For more on the Stags-Rams game, go to The Mirror’s Sports Blog.

NEW YORK – Coming off of a 17-day break for final exams and Christmas, the Fairfield men were looking for a victory to give them confidence heading into the second semester when they took on Fordham Thursday night.

But the Stags, who entered the game with a 3-10 record, couldn’t hold onto a slim second half lead and lost to the Rams, 56-47.

Senior guard Michael Van Schaick led the team in scoring with 14 points and was the only Fairfield player in double figures.

“You have to win basketball games when you hold your opponent to 56 points and 34 percent shooting,” said Fairfield Head Coach Ed Cooley. “This was a learning for our young team. We had our young players in the game at a critical situation; we will continue to get better and won’t beat ourselves up.”

The first half featured the same inconsistency that the Stags have displayed all season long.

For the first three minutes, neither team could put a point on the board and both looked sloppy. Each side turned the ball over twice and missed three shots over that stretch.

Fairfield allowed Fordham to strike first, as two quick three pointers from the Rams’ leading scorer Marcus Stout,(13.9 points per game)gave Fordham a 6-5 lead with 16 minutes remaining in the half.

Fairfield then appeared to take over, going on a 10-0 run, while playing strong on both sides of the court. On the offensive side the Stags did not turn the ball over, while taking the open shots given to them.

With a 15-6 lead, Fairfield seemed to be in control with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Stout scored his eighth point of the half after a Danny Oglesby `07 turnover. Stout was the only Ram to score for the first 15 minutes, as the rest of the Fordham team missed shot after shot, finishing the half shooting 26.9 percent from the floor.

Fairfield’s lead was not safe for long.

Fordham went on a run of it’s own to finish out the half and took back the lead, at 21-20. Stout led the run, scoring 13 points in the half to lead all scorers. Greg Nero ‘10 led all Fairfield scorers with six points in the first half.

“In the first half they took us out of what we wanted to do,” Van Schaick said, “We really struggled knocking down shots, even when we were open and that never helps.”

Neither team shot the ball well in the half, as Fairfield was 7-for-25 (28 percent) from the field and 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) from behind the three point arc.

The second half started entirely different than the first, as both teams stormed out of the gate.

Fairfield scored the first three points of the half, as Devin Johnson ‘10 was fouled and made one layup, and fellow freshman forward Anthony Johnson grabbed the rebound on the second and scored to give the Stags a 23-21 lead.

The Stags then extended the lead as Nero lobbed the ball to Anthony Johnson, who dropped in the layup to make the lead 25-21. Fordham came right back and scored back- to-back baskets, including a dunk by Kevin Anderson off a Van Schaick turnover to make the lead 25-24.

The two teams continued to go back and forth, and an inbound lob pass to Anthony Johnson for a layup gave the Stags a 34-31 lead with 12:40 remaining in the half.

But Johnson picked up his fourth foul on the other end and was forced to the bench with eight points.

Fordham pulled ahead 44-40 with 5:37 left in the game. Devin Johnson was fouled twice and sent to the line for free throws, and made just 1-of-4. Van Schaick grabbed two offensive rebounds and then made a three point shot to tie the score at 44.

The Rams struck right back after a timeout, as Stout hit a three pointer of his own to give Fordham a 47-44 lead. After Marty O’Sullivan `07 was called for an offensive foul, Fordham brought the ball back down the court and Anderson hit a layup and was fouled by O’Sullivan. Anderson made the free throw to give the Rams a 50-44 lead with just under three minutes left in the game.

Fairfield could not get a shot off on its next trip down the court and was called for a shot clock violation, as Van Schaick tried to throw up a long three, but could not get it off.

The Stags could not find a way to get back into the game, as Van Schaick threw up an air-ball on the next possession.

“At 44-44 I thought we controlled the momentum of the game,” Cooley said, “I can’t be upset with our players effort, we have had winning efforts. We had 40 minutes of effort, but 34 minutes of intelligence.”

“Against a team like Fordham you have to maximize your opportunities,” Devin Johnson said. “It would have been really big if we could have pulled this one off, but we have to go back, regroup, refocus, and get ready for our next league game.”

Fairfield then turned the ball over three straight times and Fordham pulled away to finish the game with a 12-3 run. Van Schaick hit a long three pointer with nine seconds remaining, but the game was over at that point.