Game Notes

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team opens the 2011-12 season at the Connecticut 6 Classic at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Stags will play the middle game of the Division I tripleheader with game time slated for 5:30 pm. You can catch all the action on WICC (600 AM) or listen online as Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis bring you all the action.

Despite being 30 miles apart, the Stags will meet the Bobcats for the first time in school history. However, it will mark the third straight year that Fairfield has opened the season against a Northeast Conference opponent. The program opened the 2009-10 campaign with a win over Central Connecticut State University at the Arena at Harbor Yard, and knocked off Sacred Heart University at the Mohegan Sun Arena last season. Both of those games were part of the Connecticut 6 Classic.

The game also represents the regular-season debut of Head Coach Sydney Johnson as he will coach his first official game for the Stags on Friday evening. There will also be another pair of transfers who are just as anxious to get back on the floor for Fairfield, namely Rakim Sanders and Desmond Wade. Sanders, who came to Fairfield via Boston College, and Wade, who transferred from Houston, will play for the first time after sitting out last year per NCAA residency rules.

When you factor in the fact that Fairfield has four starters returning from last year's 25-win team, you can see why Fairfield fans are excited about the upcoming year. Derek Needham will be back in uniform after leading the team in scoring in each of his first two years. Last season, he was the team's top scorer with a 14.1 scoring average and was also the team leader with 73 three pointers and 150 assists.

Ryan Olander will return as well after averaging 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He was ranked among the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) leaders with 2.1 blocks per game. 

                The Connecticut 6 Classic is a tripleheader that includes six of Connecticut's Division I schools. Sacred Heart and Hartford open the day at 3 pm, followed by Fairfield and Quinnipiac tipping off at 5:30 pm. The evening concludes with Yale battling Central Connecticut at 8 pm. The tripleheader will be played at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. All three games will be televised live on CPTV Sports and will be aired again on Saturday, November 12.