Fairfield Stops Stonehill, 71-60

Skyhawks open regular season Sunday at Queens (N.Y.), 2 p.m.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (November 9, 2009) - Fairfield University posted a 71-60 victory over Stonehill College in a men's basketball exhibition contest at The Arena at Harbor Yard tonight.

Freshman Derek Needham (Dalton, Ill./DeLaSalle) led Fairfield with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, to go with five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Shimeek Johnson (Albany, N.Y./Bishop Maginn) added 15 points, shooting 7-for-8 from the field, including his lone three-point attempt, and four rebounds. Freshman Colin Nickerson (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) rounded out the Stags double-figure scorers with 14 points, four steals and three assists.

Fairfield is coached by former Stonehill men's basketball captain Ed Cooley, '94, entering his fourth season at the Stags helm.

Junior Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) led Stonehill with 12 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the field, to go with seven rebounds. Freshman Brian Hamor (Schenectady, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) added 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, including 3-for-4 from three-point range. Junior Daniel Heppert (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) chipped in eight points and two blocked shots.

Fairfield shot 51.9-percent (28-54) from the field, including 8-of-18 (44.4%) from three-point range. Stonehill finished shooting 53.5% (23-for-43) from the field, including a blistering 65.4% (17-26) in the second half after making just 35.3% (6-17) of its shots in the opening stanza.

Stonehill (0-0, 0-0 NE-10) opens the regular season next Sunday, November 15, when it visits Queens (N.Y.) College at 2 p.m. The Skyhawks home opener is slated for Saturday, November 21, against the University of District of Columbia at 1 p.m.