PHILADELPHIA – An early 18-4 deficit started Fairfield University Men's Basketball off on the wrong foot on Friday evening at Drexel, and the Stags were unable to recover from the slow start in an eventual 65-47 loss in Philadelphia. Brycen Goodine paced three Stags scoring in double figures with 15 points.
 
"It's tough to come back from a slow start against anybody, but especially against a talented team like Drexel. I think we did some good things after that initial stretch, bur we made it very difficult on ourselves by getting in that early hole," said Interim Head Coach Chris Casey. "We will certainly go over what we can learn from this one, but we also need to quickly shift our focus to another tough opponent tomorrow night."
 
Goodine, who is averaging 19.0 points per game over his first four contests of the season, shot 6-for-10 from the field with two three-pointers and added a free throw to account for his 15 points. Caleb Fields knocked down three from long range on his way to 11 points, and Peyton Smith was an efficient 5-for-6 from the floor to rack up 10 points.
 
As a unit, the Stags shot 19-for-57 (33.3%) from the field, 6-for-21 (28.6%) from three-point range and 3-for-4 (75%) from the free throw line. Rounding out the Fairfield scoring, Jasper Floyd scored five points, Jalen Leach had four and Louis Bleechmore chipped in two.
 
Fields was the Stags' top facilitator with four assists.
 
The Stags had a tall task looming in the post in CAA Preseason Player of the Year Amari Williams. The Dragons' 6-10 center scored 13 points down low and hauled in a game-best 13 rebounds to pace Drexel to a 42-26 advantage on the glass. The Fairfield rebounding effort was led by six boards for Floyd and four from Smith.
 
A stretch of just four made field goals over the opening 10 minutes set the Stags back early as Drexel gained a 21-8 lead midway throughout the first half. Goodine found his stroke late the half, scoring eight points in the final 1:54 of the frame as the Stags went into the locker room faced with a 39-20 deficit.
 
The second half featured more back-and-forth action, with the teams trading baskets and stops. But that ebb and flow were more than enough from Drexel to maintain its cushion. The Stags never drew closer than within 16 – on Fields' third three-pointer of the day – as time ticked away on a 65-47 final.
 
The Stags are back in action in Philadelphia on Saturday at 6 p.m. for the second game of the Market Street Challenge. Fairfield will play Queens (N.C.) for a first-time meeting with the Royals. Queens, which is 1-2 on the season, will also play the tournament finale on Sunday against the host Dragons.