BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The Siena men’s basketball returned from Connecticut on Thursday night without a win and with plenty of heartache.

The Saints fell behind early and never could recover, as Fairfield thoroughly outplayed them to a tune of 74-50 decision at the Webster Bank Arena.

Siena (4-11, 6-20) has now lost 20 games for only the third time in program history and has locked up a spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference first round.
The Saints will play in a play-in game on Friday, March 8, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.

Derek Needham did it all for the Stags scoring a game-high 31 points and knocking down a career-high eight 3-pointers. Fairfield (8-7, 16-11) also got 10 point from senior Colin Nickerson.

Siena trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half, 34-15. The Saints finished the half on a run and scored the second half’s first basket to cut deficit to 11, 36-25.

From there, it was all Stags with Needham making shot after shot. The senior finished 11-17 from the floor, but 8-11 from beyond the arc.

Siena played without sophomore Rakeem Brookins, who sat out after reaggravating a back injury during the team’s shootaround prior to the game.

Fairfield played without one of its guards, senior Desmond Wade, who missed his second straight game.

It didn’t affect the Stags who jumped out to a 22-10 lead, as Needham hit four three’s in the first seven minutes.

The Saints struggled offensively all night. Their top two scorers, O.D. Anosike and Rob Poole, were held without a field goal until less than five minutes remained. Anosike, who led the country in rebounding coming in, finished with just five points and six rebounds, while Poole had just three points.

The only other seasons where Siena lost 20 or more games came in 1996-95 (22) and 2004-05 (24).

The Saints host Loyola (Md.) on Saturday in downtown Albany.