Three Fairfield players scored in double figures, led by senior Rakim Sanders and junior Derek Needham, who each scored 19 to help lift the visiting Stags to a 68-59 win over the Canisius College men's basketball team Sunday evening in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win improves Fairfield to 5-4 overall and 2-0 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action, while the Golden Griffins dropped their fourth straight to fall to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in conference action.

Canisius junior Harold Washington once again led all players in scoring, as he posted a game-high 24 points to go with three assists and a rebound. Sophomore forward Chris Manhertz registered his first career-double-double after he scored 13 points and pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds. Junior guard Alshwan Hymes chipped in 11 points in the losing effort as the Blue and Gold ended the night by shooting 39.2 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from 3-point range and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Canisius trailed Fairfield 56-53 with 7:41 left in the game after sophomore Reggie Groves made one of two tosses from the charity stripe. After both teams went empty on trips down the floor, Fairfield's Ryan Olander took a pass from Sanders and laid one in from the paint to make the score 58-53 in favor of the Stags. Canisius turned the ball over on its next trip down the floor and the Stags took advantage, as Needham knifed through the lane and hit a 10-foot jumper with 5:13 left in regulation time to push the Stags' hold to seven at 60-53.

The next two minutes of action saw the teams trade free throws before Washington drove to the basket on the baseline and laid one off the glass with 2:54 left in the game to make the score 64-59 in favor of Fairfield. That would be the Griffs' last bucket of the night, as the Stags closed out the contest with nine-straight points in the final 1:47 of the contest. Canisius was unable to get any closer than five points down the stretch in large part because the Blue and Gold turned the ball over four times in the final 1:50.

"I thought we played well enough to win two games this weekend and we ended up shooting ourselves in the foot with too many turnovers late in the game," Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. "I thought we did a lot of good things, we really defended and we out rebounded two very big, physical teams, but we have to get our turnovers under control. We can't give teams extra possessions, especially the two best teams in the conference."

Canisius trailed by four at the half by a 34-30 count, and Fairfield came out of the locker room and stretched its lead to 10 at 46-36 with a 12-6 run in the first 5:21 of the second stanza, with Sanders accounting for six of those points for the Stags. Washington scored five-straight for the Griffs in a span of 21 seconds to knock the Fairfield lead to 46-41 with 13:58 left on the clock, but Sanders and teammate Maurice Barrow added four points to push Fairfield's cushion back to nine at 50-41 with 12:55 left to play. Canisius got within three at 51-48 with 11:11 left to play before Needham hit a 3-pointer and a layup to push the cushion to 56-48. Washington, junior Gaby Belardo and Groves all scored for the Blue and Gold to get the game back to a three-point affair at the 7:41 mark.

Sanders finished the game with a double-double as he added 10 rebounds to his 19 points. He was also credited with five assists, a steal and a block in the win for Fairfield. Needham chipped in two assists and three steals while Barrow was good for 12 points and two blocks for Fairfield, which shot 52.1 percent from the floor, 27.8 percent from behind the arc and 61.9 percent from the free-throw line.

Belardo, who missed Friday's game with a lower back injury, scored five points, pulled down five rebounds and dished out two assists with two steals in 21 minutes of action off the bench in the loss for the Griffs. Freshman center Kevin Bleeker added three points, five rebounds and three assists to Canisius' effort.

Canisius will close out its three-game homestand Thursday, Dec. 8, when the squad gets back to non-conference action by hosting South Dakota in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.