Men's Basketball Opens Home Slate Against Canisius

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FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team opens the home portion of its 2012-13 schedule on Friday, December 7 against Canisius College. The game is slated for a 7 pm start at Webster Bank Arena. The contest also represents the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener.

Fairfield has spent the first three-plus weeks of the season on the road, traveling more than 5,000 miles to play its first eight games. The road trip included stops in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Tennessee. The Stags split their opening eight games, which included match ups with Virginia, Providence, and DePaul. The last game of the trip resulted in a 74-55 win over Austin Peay University, the Stags' largest margin of victory this season.

Part of the reason for the team's success against Austin Peay was the performance of freshmen Marcus Gilbert, Coleman Johnson, and Josip Mikulic. Gilbert and Mikulic both reached double figures with 11 points each, while Johnson was a perfect three-for-three from the field en route to seven points. Gilbert earned the MAAC rookie of the week award for his performance with his career-high scoring performance.

Senior Derek Needham also earned weekly honors from the MAAC, earning his first player of the week award this season. Needham averaged 20.5 points per game in the Stags' 1-1 week, which included a season-high 29 points against DePaul. He followed up with a team-high 12 points in the Austin Peay win. The guard also dished off 17 assists in the two games, highlighted by his season-high nine assists against Austin Peay.

Head Coach Jim Baron has led Canisius to four wins in their first five games in his first season at the helm. The team won its first three games before dropping a seven-point decision against Stony Brook. However, the Griffs responded with an 83-65 victory at UMBC in their last outing behind a 19-point effort from Billy Baron and 15 points from Harold Washington. Baron has been the team's top scorer in each of the last three games, including 22 points at Stony Brook. Washington paced the offense in the first two games, highlighted by 23 markers at St. Bonaventure. Three Griffs are scoring in double figures - Baron (17.8 ppg), Washington (17.2 ppg), and Jordan Heath (10.2 ppg). Heath and Chris Manhertz are the leading rebounders with 5.4 per game.

Tickets for the game can be purchased through ticketmaster.com or at the Webster Bank Arena box office.

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