Rookie Tyler Nelson and the Fairfield Stags visit Canisius

Flashy Fairfield freshman Tyler Nelson gives the Stags promise for the future. The rookie guard out of Bradford, MA (Central Catholic) poured in a career-high 26 points on Saturday (February 21st) to lift the Stags to 57-43 home victory over St. Peter's at Webster Bank Arena, snapping a 10-game losing skid. While it has been a disappointing season thus far for Fairfield head men-s basketball coach Sydney Johnson and his squad (7-21, and 5-13), they are buoyed by Nelson-s freshman play and future promise. Nelson netted 19 points in the second half against St. Peter-s to spark the Stags- scoring arsenal. ?Tyler has been an outstanding kid and plays the game the right way,? Johnson said after the game. ?He-s growing up and getting better and better each game. He-s just a really good player that can make things happen.? The first half against St. Peter-s featured 10 lead changes, the last of which put Fairfield in front 27-26 at intermission courtesy of a Nelson three-point shot (he had four in the game, one short of his career high). That trifecta also capped a 7-0 Stags run to erase a 26-20 deficit with 4:08 left in the half. The New Englander is Fairfield-s second leading scorer, averaging 9.7 ppg, runner up to this season-s perennial leader Marcus Gilbert (16.6 ppg). His torrid 85 percent shooting from the free throw line leads the Stags. Nelson is among the conference leaders in three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals made per game. The guard has connected on 41 percent of his three-point attempts which ranks ninth in the conference. He is also averaging 2.2 three-pointers per game which places fifth in the MAAC. Nelson is a two-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) ?Rookie of the Week.? During the week ending January 19th, ?TNT? had the hot hand from three-point range to average 14.7 ppg and reaching double figures in all three contests. He had career highs with five three-pointers in two of the three contests. During the three-game Coaches vs. Cancer Classic November, Nelson also copped rookie honors. Nelson scored a game-high 24 points to lead Fairfield to an 80-72 overtime win over South Dakota, the final game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. He was the Stags' overall leading scorer in the three-game tournament, netting 42 points. He shot 65 percent from the floor in the three games (13 of 20) and 62 percent from three-point range (8 of 13). Nelson was perfect from the free throw line by making all eight attempts. The Stags will be spending the rest of the winter in the frozen tundra of New York State-s upper regions, as they wrap up their regular season with back to back games on the road, February 27th at Canisius (Buffalo, NY) and the finale March 1st at Niagara (Lewiston, NY) before the MAAC championship tournament in Albany beginning March 5th.