BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Anthony Johnson scored 16 points, while Mike Evanovich and Herbie Allen added 13 and 12 points respectively as the men's basketball fell to Niagara University by a 73-61 count at the Arena at Harbor Yard. The Stags finished their three-game road trip with a 2-1 mark.

            The Stags and the Purple Eagles stuck close together for most of the game, as there were 11 ties with neither team leading by more than five points in the opening 20 minutes. Tyrone Lewis scored six of the first 12 Niagara points to help the visitors jump out to a 12-7 lead at the 14:33 mark. Fairfield responded with an 8-2 run which was capped by an Evanovich free throw to give the Stags their first lead of the game at 15-14.

            The two teams kept each other close, never allowing anything more than a few points separate them for the remainder of the half. The Stags scored the final four points of the half to take the lead 38-34 at intermission.

            Niagara scored the first six points of the second half which helped it erase the four-point deficit and regain the lead. The advantage was short lived as Evanovich's three-point basket pushed Fairfield back in front by a point. With the score tied at 44-44, Lewis nailed a three-point shot that gave the visitors a 47-44 edge, a lead that Niagara would not relinquish.

            Fairfield stayed within one or two possessions for most of the second half, trailing by one point at 58-57 after Greg Nero's lay up with 5:07 remaining. However, Nero's hoop was the last basket for Fairfield until Allen's three pointer with 21 seconds remaining. Niagara went on a 13-1 run over the next four-plus minutes to put the game away.

            Lewis finished the game with a game-high 27 points for Niagara. Charron Fisher, the nation's third-leading scorer, added 25 points for the Purple Eagles, including 19 points in the second half.

            The Stags head north for a weekend in Buffalo, beginning with a game against Canisius College on Friday, February 1. The trip concludes with a Sunday afternoon game at Niagara on Sunday.