BRIDGEPORT, CONN. - Fairfield sophomore Derek Needham scored a game-high 17 points, with 15 of those coming in the game's second half, as the host Stags downed the Canisius College men's basketball team 70-55 Monday night in the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn. The win, which was Fairfield's fifth straight, improved the team to 17-4 overall and 10-1 in the MAAC, while the Golden Griffins saw their two-game winning streak come to an end as their record slipped to 10-11 overall and 4-7 in league play.

For Canisius, sophomore guard Alshwan Hymes scored a team-high 16 points, with 13 of those points coming in the second half. Senior Elton Frazier added 10 points to the Griffs' losing effort, while fellow senior Tomas Vazquez-Simmons was credited with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. Sophomore Gaby Belardo scored eight points, with senior Julius Coles and redshirt freshman Reggie Groves added seven points apiece for the Blue and Gold.

Needham finished the night shooting 5-for-15 from the field, 2-for-9 from behind the 3-point line and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe in the win for Fairfield, which has now won the last seven meetings between the two Jesuit schools. Freshman Maurice Barrow had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds in the win for the Stags, while Yorel Hawkins and Jamal Fields chipping in 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Fairfield led 33-25 at the half after the Stags shot 40.6 percent from the field while holding Canisius to just 30.6 percent from the floor in the game's first 20 minutes. In the second half, the Griffs came out and pulled within one at 37-36 with 13:51 left in the game after the Blue and Gold posted an 11-4 run in the first 6:09 of the second stanza. From there, Fairfield pushed its cushion back to 41-35 on the power of two free-throws by Needham and a lay-up by Hawkins with 13:01 left on the clock. After Hymes hit two free-throws of his own to make the score 41-38, Hawkins scored four-straight points to push Fairfield's lead back to 45-38 with 11:55 left in the contest.

Canisius battled back for a second time and a lay-up by Vazquez-Simmons with 8:42 left in the game made it 48-47 in favor of the Stags. From there, Needham took over, scoring eight of Fairfield's 11 points in an 11-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make the score 59-47 with 5:40 left in the contest.

For the game, Fairfield shot 41.8 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from behind the arc and 74.1 percent from the line, while Canisius shot 33.9 percent from the field, 25 percent from 3-point land and 72.2 percent from the charity stripe. Fairfield held a 42-33 advantage on the glass and closed out the game with 21 points off 15 Canisius turnovers.

The Griffs will return to action Friday, Feb. 4, when the team returns home to meet Marist in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Game Notes: This was the 71st all-time meeting between the two schools, with Fairfield now holding a 41-30 lead in the series... Canisius is 2-7 against Fairfield in the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard... Belardo was the only Griff to have multiple assists in the loss... Groves scored his seven points off the bench after he went 3-for-6 from the field and 1-for-1 from the free-throw line... Vazquez-Simmons' four blocks marks the 78th time in his career he's led the team in blocked shots for a game... Coles matched a season-high with two blocks... Hymes made his second start of the season in place of senior Robert Goldsberry, who missed his first game since Jan. 5, 2008 after suffering a mild head injury in the win over Niagara Jan. 28 at home.