BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Fairfield junior Jonathan Han scored a team-high 16 points after he shot 5-for-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 from 3-point range to help lead the host Stags to a 70-51 win over Canisius Friday night in the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn. The win improves Fairfield to 7-12 overall and 5-4 in the MAAC, while the Golden Griffins dropped their second straight and see their record slip to 3-16 overall and 1-8 in MAAC action.
Canisius sophomore Frank Turner (pictured) led all players with a game-high 17 points, the fifth consecutive game he's posted double figures in the scoring column. Fellow sophomore Jovan Robinson and freshman Tomas Vazquez-Simmons came off the bench to add eight points apiece for the Griffs, who shot 27 percent (17-for-63) from the field and 23.1 percent (6-for-26) from 3-point range in the loss.
As a team, Fairfield shot 44.4 percent (20-for-45) from the floor and 71.4 percent (10-for-14) from 3-point land, led by Han's perfect 5-for-5 performance. The junior guard also added a game-high seven assists and was credited with six steals as the Stags picked up their third-straight win over Canisius, dating back to last season.
"You aren't going to beat a lot of teams when they shoot like that from 3-point range," Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. "I thought we played very hard in the second half and we had a chance to cut our deficit to single digits, but we came up with some empty possessions, which you can't do when you are trying to make a run like we were."
Fairfield took an 14-point lead into the break after Han scored the final five points of the first half with a lay-up and a 3-pointer with nine seconds left before intermission. In the second half, the Stags pushed their lead to as many as 22 points at 51-29, but the Griffs fought back and cut Fairfield's margin in half at 57-46 with a 15-6 run over 5:12, highlighted by six points from Robinson and five points from Turner. But Canisius could not get any closer, as Fairfield hit 13-of-17 chances from the charity stripe in the contest's final 3:03.
Fairfield's Herbie Allen was good for 13 points for the Stags, while teammate Anthony Johnson chipped in 12 points and six boards. Yorel Hawkins led all players with 11 rebounds for Fairfield, while Canisius freshman Greg Logins pulled down a team-high seven boards for the Blue and Gold.
Canisius will return to action Sunday, Jan. 27, as the team travels to Marist for a MAAC game in the McCann Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m., and the game can be seen live on MSG.
Game Notes: Turner and Robinson became the first active Canisius players to play in 50 career games... Vazquez-Simmons had one block to give him 45 this season, which leaves him four shy of the school record for blocked shots in a season by a freshman... Canisius attempted 19 of its 26 3-pointers in the second half... Fairfield now leads the all-time series over Canisius by a 34-29 count.