Game Notes
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The Fairfield University men's basketball team closes out its five-game home stand by hosting Manhattan College on Thursday, February 9 at Webster Bank Arena. Game time is slated for 7:30 pm.
Manhattan opens the week with a 17-8 overall record and a 10-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference mark. The Jaspers saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end when they fell to Iona College by an 85-73 count on Saturday. The winning streak started with its win over Fairfield on January 8 and continued for nearly a month.
George Beamon continues to lead the team and to place among the MAAC scoring leaders with 17.8 points per game. The forward comes off a 26-point performance against Iona, which came three games after he posted 33 points against Canisius at home. He is the team's most accurate three-point shooter as well, netting 40 percent of his long-range shots. Kidani Brutus has the most three-point baskets on the team, netting 48 out of 125 attempts (38 percent).
Defensively, the Jaspers are yielding just 64.1 points per game, outscoring their opposition by just over six points per game. And, Manhattan is one of the best shot blocking teams in the MAAC, averaging five rejections per game. Rhamel Brown has more than half of the team's blocks, registering 64 in his 25 games.
Following tonight's game, Manhattan will have just five games remaining on the schedule. The team starts a three-game road trip that includes a game at Saint Peter's on Saturday and a road trip to Siena on February 14. After that run, the Jaspers conclude the campaign with three home games, beginning with UNC-Wilmington as part of the Sears BracketBusters series.
Fairfield brings a three-game winning streak into this game, including a 64-56 victory over Siena in the team's last outing. The Stags have one more home game after tonight when they host Saint Peter's College on January 15.
The Stags have certainly scored points during this home stand, especially in its three victories. In those three outings, Fairfield averaged 74 points per game, including a season-high 81 points against Marist College.
Derek Needham has led the charge over this time period, netting 21 points per game. He posted a career-high 32 points in the win against Niagara. Needham poured in 15 three pointers and shot 55 percent from behind the arc in those games.
Rakim Sanders has also performed well over the three-game stretch, averaging a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds per game. Sanders recorded another double-double with his 14 points and 14 rebounds against Niagara, and just missed another with 22 points and nine rebounds in the Siena game. For the season, he is scoring 16.5 points per game.
