Colin Nickerson scored 11 points and had three steals to lead Fairfield past Sacred Heart 62-45 on Saturday in the season opener for both teams.
The Stags broke it open early with a 19-2 run to lead 28-10 with 5:11 left in the first half. Nickerson capped the run on back-to-back layups.
Fairfield led 31-16 at halftime after shooting 50 percent from the field (12 of 24) while holding the Pioneers to just 6 of 25 field goals (24 percent) in the first period.
Derek Needham scored 13 points for the Stags, including 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. Fairfield was 19-for-29 from the line (65.5 percent), compared to just 5 of 9 for Sacred Heart.
The Stags led by as many as 20, 59-39, on Jamel Fields' free throw with 1:51 left to play.
Jerrell Thompson led the Pioneers with 13 points.
