet again on Saturday evening when the two teams come together at Alumni Hall for a 5 pm game. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN3.