Fairfield capped off their homestand with a 61-55 triumph tonight over the Canisius Golden Griffins. The Stags shone defensively during the contest, holding the Griffs to just 22 points in the first half and capitalizing with 12 points from turnovers overall. “The biggest thing was, our defense really set its tone for the game,” head coach Chris Casey commented. “I think that’s the closest we’ve come to playing 40 minutes of defense and getting after somebody.”Leading the charge defensively was first-year forward Brandon Benjamin, who tallied three energetic blocks. “Honestly, I just take a gamble,” Benjamin noted. “When I know somebody’s a straight-line driver, I gamble to see if he’s probably going to take a layup and I just trust myself.”Benjamin earned his tenth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds.Senior guard Braden Sparks played all but three minutes in tonight’s contest and led the team with 14 points and four assists. Despite the Leo D. Mahoney Arena being nearly at capacity with celebrations surrounding Lucas the Stag’s birthday, the 2025 Fairfield University baseball team, and the 2025 Fairfield Little League baseball team, the competition started stifled. With around ten minutes left in the first half, a bench rotation revived the Stags and set the tone for the rest of the matchup, scoring 18 points once the first substitution was made. “The bench gave us great minutes, especially in that first half, and in the second half,” Casey said. “You need that, you know. It makes guys coming back in the game a little bit fresher.”Leading the bench was graduate guard Deuce Turner, who put up 14 points and two rebounds. In what was an overall physical and high-tempo contest, Turner showed off his best stuff despite the attempted distractions. Around the 12-minute mark, as the Canisius bench barked behind him, Turner coolly drained a three-pointer and continued Fairfield’s offensive revival. “It’s just confidence,” Turner explained. “I’ve been here for a long time, so I’ve heard a lot. And, you know, I’ve shot hundreds of shots in that specific corner.”Heading into the second half, 31-22, the Stags cleaned up their defense and grabbed 23 of their 39 rebounds while the Griffs slowly fought their way back to a three-point differential. “I thought the pressure helped us,” Casey commented. “The more people we get in this building, the more it helps us.”With five minutes to go, the Stags worked down the clock and ultimately finished the Griffs off with a last-second steal as the clock hit zero and the Fairfield faithful celebrated a sweeping homestand.The Stags are set to visit the Iona Gaels on Friday, Jan. 30, before returning home and hosting the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Sunday, Feb. 1st at 2:00 pm.