FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Rakim Sanders scored a game-high 16 points and dished off three assists in 31 minutes but it was not enough for the men's basketball team to overcome Mercer University in the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The Bears posted a 64-59 win over the Stags at Alumni Hall on Saturday night.
Fairfield led only briefly in the game, hitting a three-point shot on its second possession to take a 3-0 lead. The lead still held at 5-2 before Mercer scored five straight points to take the lead at 7-5. The Stags tied the game on Sanders layup but Bud Thomas netted the first of three pointers on the night to give Mercer the lead for good at 10-7.
The lead reached as many as 13 points in the second half before the Stags finished the half with a 13-5 run that pulled them within five points, 30-25. Keith Matthews scored four of those points while Gary Martin finished off the spurt with a layup with 15 seconds remaining.
The second half started with a three-point shot by Jakob Gollon to extend the Mercer edge to eight points, 33-25. Fairfield cut the lead to one point with a 9-2 run that made the score 35-34 at the 17:05 mark as Sanders, Colin Nickerson, and Keith Matthew each scored three points for Fairfield.
The Bears were able to push the lead to five or six points several times, but the Stags battled back to within one point at 48-47 and 50-49 with nine minutes remaining. Trailing by a 48-42 count, Fairfield tallied five straight points to make it a one-point game at 48-47 behind a layup from Matthews and a three-point shot from Olander. The teams traded baskets on the next two possessions to keep it at a one-point lead at 50-49.
Mercer quickly increased the lead back to six points when Monty Brown tipped the ball in and Thomas made another three pointer to make it a 55-49 game with seven minutes left. Fairfield never came within four points after that point.
Matthew and Barrow also reached double digits with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Thomas scored a team-high 13 points by hitting all four of his three-point attempts to lead Mercer's attack. The Bears will play the winner of the Utah State-Oakland game which will be played on Sunday night.
The Stags three wins in the CIT were the most by any team in school history in one postseason tournament. Fairfield played seven games after the regular-season schedule came to close on February 26 and won five of those outings, including a trip to the MAAC championship game.