ATLANTIC CITY – Fairfield University Men's Basketball opened the second half of Thursday's MAAC Championship First Round matchup with a 14-2 run to surge past Manhattan, 71-60. The Stags were led by their All-MAAC Second Team duo as Braden Sparks scored 17 points, and Brandon Benjamin posted 15 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots in the victory at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
 
With the win, Fairfield improves to 20-12 on the season. The seventh-seeded Stags have recorded the ninth 20-win season in program history and the second in three campaigns led by Head Coach Chris Casey.
 
Manhattan ends its 2025-26 campaign at 12-20.
 
"I thought we did a great job with the things that we emphasized – rebounding, not turning the ball over, and not sending them to the foul line," said Casey. "And on top of that, I'm really impressed with our guys and their determination on the defensive end. I thought we really guarded Manhattan for 40 minutes. We came up with 50/50 rebounds and 50/50 loose balls, and that was a big difference maker."
 
Sparks's 17 points move him to eighth on Fairfield's single-season scoring list with 562 points. His effort included three three-pointers to run his season total to 94 triples – one shy of cracking the top three in program history. He was Fairfield's top facilitator with five assists.
 
For Benajmin, his 15 points came on 6-for-9 shooting from the floor and a 3-for-4 day at the stripe. With nine rebounds, the rookie boosted his total to 306 boards – joining La Salle great Lionel Simmons as only the second MAAC freshman to eclipse the 300-rebound mark.
 
Declan Wucherpfennig set the pace on the glass with 13 rebounds – his third straight game with double-digit boards – as Fairfield claimed a 37-34 rebounding advantage. Wucherpfennig also scored five points and dished out three assists.
 
Tony Williams made the most of his 11-point evening with three key three-pointers as well as a buzzer-beating layup to end the first half. Eric Mejia and Deuce Turner led Fairfield to 21 bench points with 10 and eight, respectively.
 
Rounding out the scoring, Isaac Munkadi had three points and three offensive rebounds, and Halon Rawlins scored two.
 
The first half featured four lead changes and three ties, though the Jaspers would never lead by more than one point. Williams knocked down a pair of early three-pointers to get the offense off and running. Sparks added a trey and Mejia pitched in a layup to stake Fairfield to its largest advantage of the half at 16-9. The Jaspers climbed back in front, 25-24, fueled by six straight points from Terrance Jones, before a Benjamin layup and a Mejia triple brought the Stags back on top with a lead they ultimately would not relinquish. Williams added the exclamation point with a driving layup to beat the first half buzzer and send Fairfield into the intermission holding a 31-27 edge.
 
Fairfield limited Manhattan to just two free throws over the first 5:40 of the second half – a stretch of nearly eight minutes with out a field goal spanning back to the first frame – to facilitate the run that proved decisive. Benjamin netted six of his 15 points during the run, while Sparks scored five and Mejia knocked down a three-pointers to account for a 14-2 spurt that pushed the margin to 45-29.
 
Manhattan briefly climbed back to within single digits at 51-42, before the trio of Turner, Williams, and Sparks each hit a corner trey in succession to open a 60-44 cushion. The advantage grew as large as 17 points, and the Stags iced the game at the line to finish off the 71-60 final.

Terrance Jones led four Jaspers in double figures with 16 points.
 
Fairfield Men's Basketball returns to Boardwalk Hall on Friday at 8:30 p.m. with a MAAC Championship Quarterfinal clash with second-seeded Saint Peter's.