NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – After 16 lead changes, host Iona held off Fairfield University Men's Basketball, 75-69, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action on Friday at the Hynes Center. Jake Wojcik scored 16 points – topping 1,000 tallies in his collegiate career – and TJ Long led players with 18 points.
 
The Stags now stand at 6-10 overall and 2-4 in the MAAC. The reigning conference regular season champion Gaels improve to 12-5 overall and 5-1 in the league.
 
"I was really proud of our effort. Obviously not having Caleb [Fields] here tonight put us down a guard in a game where you need ball handling. I thought Woj was terrific moving over to that spot and taking care of the basketball," said Head Coach Jay Young. "Iona is a really talented basketball team with a lot of weapons that keep coming at you. We've got to have better execution – they made five threes on us in the second half – but they're a good basketball team and obviously very well coached. So we've got to get better, but I was proud of the way that we competed tonight."
 
Wojcik's season-best 16 points tonight move his career total to 1,002. He has scored 656 points in three seasons as a Stag after netting 346 in two years at Richmond. Wojcik shot 7-for-13 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers. He also hauled in six rebounds and dished out a career-best seven assists. Long's 18 points included three triples as well as a 7-for-8 day at the free throw line.
 
Supreme Cook was the third Stag in double figures with 14 points. Cook, who primarily locked horns with Iona's Nelly Junior Joseph, held his own defensively with three blocks against the Gaels' star big man.
 
The balance of Fairfield's scoring came from Allan Jeanne-Rose with seven points, six by Chris Maidoh, four from Jalen Leach and two apiece for Zach Crisler and Makai Willis.
 
Jeanne-Rose pulled down a team-best eight rebounds as the Stags won the battle under the boards, 34-31. Fairfield's 11 offensive rips were converted into 11 second chance point, also edging the Gaels in that category, 11-10.
 
Fifteen of the game's 16 ties came in the first half as the teams sparred for the opening 20 minutes. The final of those 15 came at the halftime horn as Wojcik knocked down a deep triple to send Fairfield into the locker room with a 34-32 lead.
 
The Gaels took the lead for good with a 12-4 run to open the second half, gaining a 44-38 advantage with 16:43 to play. Though they never pulled even again, the Stags did not fade away – climbing back to within two points at 53-31 with 10:55 remaining. Fairfield was within a possession as late as the 4:48 mark on a Leach layup that trimmed the margin to 65-62, but a three-pointer from Cruz Davis extended the hosts' lead back to 69-62, and the Gaels made enough free throws down the stretch to close out a 75-69 final.
 
Junior Joseph led Iona with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Daniss Jenkins added 16 points for the Gaels and Berrick JeanLouis scored 11.
 
The Stags, who were playing their first road contest since Dec. 1, will complete the MAAC road weekend on Sunday at Saint Peter's. Fairfield is eying a season sweep of the defending MAAC Champion Peacocks. SPU fell to 7-10 overall and 2-6 in the MAAC with a 58-51 loss tonight at Quinnipiac.