ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Twenty-four hours after knocking off Canisius in the first round of the 2022 MAAC Championship, Fairfield University Men's Basketball was back on the court at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City for a quarterfinal matchup with Saint Peter's. The second-seeded Peacocks came out firing in the first half and built a 25-point lead and, despite a 10-1 Fairfield run to open the second frame, the deficit proved insurmountable in a 77-63 final.
 
"We knew this was going to be a war today, and we just had such a miserable first half," said Head Coach Jay Young. "When you go into the locker room down 25 against a team like Saint Peter's who just makes it so difficult for you to score, it's really difficult to come back. But I'm proud of our guys for their effort in the second half."
 
Fairfield shot just 5-for-23 from the floor in the first half, bouncing back with a 14-for-27 performance from the field after the intermission. Taj Benning scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half, with Supreme Cook adding nine of his 13 tallies and TJ Long scoring all eight of his points during the final 20 minutes. Fueled by that effort, the Stags cut the 44-19 halftime deficit to as little as 11 points late in the contest, but the Peacocks converted seven of their last eight free throws to keep Fairfield in check and claim the 14-point victory.
 
Benning's 19 points came on 7-for-14 shooting, including two of Fairfield's five three-pointers. He was also true on all three of his free throw attempts as the Stags shot 20-for-22 from the charity stripe. Cook was 7-for-8 at the line and Jake Wojcik shot 6-for-6 on his way to nine points.
 
Rounding out the scoring, Chris Maidoh scored eight points and Jesus Cruz scored six to go along with five rebounds. Cook led the effort on the glass with nine boards, just one rip shy of completing the eighth double-double of his sophomore campaign. The Stags were topped by a 34-28 count on the glass.
 
Saint Peter's was led by 20 points, three rebounds and three blocked shots for three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year KC Ndefo. Daryl Banks also reached double figures for the Peacocks with 14 points.
 
Tonight's game was the final collegiate appearance for fifth-year graduate students Cruz and Benning, the two remaining players from Fairfield's run to the 2018 MAAC Championship Game who were also integral in last season's push to the finals. Cruz wraps up his career as Fairfield and the MAAC's all-time leader with 156 games played. He will leave Fairfield ranked 11th all-time in scoring with 1,476 points. Benning played his 145th game tonight – second in program history behind Cruz – and slots 28th all-time with 1,175 points to his name.
 
"It's been a blessing. I got the extra year to come back, and I couldn't have asked for a better place to be. Fairfield University has been so good to me, and it's been a blessing to be able to play in front of my parents for this last year," said Benning. "We have a great group of guys and a great coaching staff, I couldn't have asked for a better situation."
 
"You hurt so much because you want to win for [Benning and Cruz]," added Young. "What they've given to me personally, I can never repay them. They're great players, great students, and we wouldn't be here today and we wouldn't have made that championship game [last season] without them."
 
Fairfield Men's Basketball concludes the 2021-22 season with a record of 15-18 overall and 8-12 in the MAAC. Saint Peter's improves to 17-11 and will play either third-seeded Siena or 11th-seeded Quinnipiac in a semifinal matchup on Friday.