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NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. -- Coming off its best defensive effort of the season, the Fairfield University men's basketball team will turn its attention to Niagara University on Saturday afternoon. The Stags and the Purple Eagles will meet for the first time this year with the game slated for 3 pm at the Gallagher Center. It will mark the fourth straight road game for Fairfield, but the team has flourished away from campus this season.

Head Coach Sydney Johnson has led his team to five straight road wins dating back to a 74-55 win at Austin Peay on December 1. The team is also looking to extend its overall winning streak that stands at six games, tying the longest string of wins for Johnson since he took over the program a year ago. But in order for Fairfield to add one more to both of those streaks, it will have to halt the second-best offensive team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

If that sounds familiar to Stags fans, it should. Canisius entered its January 3rd game with the Stags as the number two offensive team in the conference. All Fairfield did was keep the Golden Griffs to a season-low 45 points on its way to a 21-point win. It marked the lowest point total surrendered by the Stags this year as well as the lowest offensive output by the Griffs in 2012-13. With its performance against Canisius, Fairfield moved into the top spot in the MAAC for scoring defense.

Fairfield accomplished the task by forcing 21 turnovers, the third time this year that a Stags' opponent reached 20 miscues in a game. Colin Nickerson was in the middle of those turnovers with four steals, raising his team leading total to 27. The senior currently ranks third in the MAAC with 1.8 steals per game. Derek Needham and Desmond Wade each had three steals for the Stags as well.

Maurice Barrow padded his scoring numbers with a career-high 21 points against Canisius, raising his average to 8.5 points per game. Needham is the only Stag with a higher number, netting 14.3 points every forty minutes. Amadou Sidibe remains the team's top rebounder with 5.3 caroms per contest.

The Purple Eagles moved into a first-place tie with Fairfield and Canisius following  its 94-72 win over Marist on Thursday night. Niagara (6-7 overall) won its fourth straight home game and fifth in six tries with its decision over the Red Foxes. Ameen Tanksley registered his third double-double with a season-high 22 points and tied his personal best with 12 rebounds. Juan'ya Green contributed 21 points in the victory, the third time he surpassed 20 points this season. The team won its last two MAAC games, winning at Loyola and against Marist.

Antoine Mason leads the team in scoring with 18.8 points per game, not surprising since he has been the team's top point producer in eight of its 13 games this season. Green is next in line with a 15.9 scoring average, followed by Tanksley's 10.6 scoring average. Tanksley also represents the team's top rebounder with 6.0 per game. Mason is also performing well around the glass with 4.5 rebounds every forty minutes.