FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball completed the sweep of a pivotal MAAC home weekend with a 61-55 victory over visiting Canisius on Saturday at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. Deuce Turner and Braden Sparks each scored 14 points, and Brandon Benjamin recorded his 10th double-double of the season in the home triumph.
 
With the win, the Stags improve to 13-9 overall and 5-6 in the MAAC. Fairfield has won nine of its 11 games at Mahoney Arena. Canisius drops to 8-13 on the year with a 3-7 league tally. After landing on the short side of an 85-81 decision to the Griffs earlier this month in Buffalo, the Stags conceded just 55 points this evening – two short of a season-best defensive effort for Fairfield.
 
"I thought our defense really set a tone for the game. I think that's the closest we've come to playing 40 minutes of defense and getting after somebody," said Head Coach Chris Casey.. "They're big, they're physical, they're well-coached, they run stuff well. It's very important that you guard them well."
 
Offensively, Sparks and Turner each knocked down two three-pointers on their way to 14 points apiece. Sparks also hauled in four rebounds and dished out a team-leading four assists. For Turner, his 14 points were more than half of the 22 tallies contributed by the Fairfield bench.
 
Benjamin's double-double consisted of 13 points and a game-best 13 rebounds. The MAAC's leading rebounder has grabbed double-digit boards in 11 contests this season and scored in double figures in eight of his last 11 outings. Tonight, Benjamin was 5-for-7 from the floor and converted all three of his free throw attempts.
 
Supplementing the scoring, Eric Mejia had six points as a part of a full statline that also included four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Declan Wucherpfennig had five points and nine rebounds, and Tony Williams also netted five points. Halon Rawlins and Isaac Munkadi rounded out the effort with two points apiece.
 
After trading buckets early, a Sparks three-pointer staked the Stags to an 8-6 lead that they would not relinquish. Sparks added jumper and Turner knocked down a trey to extend the mark to 13-6, and Fairfield soon led by double digits for the first time at 23-13 with 5:55 to play in the period. The advantage briefly grew as large as 14 points on a Mejia bucket before Canisius made a late push to send the game into the intermission with the Stags on top, 31-22.
 
Benjamin took over the paint in the second half – tallying eight points and eight rebounds after the intermission – as Fairfield opened up a 56-41 lead with 8:21 to play. But the Griffs had one more run in them, cutting the deficit to 58-55 with 2:37 to play. On the ensuing Fairfield possession, Rawlins lone bucket was the biggest of the night as he followed a miss and tipped it home to extend the advantage to 60-55. Canisius would not score again as the Stags earned stops on the visitors' final five possession of the game to ice a 61-55 victory.
 
"I'm proud of our guys. They grinded it out," Casey noted. "This time of the year, there's a lot of grind it out wins. The scores start to come down a little bit and you've got to be able to grind. And I thought we did a good job of that this weekend in two MAAC wins."
 
Fairfield Men's Basketball is back in action and back on the road on Friday, Jan. 30 for the only regular season meeting with traditional MAAC foe Iona. The Gaels are 14-8 overall and 6-5 in the MAAC after a 66-57 victory tonight at home over Manhattan.
 
The Stags return to Mahoney Arena next Sunday, Feb. 1 to host Quinnipiac at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.