JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball cut a 28-point deficit down to eight in a frenetic second half on Sunday at Saint Peter's, but the early margin proved insurmountable as time expired on an 83-74 final. Declan Wucherpfennig scored a career-high 23 points to lead four Stags in double figures.
 
After the road setback, Fairfield sits at 16-11 overall and 8-8 in the MAAC. Saint Peter's is now 12-1 at home this season, moving to 15-9 overall and 12-4 in conference play.
 
Wucherpfennig scored all of his 23 points in the second half, finishing 8-for-12 from the floor and 7-for-11 from the free throw line. He also pulled down eight rebounds to run his season total to 204 – only the fourth Fairfield true freshman to ever eclipse 200 boards.
 
The mark for rebounds by a freshman belongs to Brandon Benjamin, who has 274 and counting after his nine rips today. Benjamin also scored 14 points with three assists against the Pecocks this afternoon.
 
Braden Sparks added 15 points fueled by a 3-for-3 day from three-point range. Sparks has now converted 81 triples on the season, tying for sixth on the Stags' single-season list. The Stags' leading scorer also had four steals on the defensive end.
 
The fourth Stag in double figures was Halon Rawlins with 12 points and six rebounds. Nasir Rodriguez added two points off a pair of free throws, with Eric Mejia and Isaac Munkadi each knocking down one from the stripe to round out Fairfield's 74 points.
 
Saint Peter's was paced by 21 points from TJ Robinson and 15 by Brent Bland.
 
Bland had 11 and Robinson scored 10 in the first half, leading the Peacocks to a 43-23 advantage at the break. The margin grew to its largest point at 61-33 with 14:36 to go before the Stags outscored their hosts, 24-11, over the stretch of action to shrink the gap to a more manageable 72-57 count. Wucherpfennig had 14 of his 23 points during that nine-minute stretch.
 
The SPU lead briefly grew back to 20 points before a 10-1 run – punctuated by a Wucherpfennig dunk – kept the Fairfield comeback alive at 78-69 with 1:46 to go. Robinson tacked on two free throws for the hosts, then Sparks canned a deep trey to make it 80-72 with 41 seconds left. But the Peacocks continued to convert on their trips to the stripe to salt away the 83-74 decision.

"We took an early hit in the first half, particularly with points off turnovers," said Head Coach Chris Casey. "We did a good job of correcting that and playing more aggressively against the zone in the second half. I'm proud of the guys that were out there for the last 15 minutes and their determination to mount a comeback."

Saint Peter's converted 15 Fairfield turnovers into 25 points -- 19 of which came in the first half. The Stags outscored the Peacocks, 51-40, after the intermission.
 
Up next, the Stags return to Leo D. Mahoney Arena to host Sacred Heart on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
 
Tickets are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.