FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team will head 30 miles north for its 2013-14 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener as the Stags take on Quinnipiac University on Friday night. The game tips off at 8:30 pm from TD Bank Sports Center and will be broadcasted live on ESPN3. It will mark the second meeting between the two instate foes with the first meeting coming as part of the 2011 Connecticut 6 Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Quinnipiac saw its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 69-66 setback to Boston University at home on Monday night. Ike Azotam was one of three Bobcats to record a double-double against the Terriers, sporting 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Ousmane Drame (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Zaid Hearst (10 points, 10 rebounds) also tallied a double-double in the game. Hearst is the team's top scorer with a 15.0 scoring average, slightly higher than Ike Azotam's 14.2 points per game. Drame owns a 12.7 scoring average while Kasim Chandler rounds out the top four with 10.7 points per contest. Azotam and Hearst are averaging a double-double for the season by registering 10.8 and 10.7 rebounds per game, respectively. Quinnipiac will play its last home game of the month this evening, finishing the calendar year with four straight road games against Rider, Vermont, Lehigh, and Oregon State.
The Stags will try to turn things back to the winning side of the ledger after falling to Providence by a 78-69 score last Friday. Two Stags reached the 20-point mark in the game as Marcus Gilbert paced Fairfield with 23 points, followed by Maurice Barrow's 20 points. With his performance, the sophomore was able to retain his hold on as the team's leading scorer with 13.0 points per game. Barrow is next in line with 9.7 points per contest, followed by Amadou Sidibe's 6.0 points per outing.
Fairfield finishes up a four-game road trip tonight that kept the Stags away from home since November 23. After this match up with Quinnipiac, the Stags' return for a home game on December 8 against Iona College. The game is Fresh Air Fund Day and Teddy Bears for Love Day. Participants who attend Fresh Air Fund activities will receive reduced admission to the Iona game, while those who donate a new, unwrapped teddy bear will receive free admission to the game.
Tickets for the Iona game can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or at the Webster Bank Arena box office. Mini-ticket plans and flex-ticket packages can be purchased by calling the Fairfield University Athletic Ticket Office at (203) 254-4136 or by emailing Helen Smaldone (hsmaldone@fairfield.edu).
