FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After 11 ties and nine lead changes on Monday at Leo D. Mahoney Arena, Fairfield University Men's Basketball was on the short side of a 70-66 final against visiting Saint Peter's.
Braden Sparks netted a game-high 22 points for the Stags, highlighted by the 1,000th point of his collegiate career.
The loss ends a three-game winning streak for the Stags, who now stand at 8-6 overall and 0-3 in the MAAC. Saint Peter's improves to 6-5 on the season with an unbeaten 3-0 conference tally.
"Both teams played extremely hard, they just made a few more plays than we did," said Head Coach
Chris Casey. "We're both good rebounding teams, and credit to Saint Peter's, they outrebounded us tonight and had 18 offensive boards. Offensively, I thought we were getting good looks for the most part, but we needed to take care of the ball better against their pressure."
Sparks, who was named MAAC Player of the Week earlier in the day on Monday, shot 7-for-15 from the field with a 5-for-8 day from three-point range. His 1,000th point came on a deep triple in transition as he knocked down his first four treys of the day. After tonight's performance, Sparks has scored 1,012 collegiate points – 55 in 2022-23 at Mercer, 394 in 2023-24 at Indian Hills Community College, and 563 in the past two campaigns as a Stag.
The MAAC's leading scorer has reached the 20-point mark in eight games this season, including six of his last seven outings.
Brandon Benjamin returned from a one-game hiatus and delivered a career-best 21 points along with 11 rebounds to record his MAAC-leading fifth double-double of the season. Reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week
Declan Wucherpfennig was just short of his second consecutive double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Rounding out the scoring,
Tony Williams had five points,
Deuce Turner scored four, and
Halon Rawlins netted three.
Bryce Eaton led Saint Peter's with 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Brent Bland added 14 points and eight boards for the Peacocks, and Zaakir Williamson tallied a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Up next, the Stags ring in 2026 in Western New York, opening January with MAAC games at Canisius on Jan. 2 and Niagara on Jan 4. Action returns to Mahoney Arena on Friday, Jan. 9 with a 7 p.m. visit from Rider.
