WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball cut a 20-point deficit down to seven with eight minutes to play on Saturday afternoon at Monmouth, but the Stags were never able to come all the way back as the host Hawks put away an 88-74 final.
Prophet Johnson had his third double-double of the season for the Stags with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
With the loss, Fairfield heads into the holidays with a record of 5-7. Monmouth, which was playing its home opener at OceanFirst Bank Center after 11 consecutive road games, improves to 2-10.
Johnson's 19 points include 14 in the second half as the Stags mounted their comeback.
Braden Sparks also had 14 of his 16 after halftime with the duo combining for 28 of Fairfield's 41 second-half tallies. The career-high and game-leading 15 rebounds for Johnson included 10 from the offensive glass as the junior guided Fairfield to 19 second-chance points and a 40-36 overall advantage on the boards.
Deon Perry was the third Stag to reach double figures on the day, netting 12 points along with a game-best six assists.
Kyle Jenkins added seven points and five rebounds, with
Peyton Smith contributing six points and four boards from the post.
A quick 7-0 run – comprised of a Smith three-pointer and back-to-back buckets from
Jamie Bergens and
Braden Sparks – had the Stags in front early. But Sparks' jumper would be Fairfield's last for nearly five minutes as the Hawks surged to an 18-7 advantage. The lead touched 20 points at 31-11, but Fairfield closed the half on a 10-4 spurt that included five Johnson offensive boards in the last two minutes and seven points for
Deon Perry to close the gap to 43-33 at the break.
After the intermission, the Monmouth lead ballooned as large as 19 points at 57-38 and stood at 67-51 with 10:30 left. At that point, Fairfield made a final push starting with a Johnson layup and a three-pointer from
Louis Bleechmore. After a Monmouth score, Smith knocked down a pair of free throws and Johnson got to the rim twice more – both assisted by Perry – to cut the margin to 69-62 with 8:03 left and induce a King Rice timeout.
However, the early deficit proved insurmountable for the Stags, as Monmouth's star guard Abdi Bashir Jr. knocked down back-to-back three-pointer to rebuild a 78-63 cushion as the Hawks iced an 88-74 decision.
Bashir, who entered the day averaged over 21 points per game, had a game-high 27 points. Jack Collins finished with 13 points, four rebounds and five assists for the Hawks.
The Stags close out 2024 and the non-conference schedule with a Saturday, Dec. 28 trip to Columbia. Opening tip-off from NYC and live on SNY and ESPN+ is set for 4 p.m.
Fairfield also visits Merrimack on Friday, Jan. 3 before returning to Leo D. Mahoney Arena to host Iona on Friday, Jan. 10.
