JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The MAAC's top defensive team lived up to its billing on Saturday as Saint Peter's stifled Fairfield University Men's Basketball for much of the afternoon in a 57-41 setback. Jesus Cruz paced the Stags with 11 points and Supreme Cook added 10 points with eight rebounds in the regular season finale.
 
Fairfield (14-17, 8-12 MAAC) will begin MAAC Championship play on Tuesday in Atlantic City. The Stags' final seed and opponent will be determined by results around the conference. Saint Peter's (16-11, 14-6 MAAC) locked up the second seed in the league with the victory on their Senior Day.
 
"We got beat by a talented Saint Peter's team that made it extremely difficult to get any good looks," said Head Coach Jay Young. "We will learn from this one and put it behind us, and we are looking forward to traveling to Atlantic City in a few days to compete for a MAAC Championship."
 
Cruz went 5-for-9 from the floor to account for his 11 points, including one of the Stags' four three-pointers. He also nabbed five rebounds before fouling out. Cook added two blocks to his near double-double.
 
Rounding out the scoring, Caleb Green hit a pair from downtown to finish with six points, Jake Wojcik scored five, Taj Benning had four, TJ Long scored three and Chris Maidoh capped the effort with two.
 
Cook's eight boards and Benning's seven led the Stags to a 40-36 advantage on the glass, though Saint Peter's held a 7-5 edge in second chance points. The Peacocks also turned 15 Fairfield turnovers into 25 points, with the Stags converting only six points from 12 takeaways.
 
The Stags and Peacocks dueled early out to an 11-11 tie, before Saint Peter's scored six straight points to take a lead midway through the first half that they would not relinquish. Timely baskets kept Fairfield in striking distance into the second half, pulling back to within one possession at 34-31 on a Green three-pointer with 14:44 to play.
 
The comeback push faded beginning with 8:51 remaining, when a Jake Wojcik jumper to trim the deficit to 43-39 proved to be Fairfield's last field goal of the afternoon and last points until the final minute of the game. The Stags defense held firm with multiple stops to limit the Peacocks to only 57 points – their second-lowest scoring output in a conference game this season – but could not overcome the extended drought as time expired on a 57-41 loss.
 
Reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year KC Ndefo led the Peacocks on both ends of the floor with 14 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots. Daryl Banks III also reached double figures with 11 points along with five rebounds.
 
Visit FairfieldStags.com throughout the week for ticket information as well as links to watch and follow the action live. Information will be available as it is finalized and released by the conference office.