FAIRFIELD, Conn – Caleb Fields hit the game-winning layup with 0.9 seconds to play to cap a 7-0 run over the final 3:13 and lift Fairfield University Men's Basketball to a 61-59 win over visiting Sacred Heart on Wednesday at the Leo D. Mahoney Arena. Fields also netted the game-tying bucket as a part of his game-high 18 points.
 
"That was a really good college basketball game. We started the rivalry back up last year and we wanted to have some excitement in November and December, create a crosstown rivalry, and we certainly did that," said Head Coach Jay Young. "We're very fortunate to come away with a win. We just somehow gutted that thing out."
 
With their second straight win on their new home floor, the Stags improve to 4-6 on the season and 9-0 all-time against Sacred Heart. Tonight's game was the first in the series played on Fairfield's campus. The Pioneers drop to 5-5 on the season.
 
In a back-and-forth game that saw the Stags lead by as many as eight points in the early goings, Fairfield was suddenly faced with its largest deficit of the contest at 49-40 with 11:47 to go after three straight Sacred Heart three-pointers broke a 40-40 deadlock. At that point, Supreme Cook made a free throw and TJ Long sank a pair, followed by a rebound and put-back from James Johns Jr. to cut the margin in half. After Sacred Heart took two back, Chris Maidoh sent home a put-back dunk followed by a Fields layup to close the gap to 51-49 with 7:52 left and force a Sacred Heart timeout.
 
After a pair of Pioneer free throws, Cook added one from the stripe and then converted a layup. After another defensive stop, Fields grabbed the rebound and went all the way to the rim to put the Stags back on top, 54-53, with 5:08 remaining. That basket, however, would be the Stags' last for over two minutes as Sacred Heart rattled off six straight to regain a 59-54 edge with 3:13 to go.
 
Johns Jr. would start the comeback with a free throw on the ensuing possession and after a pair of defensive stops – including a Jalen Leach block – Cook scored down low for the last of his 15 points to trim the deficit to 59-57. Johns Jr. then came away with a steal as the Stags reclaimed possession with under a minute to go. Out of Fairfield timeout, Fields drove the lane and scored to tie the game at 59-59 with 48 seconds left, and the Stags then earned a fourth straight defensive stop to give themselves a chance to win in regulation with the shot clock off.
 
Fields, who had corralled the rebound on the last SHU trip, kept the ball the whole way and drove to his right a time wound down. The graduate student pulled up and floated a shot off the glass and through with 0.9 seconds remaining to put the Stags on top, 61-59.
 
"At first, I thought we were going to call timeout, but I looked at Coach and he said go," said Fields. "And when I looked up, I saw the mismatch, and my teammates – I cleared everybody out – and they trusted me in that moment, and I just made the tough shot."
 
After a timeout, the Pioneers' in-bounds pass sailed out of bounds to ice the come-from-behind win.
 
In addition to the offense scoring the game's final seven points, the Fairfield defense made five consecutive stops to facilitate the rally.
 
Cook capped his second straight double-double, pulling down a game-high and personal season-best 13 rebounds to his 15 points. The Stags held a 47-34 advantage on the glass, including 16 offensive boards.
 
Maidoh added nine points and five rebounds for Fairfield, with Wojcik rounded out his box score with eight points, six rebounds and three assists. Johns Jr. chipped in five points, Long netted four and Zach Crisler scored two.
 
Mike Sixsmith and Bryce Johnson each scored 13 points for Sacred Heart with Nico Gallette, who entered the game averaging 17.7 points per contests, labored for his 10 points on 4-for-14 shooting.
 
Tonight's game was the second of an eight-game homestand for the Stags. Up next, Fairfield hosts another Connecticut foe when Yale comes to town on Monday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. The reigning Ivy League Champion Bulldogs are 8-2 on the season with a date with Kentucky on tap for Saturday in Lexington before their visit to Mahoney Arena.