POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Trailing 66-65 with time ticking away at Marist on Sunday, Jesus Cruz scored the go-ahead bucket with 1:02 to play and added a fade-away jumper with 10 seconds remaining to propel Fairfield University Men's Basketball to a 69-66 victory. Cruz finished with nine points and seven rebounds, and Jake Wojcik led the Stags offensively with 17 points in the MAAC road triumph.
 
The win ends a seven-game skid for the Stags in which they were outscored by a total of just 46 points, including a 60-51 loss to Marist at Webster Bank Arena on Jan. 7. Fairfield now stands at 9-10 on the season and 3-5 in the MAAC.  The Red Foxes, coming off of a surprising 84-48 rout of Monmouth, fall to 8-9 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
 
"I'm proud of the guys for gutting out a road win against a good opponent," said Head Coach Jay Young. "This was the type of game we've been losing lately, but today we made the big plays on both ends of the floor that we haven't been making for the last few weeks."
 
The game's final sequence began with Wojcik drawing a foul on a three-point attempt at the 1:58 mark and sinking two of his tries at the stripe to put the Stags in front, 65-64. Marist responded with a Matt Herasme layup to creep back in front, before Cruz drove into the paint. The most veteran player in MAAC and Fairfield Basketball history – playing in his record 142nd game on Sunday afternoon – pivoted and put home a hook shot to stake the Stag to a 67-66 advantage with 1:02 to go.
 
On the ensuing Marist possession, Samkelo Cele worked his way into the lane, but missed a contested jumper with 40 seconds remaining. Now holding possession and the lead, the Stags used all of the 30-second shot clock before Cruz swished home a fade-away to extend the margin to 69-66. With their final possession, Marist got an open but deep look for Ricardo Wright – the game's leading scorer with 19 on the day – that rang off the back iron and rattled among a sea of rebounders as time expired.
 
"Marist was defending us very well, but we got the ball to Jesus with an opportunity to create, and he delivered a couple of huge baskets," noted Young.
 
Wojcik scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, including three three-pointers. The senior marksman is shooting 42.6 percent from distance with 26 made treys in his seven games against MAAC foes this season.
 
Taj Benning shouldered the scoring effort early on, starting the day 4-of-5 from three-point range in the first half. The newest member of the Stags' 1,000 Point Club finished with 16 points for his fifth consecutive double-digit scoring day.
 
Carrying the load in the post and on the boards was Supreme Cook, who scored 13 points and hauled in a game-best nine rebounds – one board shy of his sixth double-double.  The Stags held the edge on the glass, 35-34, with each team collecting seven offensive rips.
 
Despite committing a season-low six turnovers, the Stags were on the negative side of turnover margin, as Marist suffered just three giveaways. Fairfield has committed only 8.4 turnovers per game in its nine wins this season compared to 12.5 per game in its losses.
 
Rounding out the Fairfield scoring were TJ Long and Zach Crisler coming off the bench to score five points apiece, and Allan Jeanne-Rose adding four.
 
In addition to Wright's 19 points for Marist, Samkelo Cele netted 16 points and standout freshman Jao Ituka scored nine.
 
Today's contest started a three-game road swing for the Stags Fairfield will visit Rider this Friday, Jan. 28 and make a return trip to Monmouth on the following Friday, Feb. 4.
 
The Stags are back on the court at Webster Bank Arena on Sunday, Feb. 6 to host Siena and kickoff a six-game homestand.