FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball shot a season-best .574 from the floor, pouring in 92 points en route to a 92-87 victory on Thursday at Sacred Heart.
Brandon Benjamin headlined the effort with a career-high 26 points and matched his career best with 15 rebounds.
With the win, the Stags improved to 15-10 on the season and evened their MAAC record at 7-7. The Pioneers slipped to 10-15 and now stand at 6-8 in conference action.
"That's just a great win in a very difficult place to play against a very good team. We fought through some foul trouble, got some good minutes off the bench, and we made just enough plays to win the game," said Head Coach
Chris Casey. "I think these last three games we played – at Iona, Quinnipiac at home, and this one on the road – these are MAAC Tournament type games. It sharpens us to play games like that."
Benjamin's 26 points came on 11-for-15 shooting from the field and a 4-for-5 day at the free throw line. He scored 18 points in the second half, including a crucial rebound and putback that extended the lead to 90-87 with under 20 seconds to play. The MAAC's leading rebounder hauled in four offensive boards as a part of his 15 – rounding out his conference-best 12th double-double of the campaign. Benjamin also blocked three shots and distributed three assists.
Braden Sparks added 21 points fueled by a 5-for-7 showing from three-point range. He also doled out five assists while playing all 40 minutes in the Fairfield backcourt.
Despite foul trouble,
Declan Wucherpfennig made the most of his 19 minutes of action with 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting.
Deuce Turner was the fourth Stag to net double figures, capped by the two free throws to ice the game at 92-87 in the closing seconds.
Ryan Zan contributed seven points off the bench on 3-for-4 shooting and pulled down five rebounds.
Tony Williams and
Halon Rawlins pitched in five points and three assists apiece,
Isaac Munkadi scored four points, and
Cam Estevez added three.
As a unit, Fairfield posted a season-high .574 field goal percentage (35-61). The Stags shot 10-for-24 (.417) from three-point range and 12-for-16 (75%) from the free throw line.
Sacred Heart knocked down 12 three-pointers to fuel its 87-point day. Yann Farell had five from downtown on his way to 25 points. Anquan Hill added 18 points and five rebounds, and Mekhi Conner scored 17 points alongside six assists.
The Stags scored first and never trailed, opening up a lead as large as 16 points in the first half and 15 points with 11:09 to go. But Fairfield still needed to withstand a late charge from the Pioneers to come away with the victory after the hosts scored eight points in 51 seconds to cut an 88-79 lead down to 88-87 with 58 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing Fairfield possession, Sparks's initial offering was knocked away by a Sacred Heart defender, but Benjamin collected the loose ball for his 15th rebound and put home the last of his 26 points, extending the margin to 90-87 with 32 seconds to go. Hill missed the potential game-tying three-pointer with 19.9 seconds left to give possession back to the Stags. The ball found Turner, who calmly sank two free throws to salt away the 92-87 victory.
Fairfield Men's Basketball is back in action at Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Saturday, Feb. 7 for a 7 p.m. visit from Marist. The Red Foxes are 16-7 overall and 10-4 in the MAAC following a convincing 81-52 win over Rider tonight in Poughkeepsie.
Tickets for Saturday's game are on sale now at
FairfieldStags.com/TIX.
