Emmitsburg, Md. (January 26, 2023)--In a game that came down to the final possessions, Mount St. Mary's came out on the wrong side of a 63-60 decision to visiting Fairfield on Thursday night at Knott Arena.  Dakota Leffew led the Mountaineers with 19 points and eight rebounds while Jalen Benjamin had 11 points and eight assists in the loss.

The second half was a game of scoring runs that saw the biggest lead for either team over the final 10 minutes being four points.  After Benjamin hit a three-pointer on the opening possession of the second half to cut the Mount's deficit to 32-31, Fairfield (10-10, 6-4 MAAC) went on a 9-to-2 run to take a 41-33 advantage.  The Mountaineers countered with the next seven points, and made it a 12-to-3 run when George Tinsley drained a three-pointer for a 45-44 lead with 12:34 left in the second half.  The Stags answered right back on a TJ Long three-pointer that sparked a 7-0 run that put Fairfield back on top, 51-45.

It was the Mount's turn to go on a scoring run with eight unanswered points, capped by a Jalen Benjamin bucket in the paint that put his team back in front at 53-52 with 5:55 left.  Benjamin was fouled on the play, but could not convert the free throw.  Fairfield's Allan Jeanne-Rose scored the game's next four points, all at the free throw line, for a 56-53 Fairfield advantage.  The Mount's Jedy Cordilia and Fairfield's Supreme Cook then exchanged baskets before Leffew scored to trim the Mount's deficit to one, 58-57, with 2:50 on the clock.

After Jeanne-Rose hit 1-of-2 at the line, Benjamin had a chance to put the Mount ahead, but his three-pointer was off the mark and Jalen Leach then hit a pair of charity tosses for a 61-57 Fairfield lead with 41.7 seconds left.  Tinsley countered on the other end when he got a friendly roll on a three from the top of the key to make it 61-60.  The Mount fouled Caleb Fields, and he hit 1-of-2 to make it a two-point Fairfield advantage with 30 seconds left.  On the ensuing possession, the Mount turned the ball over and then had to foul Jake Wojcik, who made 1-of-2 with seven second left for a 63-60 advantage.  The Mount had one last chance, but Benjamin's three from the left corner missed, and Fairfield was able to escape with the win.

The first half saw Fairfield close the half on a 9-to-2 run to take a 32-28 lead at the break.  The half featured seven lead changes and three ties with the biggest lead for either team being six points.  Leffew poured in 15 of his team-high 19 points in the opening half for the Mount.

Leffew finished the game 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range for his team-best 19 points.  The junior guard added a team-best eight rebounds as well.  Benjamin finished with 11 points and eight assists with Tinsley chipping in 10 points and six boards.  Jeanne-Rose led Fairfield with 16 points, hitting 5-of-5 from the field and 6-of-7 at the line in the win.  Long was the only other Fairfield player in double figures with 10 points while Cook finished with a game-high 11 rebounds in addition to nine points.

Turnovers proved to be the difference as the Mount committed 17 miscues to Fairfield's seven.  The Stags turned that into a 20-to-5 advantage in points off turnovers in the game.  The Mount shot 44.7 percent overall and was 7-of-21 (.333) from three-point range while Fairfield shot 40.0 percent and was 6-of-19 (.316) from beyond the arc.  The Mount held a 36-to-30 edge on the boards.

Mount St. Mary's closes out its three-game homestand by hosting Saint Peter's for Winter Homecoming on Saturday, January 28, at 5:00 p.m.