SAVANNAH, Ga. – In a game defined by runs, the last one went to Mercer on Saturday evening in Savannah as Fairfield University Men's Basketball fell to the Bears by a 60-58 final. Supreme Cook led the Stags with 17 points and seven rebounds.
 
Fairfield moves to 1-5 on the season and 1-1 at the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic after defeating Towson on Friday. Mercer improves to 4-3 overall and has won both of its games at the MTE, also knocking off Robert Morris this weekend at Enmarket Arena.
 
"We didn't defend the way we needed to in the second half," said Head Coach Jay Young. "We hit a stretch where we couldn't get stops and then we coupled that with a four-minute drought on offense. Credit to Mercer for making the plays they needed to make, but I feel like we let one get away."
 
Though the teams combined for just 118 points, many of them came in bunches, starting in the early stages when Fairfield turned a 6-3 deficit into a 15-6 lead with 12 straight points. That spurt featured a three-pointer for Zach Crisler, four points for Cook, two from Allan Jeanne-Rose and an old-fashioned three-point play by Caleb Fields.
 
Mercer quickly netted the next eight points, shaving the Stags' lead to 15-14 at the midway point of the half, but Fairfield answered with back-to-back jumpers from Fields and James Johns Jr. followed by a Jake Wojcik triple to rebuild a 22-14 advantage.
 
The last run of the half, however, went to the Bears with a 10-2 stretch to knot the score at 24-24. Wojcik would connect from more than 30 feet at the halftime buzzer, but the try was waved off and the deadlock persisted into the intermission.
 
The teams traded baskets for most of the second half, with neither squad leading by more than four. The score was tied eight times during that span, settling at 48-48 with 7:08 to play.
 
The Stags were the team to emerge from the stalemate, starting with a Jalen Leach three-pointer off of a Cook offensive board. Cook then got into the act himself with a jumper in the lane, and TJ Long forced a turnover and found Jeanne-Rose for a breakaway dunk to make it a 55-48 Fairfield lead with 5:39 remaining.
 
The Jeanne-Rose slam, however, marked Fairfield's last field goal for nearly five minutes. The Stags missed their next six shots as Mercer chipped away and eventually pulled away to a 59-55 lead with less than one minute to play. Makai Willis hit a jumper to end the dry spell and cut the deficit to 59-57, and the Stags drew an offensive foul to get the stop needed and regain possession with the shot clock off. Mercer put Leach on the line with six seconds left, and the junior hit 1-of-2 to trim the margin to 59-58. The Bears responded with 1-for-2 at the line to reclaim a two-point lead, and Long's halfway heave fell short as time expired on a 60-58 decision for Mercer.
 
In addition to Cook's 17 points, Leach scored eight with Fields and Jeanne-Rose each adding seven.  Long hauled in seven rebounds to share Cook's team-high on the glass, and Fields dished out a team-best five assists.
 
Mercer's 7-foot-2 center David Craig led all players with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Shawn Walker Jr. netted 16 for the Bears.
 
Fairfield concludes action at the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. against Evansville. The Purple Aces defeated Robert Morris, 54-53, earlier this afternoon in Savannah to move to 2-5 on the season.