BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball fell behind early against visiting Quinnipiac on Wednesday at Webster Bank Arena, facing a double-digit deficit at the midpoint of the first half. And while the Stags would put together several spurts to keep the contest in reach, they ultimately played from behind the rest of the way as the Bobcats left Bridgeport with a 69-60 decision. Supreme Cook led Fairfield from the post with 10 points and a career-best 16 rebounds.
 
"We got out of the gates slow; we just didn't have a very good first half at all," said Head Coach Jay Young. "We rebounded the ball well – 20 offensive rebounds is a great sign – but at the end of the day, this was the third straight game where we shot under 40 percent, and it's tough to win like that."
 
The Stags shot 33.3 percent from the field (22-for-66) with a 30.4 percent (7-for-23) success rate from downtown and a 60 percent (9-for-15) clip from the free throw line.
 
Cook accounted for eight of Fairfield's 20 offensive boards en route to his sixth double-double of the season. His 16 total caroms are the most by a Stag since Amadou Sidibe pulled down 19 in a win over Army on Nov. 26, 2016.
 
The 20 rebounds form the offensive glass for the Stags – the most since also nabbing 20 at Niagara during the 2019-20 season – led the Stags to a 40-37 rebounding advantage.
 
Cook also finished with a career-high four blocked shots, the most in a game by a Stag this season.
 
The scoring was paced by TJ Long, who shot 3-for-4 from three-point range off the bench on his way to scoring 11 of the Stags' 26 bench points.
 
Also contributing in a reserve role was Jalen Leach with six points. Leach returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing 15 games due to injury, but played just five minutes in that contest compared to 21 minutes tonight.
 
"We got 21 minutes for Jalen tonight, which is about right for where he is at physically," said Young of the sophomore guard. "He hasn't done too much at game speed in a long time, but he had some good moments tonight and we'll keep finding minutes for him as he gets his feet back under him."
 
Taj Benning added nine points in this evening's contest, connecting on a three-pointer in the second half and shooting 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Caleb Green also finished with nine points, highlighted by a coast-to-coast layup high off the glass to beat the first-half buzzer.
 
Quinnipiac's Matt Balanc led all players with 23 points, pacing three Bobcats in double figures. Dezi Jones scored 15 points and Tymu Chenery added 12.
 
The Stags are in the midst of a six-game homestand at Webster Bank Arena. The stretch continues on Saturday with a Fairfield Basketball doubleheader featuring the men's team hosting Niagara at 1 p.m. followed by the women challenging Siena at approximately 3:30 p.m.