PISCATAWAY, N.J. – With the 2022-23 regular season just eight days away, Fairfield University Men's Basketball took the court in live game action for the first time on Sunday, visiting Rutgers for an exhibition at Jersey Mike's Arena. Caleb Fields scored a team-best 13 points in his unofficial Stags debut, with Makai Willis also reached double figures with 12 along with six rebounds.
 
All net proceeds from ticket sales to the 2,000 fans in attendance will benefit Team LeGrand and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation dedicated to curing spinal cord injury.
 
"The winner was decided before we took the court today, and that was Eric LeGrand and the Reeve Foundation," said Head Coach Jay Young. "Eric is a great person and we're honored to be a part of this game to help such a worthy cause."
 
Prior to taking over as head coach of the Stags in 2019, Young was an assistant to Head Coach Steve Pikiell for 11 seasons at Stony Brook and three at Rutgers.
 
Field's 13 points included three three-pointers as the Stags shot 11-of-27 (40.7%) from distance. Willis added two triples as a part of his 12 points with James Johns Jr. also knocking down two from distance en route to nine points.
 
Supreme Cook also recorded nine points and reeled in a team-leading seven rebounds. Brycen Goodine scored all seven of his points in the second half, while Jake Wojcik canned both of his field goal attempts to finish with five points. Rounding out the scoring, Allan Jeanne-Rose scored four and Jalen Leach and TJ Long each sank a three-pointer to finish with three points apiece.
 
"We'll be on a plane to Wake Forest at this time next week, and for us, it was a great dress rehearsal.," Young noted. "I liked a lot of what we did as far as going 11 guys deep and seeing everybody contribute against a talented, well-coached opponent. We still have a ton to work on, but we've got more answers than we've ever had, for sure."
 
Rutgers' All-Big Ten center Clifford Omoruyi paced all players with 19 points and nine rebounds. Five Scarlet Knights netted double figures on the day, facilitated by 10 assists for Paul Mulcahy.
 
Omoruyi started the contest on a personal 6-0 run before the Stags got on the board with a drive and bucket for Jeanne-Rose and a Fields corner trey. A deep three-pointer from Long pulled the Stags back even at 10-10 and – after a Rutgers three-point play – Willis accounted for the next four points to put Fairfield on top for the first time at 14-13. The squads traded baskets as Leach canned a triple to make it 17-15 in favor of the Stags. Derek Simpson responded with a pair of treys for Rutgers, but the Stags answered as Willis canned a three-pointers and Johns knocked down one of two from the stripe to tie the game at 21-21.
 
Rutgers would notch the next four points to regain the lead and opened up its largest lead of the period at 31-24 with 4:43 to go to induce a Fairfield timeout. The Stags responded coming out of the huddle with a Johns putback and another Willis trey, and the squads went back-and-forth the rest of the way, with the host Scarlet Knights striking last to take a 41-35 advantage into the intermission.
 
Fields provided an early spark in the second half with two three-pointers in the first five minutes of action, but Rutgers started the half knocking down eight of their first 10 field goals while holding the Stags scoreless for more than four minutes to open up the largest lead of the afternoon at 62-48. Cook wrestled down an offensive board and put-back to end the drought as the teams traded buckets during the next stretch of action, allowing Rutgers to maintain a double-digit advantage. A Johns three-pointer trimmed the deficit back to eight at 70-62 with 3:37 left, but the Scarlet Knights lead proved insurmountable as the hosts ran out the clock on a 78-65 final.
 
The Stags were edged on the glass, 35-34, but gained an 11-8 advantage in second chance points. Fairfield's 15 turnovers led to 24 Rutgers points, while the Stags converted nine Rutgers miscues into just eight points.
 
Fairfield Men's Basketball officially tips off the 2022-23 season next Monday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. at Wake Forest. The Stags will play their first eight games away from home before making their debut in the new on-campus Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Saturday, Dec. 3 against reigning MAAC Champion Saint Peter's.
 
Season tickets for Men's and Women's Basketball are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.