FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball scored the final seven points of regulation, capped by two TJ Long free throws with 48 seconds to play, to force overtime with visiting Mount St. Mary's on Sunday at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. The Stags outscored the Mount, 12-8, in the extra session to come away with a 76-72 victory.

Following the season sweep of the MAAC newcomer Mount St. Mary's, Fairfield stands at 11-14 overall and 7-8 in MAAC play. The Mount falls to 8-18 on the season with a 4-11 conference mark.
 
"I think we stole one today," said Head Coach Jay Young. "I have a lot of respect for Mount St. Mary's and how hard they compete. But we've been on a wrong side of a few of those, so I'm proud that our guys found a way to grind it out today and get back in the locker room with a win."
 
Long's four points at the close of regulation capped a 21-point day for the sophomore, who knocked down two three-pointers and shot 9-for-9 from the free throw line as a part of scoring effort. Caleb Fields and Supreme Cook added 14 points apiece, with Cook also corralling a game-best 14 rebounds to complete a double-double. Allan Jeanne-Rose was the fourth Stag in double figures with 12 points in the victory.
 
Rounding out the scoring, Jalen Leach scored seven points – highlighted by four in overtime – and the duo of James Johns Jr. and Zach Crisler added four points apiece.
 
Cook's 14 rebounds led the Stag to a 39-33 advantage on the glass. Leach pulled down eight boards and Jeanne-Rose had six.
 
Neither team went on a run of longer than 6-0 in the first half, with the Mount getting back-to-back three-pointers from Jaylin Gibson and Dakota Leffew to take a 21-16 lead. A Leach three-point play and a Johns bucket in the paint soon leveled the score once again at 23-23, and a Crisler three-pointer put the Stags in front 26-25. After four points from the Mount, Jeanne-Rose hit just his second trey of the second to make it a 29-29 game. Cook converted two from the stripe to stake Fairfield to a brief lead, and the Mount struck last on a Leffew triple that sent the visitors into the break with a 32-31 advantage.
 
Mount St. Mary's scored the first five points of the second half and continued its surge out to a 48-36 lead with 14:05 to go. Fields answered for the Stags with a three-pointer followed by a steal and score to trim the deficit to 48-41, but Leffew responded again from distance to extend the Mount lead back to double digits.
 
Long netted seven points over the ensuing stretch, settling with the Stags trailing, 58-53 with 4:40 to play. The Mount then converted a big chance out of a timeout with Leffew burying his fourth and final trey through contact and finishing the four-point play to nearly double the lead back to 62-53 with 3:52 remaining.
 
After two Jeanne-Rose free throws and a putback for Cook, Jalen Benjamin sank two from the stripe to move the score to 64-57 in favor of the Mount with 2:37 left. The visitors would not score again in the second half, however, as Cook started the Fairfield comeback with a three-point play in the post. Long added a steal and score to cut the lead to 64-62 and, after a Leffew miss from distance, Long drew a foul and hit both tries to level the game at 64-64 with 48.1 ticks left. Cook blocked Leffew's attempt for the lead on the next Mount possession, but the Stags could not get the go-ahead bucket in their final trip of regulation, and the contest went to overtime tied at 64-64.
 
After a defensive stop, Cook opened the OT scoring with a layup before the Mount equalized with two Gibson free throws. Benjamin followed with an acrobatic finish to put the guests back in front before Leach finished in traffic to knot the score at 68-68. Benjamin called his own number again and converted to make it a 70-68 game before Cook grabbed another offensive board and sent it home to tie the game for the 10th and final time.
 
The Stags earned another stop on the defensive end and Leach converted two from the line to put Fairfield on top in the final minute. Benjamin was unable to find the bottom of the net on the ensuing trip and Fields was fouled. The Stags' point guard hit both of his tries and, after a third straight empty possession for the Mount, Long added two more from the line. Benjamin would round out his game-best 22 points with a layup in the closing seconds to bring to scoring to a close at 76-72.
 
In addition to Benjamin's 22 points, Leffew scored 21 points for the Mount and Jedy Cordilia had 14.
 
The Stags are back in action on Friday, Feb. 17 at Marist. The Red Foxes are 8-16 overall and 4-11 in the MAAC following a 73-65 at Siena this afternoon.
 
Fairfield returns to Mahoney Arena next Sunday, Feb. 19 to host Manhattan at 2 p.m.