FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball erased a 13-point second half deficit to take the lead over visiting Drexel with 6:17 to go on Tuesday evening at Leo D. Mahoney Arena, but the Dragons ended the game on an 8-2 run to head back to Philadelphia with a 67-61 decision. Louis Bleechmore scored 11 of his 12 points and Prophet Johnson had 10 of his dozen after the intermission to spark the Fairfield rally.
 
"We played hard; I love this team's fight," said Head Coach Chris Casey. "It came down to a few shots, a few free throws and a few plays on the defensive end. But we had a very good second half, and the next step is to turn that into a full 40-minute performance."
 
Fairfield (2-3) shot 16-for-35 (45.7%) from the field and 5-for-13 (38.5%) from three-point range after halftime to rack up 40 points after managing just 21 points on 8-for-32 shooting in the opening frame. The Stags trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, enduring a nearly five-minute scoring drought that saw a 10-9 deficit grow to a 24-9 margin midway through the period. Fairfield did regain a bit of momentum to close the stanza on a rebound and putback at the buzzer for Peyton Smith to trim the halftime deficit to 33-21.
 
Visiting Drexel (3-2) held a double-digit lead into the 13:19 mark of the second half, when Deon Perry banged home a three-pointer to bring the Stags to within seven at 43-36. Perry added a floater in the lane, and the teams traded buckets for the next several minutes. The Stags finally pulled in front with a 9-2 run that included three points apiece for Braden Sparks and Johnson followed by a wing triple for Bleechmore to put the Stags on top for the first time at 51-49 with 8:16 left.
 
After four straight points from the Dragons, Bleechmore hit a near-identical trey to flip the lead again with the Stags in front, 54-53. Drexel fired back with a four-point play for Kobe MaGee, then a Jamie Bergens jumper and a Johnson free throw tied the score at 57-57. After another Drexel basket, Isaac Munkadi added a rebound and lay-in to knot the game for what proved to be the final time at 59-59 with under two minutes to go.
 
The next four points went to Yame Butler for the Dragons to open up a two-possession advantage. Johnson responded with a rebound and putback for the last of Fairfield's 15 second-chance points, but Fairfield did not score again and Drexel went 4-for-4 from the stripe in the final 24 seconds to ice a 67-61 final.
 
In addition to his 12 points, Johnson filled out his statline with team highs of nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. Sparks added eight points and three assists and Perry also finished with eight points to go along with four boards from the perimeter.
 
Rounding out the scoring, Smith and Birima Seck each scored six points in the post, Bergens had four, Noah Best scored three and Munkadi netted two.
 
Fairfield committed just six turnovers to Drexel's 13, scoring 11 points off miscues to the Dragons' two. Fairfield also led 15-12 in second chance points, 7-2 in fast break points and 19-18 in bench points. Drexel had a 36-20 advantage in points in the paint.
 
The Dragons were led by 16 points and nine rebounds for Shane Blakeney, 14 points by Yame Butler and 12 for Kobe MaGee.
 
Fairfield Men's Basketball hits the road but stays in the Nutmeg State for two games at Mohegan Sun Arena in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. The Stags will challenge Yale on Saturday, Nov. 23 and Vermont on Sunday, Nov. 24.
 
The Stags return to Mahoney Arena on the following Sunday, Dec. 1, for a 2 p.m. visit from FDU.