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FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team will continue its month-long road trip by heading north for a Friday night match up with Providence College. The Stags will take on the Friars at the Dunkin' Donuts Center beginning at 7 pm.

Fairfield brings a 3-2 overall record into the game after defeating Fordham in a 74-71 decision last Tuesday. The win enabled the team to finish the Preseason NIT Tip-Off with a 2-2 record, defeating Penn and Fordham while falling to Virginia and Lehigh. The Stags improved to 3-0 in neutral site games after the tournament, a record which includes a season-opening victory against Central Connecticut State University.

The team received a 26-point effort from Desmond Wade as the senior hit the game-winning shot with 17 seconds remaining in regulation to provide his teammates with a three-point win. The shot was Wade's sixth three pointer of the night. Amadou Sidibe and Marcus Gilbert both excelled for the freshman class, netting personal bests with 10 and eight points, respectively against Fordham.

For the season, the Stags are led by senior Derek Needham's 11.6 scoring average as well as by his 11 three-point field goals. Keith Matthews is next in line with a 9.6 scoring average, while Wade contributes 8.8 points every forty minutes. Wade is also the team leader with 30 assists, more than double the next best Fairfield total (Needham with 13).

Providence enters the contest with a 3-2 record after defeating UNC-Asheville by a 72-67 count in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Head Coach Ed Cooley will face his former team for the second straight season when these two teams meet on Friday night. The Friars won the first meeting between Cooley and Fairfield last season at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport.

Bryce Cotton led all scorers with 30 points in the win against UNC-Asheville, one of three Friars in double figures that night. LaDontae Henton and Kadeem Batts not only reached double digits in the scoring column but also hit the mark in rebounds as well. Henton ended the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Batts added 15 points and 11 caroms.

Cotton leads the team in scoring with 24.5 points per game and has played 160 minutes in his four appearances this year. He is shooting 45 percent from the floor and 42 percent from three-point range. He has 11 of the team's 27 baskets from behind the arc.

Batts and Henton are also averaging better than 10 points per game for the season with 17.6 and 15.8 points every forty minutes. Batts is the most accurate shooter on the team with a .545 field goal percentage and is also tops with 9.6 caroms per contest.

After this game, Fairfield will continue its road trip by heading to DePaul University next Tuesday.