FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball erased an 11-point second half deficit, rallying to a 78-74 win over FDU on Sunday afternoon at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. Eleven Stags scored in the victory, led by 20 points from Jamie Bergens and a double-double for Peyton Smith.
 
"A big part of that win was that we stayed tough," said Head Coach Chris Casey. "The thing that we do best right now is that we fight, and if we just continue to fight, we'll also continue to make progress in other areas where we need to improve."
 
With the win, Fairfield evens its record at 4-4 on the season, while FDU slips to 3-6.
 
Bergens' 20 points were the spark behind a season-best 55 bench points for the Stags compared to 10 for the Knights. Five of Fairfield's top six scorers were playing in a reserve role as Deon Perry and Matt Curtis each added nine points off the bench, Prophet Johnson had seven and Birima Seck netted five.
 
For Smith, his double-double consisted of 16 points and a game-leading 10 rebounds. Johnson hauled in seven boards, including three from the offensive glass, as Fairfield claimed a 37-32 advantage on the glass.
 
Supplementing the Fairfield's scoring, Noah Best and Michael Rogan had three points apiece with the trio of Braden Sparks, Louis Bleechmore and Kyle Jenkins each netting two.
 
Two runs defined the opening 20 minutes of action. The first was an 8-0 spurt for the Stags featuring three points apiece for Johnson and Seck as well as a pair of Bergens free throws. That stretch flipped a 17-13 deficit into a 21-17 lead for Fairfield with under eight minutes to go. The next span was a scoreless drought for the Stags, who went without a point for over five minutes as FDU poured in eight straight to take a 32-27 advantage. Bergens ended the drought and sent Fairfield into the locker room on a high note, draining a corner three just before the horn to push the margin at the intermission to 32-20 in favor of the Knights.
 
The Stags opened the second half scoring with a Johnson rebound and layup to tie the score at 32-32, but FDU responded with a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to jump out to the largest lead of the day at 45-34. The Stags slowly chipped away at the margin, eventually pulling even on a Bergens' three-pointer to knot the game at 55-55 with 8:19 left. The Stags briefly took the lead on a layup from Seck, and the lead would flip three more times before settling at 64-63 in favor of the Knights with 4:48 to go.
 
Curtis played the hero in the next stretch, drawing the foul on a three-point attempt and connecting on all three tosses to put the Stags in front. He then came up with a steal on the next possession and went coast-to-coast to extend the lead to 68-64. FDU netted the next four to tie the game for the ninth and final time, then Perry and Bergens converted on consecutive trips to stake Fairfield to a 72-68 as the clock ticked under 60 seconds remaining. The Knights made a pair of contested three-pointers in the last minute to keep the game close, but Fairfield went 6-for-6 from the stripe in the final minute to close out the 78-74 win.
 
Despite early foul shooting woes, the Stags made their last 12 free throws to finish at 21-for-29 (72.4%) to put the victory on ice.

Jo'el Emanuel led FDU with 16 points. Terrence Brown, who entered the day ranked eighth in the nation with 23.1 points per game, was limited to a season-low 12.
 
Up next, Fairfield makes its annual December venture into MAAC play, hosting Rider on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Opening tip-off from Leo D. Mahoney Arena is set for 7 p.m.
 
Tickets are on sale now at fairfieldstags.com/tix.