NEW YORK – Derek Needham scored 23 points and Fairfield used a second-half spurt to hold off Manhattan 65-56 on Friday night, sweeping the season series.
Needham hit four 3-pointers in the first half and made 9 of 11 free throws — including 5 of 7 in the final 3:01 — for the league-leading Stags (19-5, 12-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).
Fairfield, coming off a 96-87 loss to Rider on Sunday that snapped a six-game winning streak, led by 13 in the first half.
With the Stags ahead 44-33 with 15:08 to go, the Jaspers used a 12-0 run to take the lead briefly with 11:27 left.
Tied at 47, Fairfield pushed ahead for good with a 9-2 run, highlighted by Needham's coast-to-coast lay-in.
Manhattan (4-21, 2-12) got to 59-56 with 1:47 left, but did not score again as the Stags hit 6 of 7 free throws.
George Beamons had 11 for the Jaspers, who have lost three in a row.
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