Game Notes

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team finishes up a four-game road swing with a pair of games in upstate New York, taking on Canisius College Friday night and Niagara University on Sunday afternoon. The Friday night game tips off at 7 pm, while the Sunday afternoon contest is a 2 pm start.

The Stags moved into a first-place tie with Iona College following its 65-57 win at Rider University on Monday night. After this trip, the Stags will have only three MAAC road games remaining - Manhattan, Saint Peter's, and Iona. The team owns a 5-3 road record and a 3-1 MAAC road mark.

The Stags moved up to number two in the nation for scoring defense at 54.7 points in the last set of NCAA statistics (games through January 16). Stephen F. Austin (53.5 ppg), leads the nation in that category. Fairfield remains number one in the MAAC statistics for scoring defense, rebounding margin (+5.3 rpg) and scoring margin (+9.4 ppg).

Derek Needham remains the team's top scorer, checking into tonight's action with a 13.8 scoring average. He has scored in double figures in all but two games this season. Ryan Olander is next in line with a 9.4 scoring average, while Warren Edney stands at 8.9 points per game. Olander is the team's top rebounder with 7.2 caroms per contest. 

Canisius brings an 8-9 overall record and a 2-5 MAAC mark into tonight's game. The Golden Griffs fell under the .500 mark after dropping a 73-69 loss at Siena on Monday. The Griffs have won four of their last seven games, including a pair of non-conference wins against Lamar and Northwestern State. The team posted a 6-4 record against non-MAAC schools this year with one game remaining in the BracketBuster. 

Robert Goldsberry has certainly taken care of the basketball over the last three games, registering 16 assists without a turnover. On the season, Goldsberry has 57 assists against 31 turnovers. The Griffs turned the ball over a season-low six times against Manhattan, and followed up with 11 miscues against Siena in their last outing. 

The Golden Griffs has four student-athletes averaging better than 10 points per game, led by Elton Frazer's 11.8 points per game. Gaby Belardo places second among his teammates with 11.1 points per contest, followed by Julius Coles' 10.9 points per game. Alshwan Hymes is the only Griff reserve to average in double-figures with 10.1 points every forty minutes. Frazer is the team's top rebounder at 6.6 caroms per contest. Greg Logins is next in line with 5.7 rebounds per game.