NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara men's basketball team (13-7, 7-4 MAAC) dropped a 76-72 contest to Fairfield (8-14, 6-6 MAAC) on Sunday at the Gallagher Center. Stanley Hodge (Washington, D.C.) set a career-high with 21 points to lead four players in double figures in the loss.

The defeat puts Niagara one game behind a three-way tie for second place in the MAAC. Loyola, Marist and Siena all own 8-3 records in conference play, while Rider sits atop the conference with a 10-2 mark. Sunday's contest marked the first of four games in an eight-day span after the rescheduling of Friday's game against Loyola.

"This was a tough way to start this stretch of four games in eight days," Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said. "We didn't bring enough toughness to win the game. It was the total opposite from last week where we were the tougher team on their floor. Today, they were the tougher team."

Hot first-half shooting propelled the Stags to a 45-36 halftime lead. Fairfield shot 56.0 percent from the field, 80.0 percent (4-of-5) from three-point range and a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line before intermission.

The Purple Eagles on the other hand, dug themselves a hole with poor first-half defense. The long-range jumper was also not falling for Niagara on Super Bowl Sunday, as NU shot 1-of-11 in the first half and 4-for-22 for the contest.

Despite the poor first half, NU used a pair of runs to get back into the contest. The Purple Eagles scored the first seven points in the second half to inch closer at 45-43, but the Stags responded with a quick 8-2 run to build the lead back to eight points at 53-45.

Niagara immediately responded with a 12-4 run fueled by the long-distance touch of Andrew Patterson (Hartford, Conn.). The sophomore guard hit two three-pointers during the run, including a contested three in the corner to knot the score at 57-57 with 11:47.

NU took its first lead of the second half when, after a missed free throw attempt by Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.), Benson Egemonye (Benin City, Nigeria) corralled the loose ball and slammed it home for a 60-59 advantage. Niagara would build the lead to three points twice, including a powerful dunk by Charron Fisher (Pennsauken, N.J.) at the 7:28 mark.

Mike Evanovich hit a three-pointer to tie the score just moments later, and free throws by Jonathan Han put Fairfield ahead for good. Niagara had its chances down the stretch, as the Purple Eagles had three cracks at a two-point deficit with under a minute to play, but Yorel Hawkins gathered the final rebound of the day with 10 seconds left and connected on a pair of free throws for the final 76-72 margin.

Lewis, Egemonye and Fisher each recorded double figures in the loss. Lewis scored 11, while Egemonye had 14 and Fisher added 18 to go with his team-high eight rebounds.

The Purple Eagles are right back at it on Tuesday with the rescheduled matchup against Loyola. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. in the Gallagher Center.