CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Fairfield University tipped off the 76th season of Stags Men's Basketball on Monday, opening the 2023-24 campaign at Boston College. Brycen Goodine scored a career-high 22 points and Michael Rogan added 18 as the Stags were clipped by the host Eagles, 89-70, at Conte Forum.
 
Seven of the nine Stags to take the court this evening made their Fairfield debut: Rogan, Peyton Smith, Louis Bleechmore, Jasper Floyd, Matt Curtis, Anthony Davis Jr. and Luke Davidson.
 
In addition to Rogan's 18 points, Smith had 12 in his first action as a Stag, Floyd netted nine, Bleechmore scored seven and Curtis chipped in two. Fairfield shot 26-for-68 (38.2%) from the floor, sparked by 10 three-pointers. Rogan accounted for four of those treys and Goodine had three.
 
The Stags were tested on the boards by the Eagles, led by reigning ACC Most Improved Player Quinten Post. Post hauled in 11 boards to lead BC to a 47-35 advantage on the glass and also paced the scoring with 31 points.
 
The turnover battle went to the Stags, who forced 15 miscues while committing 14. Floyd had three steals to fuel that effort and Jack Brown nabbed a pair.
 
"I'm proud of our effort and our fight tonight. We knew going in that Boston College represented a challenge, but there were also things within our control that we can improve upon," said Interim Head Coach Chris Casey. "I look forward to what's to come for this group of guys starting with another test on Thursday at URI."
 
Four Stags made their Fairfield debuts the moment the ball was tipped as Floyd, Bleechmore, Rogan and Smith joined Goodine in the starting five. Floyd was also the first Stag to score in the young season, canning a three-pointer to stake Fairfield to a 3-2 lead. Rogan added a triple and Goodine scored down low as the Stags trailed by a 9-8 count in the opening minutes, but a dry spell of just over four minutes followed with the Eagles growing their advantage to 21-8. The BC lead reached 18 points at 36-18, but the next six went to Goodine on a three-point play followed by a pull-up trey to cut the deficit to 36-24 with 5:18 to go in the half.
 
That Fairfield run was erased by six in a row for Eagles before another Goodine three-pointer – this time in transition – and a Rogan jumper got the Stags move back in the right direction. The hot hand of Goodine added another three-point play on a jumper through contact, and Floyd connected on a pair of free throws to end the half with Fairfield facing a 46-34 deficit.
 
Despite foul trouble, Goodine had 15 of his 22 points over the first 20 minutes, with Rogan adding 10 in his first half of collegiate basketball.
 
Floyd connected with Goodine on an alley-oop to start the second half scoring, and Rogan answered a BC score with a three-pointer to bring the Stags back to within single digits at 48-39. However, a Smith free throw represented the only Fairfield tally for a six-minute span as the BC cushion ballooned to 21 points at 61-40.
 
Smith went on to score 10 points during the ensuing stretch to keep the visiting score ticking upward, but BC relied on Post with four three-pointers in the period to answer on the home side of the board. The back-and-forth was more than enough for the Eagles to maintain a comfortable lead en route to the 89-70 final.
 
Fairfield is back in action on Thursday, Nov. 9 with a trip to the University of Rhode Island. The Rams also began their season this evening, hosting and defeating CCSU, 81-70.
 
The Stags' first action at Leo D. Mahoney Arena is slated for Monday, Nov. 13 against Mount Saint Mary. Season and single-game tickets are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.