Keith Matthews made 1 of 2 free throws with 2 seconds left in overtime to give Fairfield a 64-63 victory over Central Connecticut State in both teams' openers on Saturday night.
Matthews missed the second free throw, but the Stags' Marcus Gilbert grabbed the offensive rebound to end the game.
The score was tied at 55-all for the final 1:24 of regulation, and it was tied at 63 with 2:13 remaining in overtime.
Guard Derek Needham, who played 44 minutes, led the Stags, members of the Mid-American Athletic Conference, with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Matthews finished with 15 points, Josip Mikulic had 12 and Colin Nickerson contributed 10.
Kyle Vinales led the Blue Devils of the Northeast Conference with 18 points, and Matt Hunter scored 16, followed by Adonis Burbage with 12 and Joe Efese with 10.
