ATLANTIC CITY – Faced with a 57-48 deficit in the second half of the MAAC Championship Semifinals, Fairfield University Men's Basketball held Marist without a field goal for a span of 9:42, flipping the nine-point deficit to a 65-61 win. The Stags advance to the MAAC Championship Game for the first time since 2021 and will spar with fifth-seeded Saint Peter's on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in search of the program's first conference title since 1997.
 
With the win, Fairfield improves to 22-11 on the season. Marist, which reached the MAAC Championship Game last season, slips to 18-13.
 
"The one word that describes this game is 'tough'," said Head Coach Chris Casey. "And that's what you need in these tournament games, is that grit and toughness. Everything comes down to one or two plays, especially in this league. And I love our guys' toughness."
 
Caleb Fields paced the Fairfield scoring with 22 points, his second consecutive 20-point game in the tournament, and Jalen Leach scored all 13 of his points after halftime.
 
Peyton Smith provided a spark off the bench with nine points, with Jasper Floyd adding eight and Alexis Yetna netting six. Louis Bleechmore converted both of his field goal attempts for four points, Brycen Goodine had two and James Johns Jr. scored one.
 
Rebounding was a team effort as the Stags clawed to a 34-33 advantage on the glass. Alexis Yetna had eight boards to lead the way, followed by seven for Floyd and six by Goodine.
 
The Stags committed just six turnovers in the game – and only two in the second half – while forcing 13 Marist miscues. That advantage led to an 18-2 margin in points off turnovers. The Fairfield defensive effort included two steals apiece for Floyd, Goodine and Leach. Leach also registered a pair of blocked shots.
 
Marist was led by 14 points from Javon Cooley, who shot 4-for-4 from three-point range in the first half. Max Allen II added 12 points and Jadin Collins netted 10.
 
Marist scored the game's first seven points and maintained that lead out to a 12-4 advantage over the first five minutes of action. At that juncture, Floyd drained a triple, Goodine and Fields hit back-to-back layups and Smith canned a pair of free throws as the Stags went on a 9-0 run to claim a 13-12 edge. The teams traded points to an 18-18 deadlock before Marist embarked on a six-minute, 12-1 run to take its largest lead of the game at 30-19.
 
Once again, Floyd was the spark plug for the Stags as his layup ended a scoring drought and started Fairfield on an 11-2 run to end the stretch. The spurt included a Fields three-pointer and a Bleechmore score on the break to send Fairfield into the locker room trailing by just one possession, 32-30.
 
The momentum continued out of the intermission, with another Floyd trey putting the Stags on top, 37-36. However, Marist responded on the next trip with a three-pointer of its own that started the Red Foxes on a 12-2 run to regain a nine points advantage at 48-39. The Stags answered with a 7-2 spurt punctuated by five straight Smith points, but Marist once again used the three ball to stop the run, this time reopening a 53-46 edge. The advantage ballooned back to 57-48 at the midway point of the frame.
 
But at that juncture, Fields and Leach made back-to-back layups to get the Stags moving in the right direction. Fields added another bucket down low and then, after drawing a key charge, the graduate student buried a three-pointer to knot the game at 57-57 with 5:14 left. After a defensive stop, Leach followed with a layup and, after two Marist free throws, the Stags' All-MAAC First Teamer converted again in the paint. Leach would add two free throws to extend the margin to 63-59 with under three minutes to play.
 
The scoring subsided until the final minute, when Marist scored to end its drought at 9:42 without a field goal and cut the deficit in half, with the Stags on top 63-61. But Fairfield made the stop it needed and Leach canned two key free throws to extend the cushion back to the two possessions as time ran out on a 65-61 victory.
 
The 2024 MAAC Championship Game tips off from Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City is set for 7:30 p.m. live on ESPNU. The Stags will be vying for their third win of the campaign over Saint Peter's, having defeated the Peacocks at Mahoney Arena on Jan. 19 and in Jersey City on Feb. 10.
 
The Peacocks are 18-13 on the season after upsetting top-seeded Quinnipiac, 62-60, on a buzzer beater in Friday's first semifinal matchup.