BUFFALO, N.Y. – After an extra day in Buffalo due to inclement weather and travel restrictions, Fairfield University Men's Basketball earned a split of the MAAC's annual trek to Western New York with an 88-63 victory at Canisius on Monday afternoon. Peyton Smith scored a career-high 17 points to lead five Stags scoring double figures in the road triumph.
 
With the win, the Stags improve to 10-7 overall and 4-2 in the MAAC. Canisius slips to 7-9 on the season with a 2-4 conference tally. Fairfield has now won nine of its last 10 games, seeing its eight-game streak snapped on Friday night at Niagara.
 
"Today wasn't about bouncing back in terms of Friday's result. Win or lose, you always want to be better than you were the day before or the game before," said Interim Head Coach Chris Casey. "But this was certainly more reflective of our brand of basketball. Five guys in double figures, 26 assists, an advantage in turnovers and rebounding – they're all important to our success, and when we do all of them, I think we can be a pretty good basketball team."
 
Smith's 17 points came on 6-for-10 shooting from the floor and a 5-for-5 day at the free throw line. He also hauled in eight rebounds.
 
Caleb Fields knocked down four three-pointers on his way to 16 points, and Jalen leach poured in 14 points with six assists. Louis Bleechmore filled out his statsheet with 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Brycen Goodine added 10 points off the bench.
 
As a unit, the Stags shot 36-for-63 (57.1%) from the field, 10-for-10 (50%) from distance and 6-for-7 (85.7%) from the free throw line. Five Stags scored in double figures for the second time this season, also doing so in the 88-81 win at Rider on Dec. 3.
 
Supplementing the scoring, Jasper Floyd had seven points to go along with six rebounds, six assists and three steals. James Johns Jr. had four, Ryan McPartlan scored the first four of his collegiate career, Birima Seck notched two and Jack Brown had two.
 
The Stags' 26 assists marked a season-best and are the most for Fairfield against a Division I opponent since dishing 26 helpers in a 103-100 overtime win over Iona on Jan. 29, 2018.
 
Led by Bleechmore's nine boards, the Stags held a 39-36 advantage on the glass. Fairfield also scored 50 of its 88 points in the paint and committed only 11 turnovers while forcing 12.
 
Canisius was led by 17 points from Tre Dinkins along with 14 points and eight rebounds by Frank Mitchell.

The Stags scored the first eight points of the game and led by double digits for the final 27:47 of action. The margin was above 20 points for the last 12:12 of the game, peaking at a 29-point cushion at 73-44 with 8:11 remaining.
 
Fairfield Men's Basketball is back in action on Friday, Jan. 19 at Leo D. Mahoney Arena for the first game of the 2024 spring semester. The Stags welcome first-place Saint Peter's, who are the MAAC's last unbeaten at 5-0 as a part of a 9-5 overall mark. Opening tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.
 
All Fairfield University students can claim their free ticket using the Super Stags app beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.