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Rally Comes Up Short as Men?s Basketball Falls at Fairfield

Men's Basketball Canisius College Athletics

Rally Comes Up Short as Men's Basketball Falls at Fairfield

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Fairfield senior Yorel Hawkins scored 21 points and freshman guard Derek Needham added 17, and the host Stags were able to hold off a last second run by Canisius to hold on for a 76-74 victory Monday afternoon in the Arena at Harbor Yard. The win improves Fairfield to 13-5 overall and 6-2 in the MAAC, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 9-10 overall and 4-4 in league play.

For the Griffs, junior Julius Coles scored a game-high 24 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists in the losing effort while senior guard Frank Turner chipped in 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Canisius shot 51 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from 3-point range against Fairfield, but the Stags were able to turn 18 Canisius turnovers into 24 points, with 16 of those points coming in the game's final 20 minutes.

"Unfortunately, we simply turned the ball over too many times today," Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. "I thought we shot the ball well, we just came up with too many empty possessions. To their credit, our guys were resilient and battled back and we had a chance to win the game."

Canisius led 58-49 with 12:28 left in regulation time before Fairfield went on a 16-2 run over a span of 6:22 to take control of the game at 65-60. The Stags would stretch their lead to as many as eight points with less than a minute left on the clock, but the Blue and Gold would not die, mounting a come-back effort that fell just short.

Trailing 74-66 with 55 seconds to play, Robert Goldsberry hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to make the score 77-69 with 44 ticks left. After forcing Fairfield to turn the ball over on the next possession, Canisius cut the Stags' hold to 74-72 when Goldsberry drained another 3-pointer, this time right in front of the Griffs' bench. Hawkins was immediately fouled by the Griffs, where he walked down the floor and made just one of two charity tosses, setting up what turned out to be a frantic final five seconds.

Canisius forced the ball up the floor off Hawkins' miss from the line where Coles was fouled in the act of shooting a 3-point field goal. Coles made two of three of his chances from the line, but missed on the chance to tie the game, forcing Canisius to foul Hawkins with less than two seconds to stop the clock. Hawkins drained the second of two tosses from the line to secure the final score at 76-74.

The Griffs held Fairfield to 36.9 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from 3-point range in the loss, but the Stags, who entered the day shooting 67.4 percent from the line, hit 22-of-27 tosses from the line for 81.5 percent.

Elton Frazier posted 12 points and five rebounds for Canisius, which shot 76.2 percent from the free-throw line on the day.

The Griffs will return to action Friday, Jan. 22, when the team hosts Rider in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Game Notes: Fairfield has now won four straight over Canisius and leads the all-time series 38-30... Canisius is now 17-7 in the last 24 games where its opponent has shot lower than 40 percent from the field... The two turnovers by Fairfield stands as the lowest for a Canisius opponent since the 1987-88 season (according to records available)... Junior Tomas Vazquez-Simmons was credited with one blocked shot on the day, giving him 173 for his career... That block allowed him to pass former Griff Mike Smrek for second all-time on the school's career blocked shot list... Canisius ended the game with a 37-33 advantage on the boards, the 12th time this year the team out rebounded its opponents... The Griffs' 76.2 percent effort from the line at Fairfield marks the ninth time this season the team has shot better than 70 percent for a game from the chairty stripe.

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Players Mentioned

Julius Coles

#15 Julius Coles

G
6' 4"
Junior
Elton Frazier

#24 Elton Frazier

F
6' 6"
Junior
Robert Goldsberry

#3 Robert Goldsberry

G
6' 0"
Junior
Frank Turner

#1 Frank Turner

G
5' 10"
Senior
Tomas Vazquez-Simmons

#42 Tomas Vazquez-Simmons

F
6' 7"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Julius Coles

#15 Julius Coles

6' 4"
Junior
G
Elton Frazier

#24 Elton Frazier

6' 6"
Junior
F
Robert Goldsberry

#3 Robert Goldsberry

6' 0"
Junior
G
Frank Turner

#1 Frank Turner

5' 10"
Senior
G
Tomas Vazquez-Simmons

#42 Tomas Vazquez-Simmons

6' 7"
Junior
F