Location: Koessler Athletic Center – Buffalo, N.Y.

Starters: G - #5 Kassius Robertson, G – #11 Chris Atkinson,  G - #23 Jamal Reynolds  F - #22 Phil Valenti, C - #14 Kevin Bleeker

Game Recap
Fairfield sophomore guard Tyler Nelson scored six of his game-high 22 points in the final 2:57 and senior forward Coleman Johnson hit three free-throws in the closing eight seconds to help lift the visiting Stags to a 74-71 win over Canisius Thursday night in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win, Fairfield's fourth straight, improves the team to 16-11 overall and 10-7 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins dropped their third straight to fall to 11-17 overall and 6-11 in conference games.

Canisius had four players score in double-figures in the loss, led by senior Malcolm McMillan, who posted 15 points to go with four rebounds and two assists. Fellow senior Kevin Bleeker added 14 points and four boards, while sophomore Kassius Robertson chipped in 13 points to go with a career-high four steals. Junior forward Phil Valenti ended the night with a double-double after he posted 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Canisius shot 42.9 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from 3-point land and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Fairfield, which ended the night shooting 50 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent from 3-point range and 76.2 percent from the free-throw line, trailed 40-34 at the halftime break, but used an 11-4 run in the first 3:51 of the second half to take a 45-44 lead. Fairfield led 71-69 with 31 seconds left to play after Johnson went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line, and the Griffs had a chance to tie or take the lead with time winding down, but Robertson's jumper from just inside the lane hit the front-iron, and the Stags ended up closing out the game by hitting three free-throws in the final eight seconds to seal the victory.

How It Happened:
• In a game that featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes, the Stags jumped to an early 9-2 lead just 2:55 into the game on the power of three made 3-pointers. Canisius battled  back and  took its first lead of the game at 10-9 on a 3-pointer from Valenti with 14:23 left before intermission.
• Canisius outscored Fairfield 11-3 over the span of 2:52 in the closing moments of the first half to take a 40-32 lead, capped by a 3-pointer from McMillan. The Stags sent the teams into the locker room at the half down 40-34 after senior Marcus Gilbert drove down the floor and laid one in for two of 17 points as the buzzer sounded. Canisius shot 58.3 percent from the floor in the game's first 20 minutes, while Fairfield connected on 40 percent of its field goal attempts in the first stanza. 
• Fairfield led 63-58 with 8:05 left on the clock before Bleeker scored four-straight points for the Blue and Gold to make the score 63-62 with 7:02 left to play. The Stags answered Bleeker's four points with five-straight points of their own, capped by a 3-pointer from Nelson with 3:51 left in regulation time to make the score 68-62. 
• Canisius trailed 70-66 with 1:18 left, but Robertson's trey from the right wing with 1:01 left on the clock put the Griffs down one at 70-69. Johnson's free-throw with 31 ticks left gave the Stags a two-point cushion at 71-69, which set up Canisius' chance to tie the game or win in regulation, but Robinson's jumper fell short, forcing Canisius to foul Fairfield to stop the clock.
• Johnson made both of his next two free-throw chances with eight seconds left to give Fairfield a 73-69 advantage. McMillan cut the Stags' lead in half with a bucket seconds later, but Canisius was again forced to foul with four seconds left in the game and Nelson made one of two charity tosses to secure the win for Fairfield, the team's first win in the Koessler Athletic Center since Jan. 3, 2013.

Beyond the Box Score:
• The Griffs won the rebounding battle by a 36-29 count. It marks the first time Canisius has out rebounded an opponent since Jan. 22, when the Griffs beat Niagara on the road.
• Three of Bleeker's seven made field goals in the game were dunks.
• Fairfield was credited with 11 blocked shots in the game, led by Johnson's game-high six. The 11 blocks by Fairfield is one shy of matching the Koessler Athletic Center record for a visiting team – a record which was set Jan. 22, 1987 when Siena had 12 blocks as a team.
• Johnson is the fourth visiting player to record six blocks in a game on the Koessler Athletic Center court. The last visiting player to block six shots in a game in the KAC was Saint Peter's forward Todd Sowell, who had six blocks Dec. 9, 2005.

Quotes from Canisius coach Jim Baron
"I was happy with the heart and the effort we played with tonight. Phil [Valenti] and Kevin [Bleeker] really played aggressive from the start. Fairfield hit some big shots, and we fell short. We ran a play to get Kassius a look late and it came up short. Then they turned around and took advantage of it."

"We battled, and we played hard. We turned them over 14 times. I told our guys we're right there. We're right there. It's one of those things where it can go either way. They made some big plays, but it was not because we were not aggressive and not willing to attack."

"Our told our kids, we need to stay focused and we need to be optimistic. Fairfield is playing with a lot of confidence. We battled them. We wanted to get the ball inside and we missed some open looks that really could have helped us extend our lead."

"I thought Kevin [Bleeker] with great intensity tonight. We had 20 against them down there at their place. Tonight, he played as hard as I've seen him play. We need to continue to get that from him moving forward."

Additional Game Notes:
• This was the 81st all-time meeting between these two Jesuit schools, with Fairfield holding a 46-35 lead in the series.
• Fairfield swept Canisius in the regular season for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
• Canisius fell to 8-3 this season when leading at the half, with two of those losses coming to Fairfield.
• Bleeker is averaging 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in the team's last five contests.
• Valenti's double-double was his third this season and the fourth in his career.
• Valenti's 10 rebounds on Thursday gives him 10-plus rebounds in three games this season and six times in his career.
• Robertson's three makes from 3-point land in the loss gives him multiple 3-point field goals in 20 games this year. His 70 total 3-point field goals this season makes him the seventh player in school history to hit 70-plus treys in a single-season.
• Freshman Chris Atkinson and senior Jamal Reynolds were inserted into the starting line-up for McMillan and junior Keifer Douse after those two players violated team rules. The start for Atkinson was the first in his career.
• At halftime, Canisius honored former Griff and Sports Hall of Famer Darren Fenn, who played for Canisius from 1997-01. Fenn was inducted into the Canisius Hall of Fame in 2012, but was unable to attend the Hall of Fame ceremony, as he was still playing overseas at the time.

Up Next: Canisius will continue its three-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 20, when the Griffs host Marist on Hall of Fame Day in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, with the radio call on Timeless WECK 1230-AM and 102.9-FM in Buffalo and through GoGriffs.com.