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FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- After nearly a month on the road, the Fairfield University men's basketball team will return to Webster Bank Arena for a Sunday afternoon match up with Niagara University. The game tips off at 1 pm and marks the second time within a week that the two teams meet. The Purple Eagles won the first meeting last Sunday with a 71-67 decision in upstate New York.

The Stags come off an overtime loss at Loyola University, falling by a 63-58 margin in overtime. Fairfield led for most of the game but did not score any points over the final four-plus minutes which enabled the Greyhounds to close the game with a 6-0 run that tied the game. Josip Mikulic tallied a career-high 16 points in the Loyola game, while Keith Matthews posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Fairfield just finished a five-game road trip that started in mid-December. The team posted a 3-2 mark during the five-game run, winning the first three games before falling short in the last two games. Four of the five road games were decided by five points or less, including a one-point win over Old Dominion and a three-point victory against Saint Joseph's.

Derek Needham paces the offense with a 13.6 scoring average, followed by Maurice Barrow (8.3 ppg) and Keith Matthews (7.8 ppg). Amadou Sidibe is the team's top rebounder with 4.8 caroms per contest, just ahead of Barrow's 4.6 rebounding average. Colin Nickerson added to his team-high steal total, posting 31 in 17 games. He is also one of the team's shooters at 51.2 percent.

Niagara evened up its overall record with a win over Saint Peter's on Friday night, bringing an 8-8 slate into this weekend's game. The Purple Eagles are tied for the top spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) standings with a 4-1 mark.

Juan'ya Green, who scored 31 points against the Stags last weekend, is the team leader in practically every offensive category. He is tops in three-point field goals (30), assists (75), and steals (28). Antoine Mason is the team's top scorer with an 18.4 scoring average, just a point higher than Green's scoring average. Ameen Tanksley rates first among his teammates with 6.2 rebounds every forty minutes.