JERSEY CITY, N.J. – For the third time in as many games, Fairfield University Men's Basketball went into the half facing a deficit and flipped that margin into a win. On Saturday in Jersey City, that outcome was in doubt until the final horn as a Saint Peter's layup rimmed out to send the Stags to a 64-62 victory. Caleb Fields and Jalen Leach paced the Fairfield scoring with 17 points apiece.
 
"There's no excuses in this part of the MAAC schedule," said Interim Head Coach Chris Casey. "Everybody is grinding, everybody is banged up. And I'm proud of our guys for staying focused and fighting through all of that to come away with another tough road win."
 
With the victory, the Stags complete the season sweep of Saint Peter's and improve to 15-9 overall and 9-4 in the MAAC. The Peacocks slip to an even 11-11 overall and 7-6 in conference play.
 
Fields' 17 points including four three-pointers for the MAAC's leader from beyond the arc. Leach supplemented his 17-point day with a game-best seven rebounds. James Johns Jr. joined them in double figures with 11 points, including a free throw in the closing seconds to help ice the victory.
 
Jasper Floyd was just short of double figures with nine points, adding two assists and three steals. Fields also came away with three steals as a part of the Peacocks' 17 turnovers.
 
To round out the Fairfield scoring, Birima Seck and Louis Bleechmore each scored five points.
 
The Stags trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, but immediately strung together a 11-0 run bookended by Fields' three pointers. Saint Peter's struck last in the period to regain its lead and bring a 36-33 edge into the locker room.
 
Fairfield was the team that would surge in the second half, breaking out of the pack to take a 60-51 lead with 3:18 to play. An 8-1 Peacocks run shrank the margin to 61-59 in the final minute. Leach staked the Stags to some breathing room with a 2-for-2 trip to the line, but Saint Peter's answered with a three-point play to cut the Fairfield lead to 63-62 with the shot clock turned off.
 
The Stags got the all-important in-bounds pass in to Johns, who was immediately fouled. The sophomore split the pair of tosses to double the advantage to 64-62. Saint Peter's pushed the ball over half court and called timeout with 4.6 seconds to go. The Peacocks managed a good look out of the timeout, but Michael Houge's contested layup rimmed out and Leach pulled down the carom as time expired.
 
Roy Clarke led all scorers with 21 points for Saint Peter's, and Marcus Randolph hit four three-pointers on his way to 19.
 
Winners of three straight, the Stags return to Leo D. Mahoney Arena next weekend to host Niagara on Friday, Feb. 16 and Mount St. Mary's on Sunday, Feb. 18. Tickets for both games are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.