POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball saw its three-game MAAC winning streak come to an end on Saturday with an 82-67 setback at Marist. Braden Sparks set the scoring pace for the Stags with 16 points in the road outing.
 
After today's decision, Fairfield stands at 11-8 overall and 3-5 in the MAAC. Marist, which is 8-1 at McCann Arena this season, improves to 12-5 on the year with a 6-2 league record.
 
Sparks supplemented his team-leading 16 points with two assists and a pair of steals. Tony Williams joined his in double figures with 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers. In the starting frontcourt, Declan Wucherpfennig added six points and Brandon Benjamin scored five.
 
The bench scoring was led by Deuce Turner's nine points and a seven-point day for Eric Mejia. In total, the Stags racked up 28 bench points finished off with six points from Isaac Munkadi, four for Ryan Zan, and two from Nasir Rodriguez.
 
On the boards, Brandon Benjamin led the way with seven, and Ryan Zan hauled in five. Marist held a 37-30 rebounding advantage, only the second time that Fairfield has been outrebounded in eight MAAC games this season.
 
After trailing for a total of just 26 seconds in the back-to-back wins over Rider and Manhattan, the Stags never held the lead on Saturday after Marist scored the game's first seven points. The Stags closed the early gap and a Wucherpfennig layup and a Williams triple, but never pulled even as the Red Foxes built a lead that reached double figures for the first time at 28-17 with 7:18 to go in the opening half. The deficit grew as large as 15 points, and Fairfield went the intermission faced with a 14-point margin at 43-29.
 
The teams traded baskets for the majority of the second half, which was enough for Marist to maintain its double-digit cushion. A surge pushed the Red Foxes ahead by as many as 27 points at 76-49 before a late Fairfield run closed the gap to its eventual final of 82-67.
 
Marist was led by a game-high 17 points for Elijah Lewis to lead five Red Foxes in double figures. The hosts shot 9-for-18 from three-point range for a season-best .500 shooting percentage beyond the arc.
 
Fairfield Men's Basketball concludes its road trip with a Monday, Jan. 19 matinee at Siena.
 
Action returns to Mahoney Arena next weekend when the Stags host Niagara on Thursday, Jan. 22 and Canisius on Saturday, Jan. 24.