BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - While the schedule proclaims Monday as Fairfield University's annual senior day, two of the team's elders didn't want to wait that long. Marty O'Sullivan scored a career-high 18 points, while Mamadou Diakhate hit back-to-back three pointers that pushed the Stags in the lead for good as the men's basketball team posted an 88-76 victory over Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) co-leader Rider University on Saturday afternoon.

            O'Sullivan tallied 11 of his points in the second half, as Fairfield outscored the visiting team by 15 points in the final 20 minutes to turn a three-point half time deficit into a 12-point victory. And when he wasn't scoring, O'Sullivan was setting up baskets. He tied his career high with four assists in the game, including a crowd-pleasing alley oop pass to Anthony Johnson that capped an 8-0 run that turned a 68-66 deficit into a 74-68 lead.

            "Marty is playing great basketball for us," Head Coach Ed Cooley said. "When the light comes on, Marty's light is shining the brightest. He's really giving us strong leadership and making a real difference for us."

            Diakhate tallied the first six points of that 8-0 spurt, both coming off three-point shots on consecutive possessions less than a minute apart. He finished the game with nine points in 11 minutes, netting three of four field goal attempts.

            "I've been saying it for a while now, and that's Mamadou has ‘it"," Cooley said. "I'm not sure what ‘it' is, but I'm sure glad he has it. He brings an energy that our team thrives off of."

            The 12-point margin of victory is no indication of how close this game was for 36 minutes. The game featured 13 lead changes and nine ties, including 11 lead changes and four ties in the second half.

            With the game tied at 35-35 with four minutes remaining, Rider's Justin Robinson hit a jumper to put the Broncs in front. The basket also started an 8-0 run that looked like it would put Rider in control at 44-36. Fairfield fired back with consecutive three-point baskets by Herbie Allen and Mike Evanovich to close the gap to two points at 46-44.

Jonathan Han finished off the run with a lay up off Allen's steal to tie the game with 20 seconds remaining. Robinson made a three-point shot with four seconds on the clock to give Rider a 49-46 lead at half time.

The Stags came out in the second half and tied the score with three quick points from O'Sullivan. After Jason Thompson put the Broncs in front with a dunk at 53-51, Edney netted a three-point shot to give Fairfield a 54-53 edge, the first of eight straight lead changes. Neither team held a lead bigger than three points over the next five minutes, keeping Rider in the lead by two points with 7:24 on the clock.

Diakhate erased that lead with the first of his two three-point baskets, giving Fairfield the lead for good at 69-68. The three-point shot started a 22-8 run that would end the game and allow Fairfield to collect the 12-point victory.

Edney finished the game with a career-best 18 points, while Anthony Johnson tallied his fifth double double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Han rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 points in addition to his seven assists.

Rider's Jason Thompson led all scorers with 20 points, while Harris Mansell chipped in with 16 markers.

The Stags return to the hardwood on Monday, February 18 when they host Marist College. Before the 7:30 pm game, the Fairfield University community will honor Stag seniors Joe Bajda, Mamadou Diakhate, and Geoff Middleton.