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Javante Edwards gets into the paint in the first half of a road game at Fairfield on Jan. 24, 2026.
Jack Kinney
55
Canisius Canis 8-13,3-7 MAAC
61
Winner Fairfield Fairf 13-9,5-6 MAAC
Canisius Canis
8-13,3-7 MAAC
55
Final
61
Fairfield Fairf
13-9,5-6 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius Canis 22 33 55
Fairfield Fairf 31 30 61

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Can’t Get Over the Hump in Loss to Fairfield

Halon Rawlins' offensive rebounds and tip-in basket with 2:10 left in the game ended a 10-0 Canisius run and pushed Fairfield's lead back to five points, as the host Stags went on to defeat Canisius 61-55 in MAAC men's basketball action Saturday night at Mahoney Arena in Fairfield, Conn.
 
The win, Fairfield's second straight, improved the Stags to 13-9 overall and 5-6 in league play, while the Golden Griffins fell to 8-13 overall and 3-7 in conference action with their fifth-straight loss.
 
Trailing 58-45 with 6:17 left to play, Canisius battled back and got within three at 58-55 thanks to a 10-0 run over the span of 3:08 in the closing minutes of the game. The Griffs' 10-0 surge was fueled by a pair of 3-point makes by junior Kahlil Singleton, who scored all 13 of his points after halftime. Singleton's second trey of the night came off an assist from fellow junior Mike Evbagharu with 2:37 left on the clock to trim Fairfield's lead to 58-55.
 
However, on the Stags' next offensive possession, Rawlins tipped in an offensive rebound to drive the home team's lead back to five points, 60-55. That basket was Rawlins' only field goal of the contest.
 
Canisius was unable to score in the game's final 2:37, a stretch where the Blue and Gold went 0-for-4 from the field and turned the ball over twice. Fairfield struggled to score in the game's final minutes as well, as the Stags missed a pair of shots and the front-end of two 1-and-1 opportunities from the free-throw line in the closing 1:07. After one of Canisius' turnovers, the Griffs were forced to foul Fairfield guard Deuce Turner, who made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with 7.5 seconds remaining to cap the scoring and provide Fairfield with the win, ending Canisius' two-game win streak over the Stags dating back to last season.
 
Fairfield shot 44.8 percent from the field and made three 3-pointers in the game's opening 20 minutes to take a 31-22 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Griffs went scoreless for 7:04 in the opening stanza, which allowed the Stags to push their lead to as many as 14 points with 2:44 left before the intermission. Canisius trimmed the Fairfield advantage to nine at the break after the Griffs scored seven of the final nine points in the closing 1:42 of the first half, with Evbagharu accounting for four of those points.
 
Four Griffs scored in double-figures in the loss, led by Singleton and fellow junior Bryan Ndjonga, who each had a team-high 13 points. Ndjonga also grabbed eight rebounds. Freshman guard Javante Edwards had 12 points and Evbagharu added 10 points, eight boards, three assists and two steals. Graduate student Myles Wilmoth pulled down a team-high nine rebounds in the losing effort, as the Griffs out-rebounded the Stags 42-39, with 20 of those 42 rebounds coming off the offensive glass.
 
For Fairfield, Turner and Sparks had 14 points apiece in the win, while Brandon Benjamin posted a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to go with three blocked shots. For the game, Fairfield shot 41.8 percent from the floor and 31.6 percent from 3-point land.


 
GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 100th all-time meeting between Canisius and Fairfield in a series that dates back to the 1962-63 season. Fairfield leads the series 57-43.
• Canisius has now played 100-or more all-time games against five opponents – Fairfield, Niagara, Manhattan, St. Bonaventure and Siena.
• The Griffs went just 3-for-8 (37.5 percent) from the free-throw line in the loss. The three makes from the charity stripe are the fewest for Canisius in a game since the team went 1-for-3 from the stripe in a loss to Bowling Green on Nov. 26, 2023.
• Singleton has made multiple 3-point field goals in four-straight games and extended his streak of scoring 10-or more points in a game to four straight, as well.
• Wilmoth has led the Griffs in rebounding seven times this season. He is averaging 7.0 rebounds per game over the team's last five contests.
• Evbagharu now has a steal in 13-straight games. He now has multiple steals in seven games this season and 16 times in his career.
• Edwards' 12-point effort in the loss marked the first time he has scored in double-figures since Dec. 7, at Siena, where he also scored 12 points.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will return home for a two-game MAAC set next Friday (Jan. 30), when the Golden Griffins play host to Marist at the Koessler Athletic Center. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
Friday's game will be Youth Basketball/90s Night at the Koessler Athletic Center. Tickets for the game against Marist, and all remaining Canisius home men's basketball games, can be purchased online by CLICKING HERE. Tickets can also be purchased by phone by calling (716) 888-TIXX or in person at the Canisius ticket office, located in the Koessler Athletic Center lobby, during normal business hours and 90 minutes before tip-off on game day.
 
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