FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team plays its final home game of the 2015 calendar year when it hosts Loyola University (Md.) on Tuesday night at Webster Bank Arena. Game time is slated for 7 pm.
The Stags continue to find ways to score points, ranking among the top teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) this season. Fairfield has shown its long-range shooting abilities by placing third in the conference with 9.4 three pointers per game... And the team rates as one of the most accurate shooting teams in the MAAC, placing second in field goal percentage at .452.
The team just missed extending its streak of 70-point games eight games but came up short following its 64-point performance against Wagner. Still, Fairfield is averaging just over 76 points per game and has netted 80 or more points three times thus far.
The Greyhounds return to Webster Bank Arena for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign when the program was part of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Last year, the two teams met at the Barclays Center with the Greyhounds posting a 61-59 overtime win.
Loyola is looking for its first win since knocking off Maryland-Baltimore Country by a 76-57 count on November 18. Since that decision, the team has dropped six straight games including an overtime setback against Siena on the road. During this streak, the team played the University of Kansas before playing back-to-back games against Maryland-based schools - Mount St. Mary's and Towson. In their last outing, the Greyhounds dropped a 65-54 game to Towson at home despite getting a double-double from Eric Laster. The senior posted 11 points and 10 rebounds in the game with five of those caroms coming off the offensive glass. Jarred Jones added 11 points and six rebounds along with three blocks.
Jones is the team's top shot blocker with 10 and is also the team leader for scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg). Tyler Hubbard has also been effective offensively with 12.8 points every forty minutes and represents the team's long-range threat with 26 three pointers (2.8 per game). Laster and Franz Rassman are also scoring better than 10 points per game, checking into tonight's contest with 11.7 and 11.3 scoring averages, respectively.
Jerome Segura set a personal best with 17 points in the Wagner game, improving the guard's scoring average to 8.4 points per game. Matija Milin saw his scoring average trend upward following his 10-point effort against Wagner, raising the number the number to 9.4 points per game. He is the top scoring reserve this year, appearing in all nine games without a start. Coleman Johnson is the only other Stag to play in all nine games without a start, but the senior still manages to remain one of the top rebounders on the team with 4.7 per contest. He comes off his best rebounding effort of the season with 11 against Wagner, the most since he tied his career-high with 11 rebounds against Canisius during the 2013-14 campaign.
Marcus Gilbert, who has not played since the Iona game on December 1, remains the team's top scorer with 18.3 points per game. Tyler Nelson is next in line with 11.8 points every forty minutes.
Following the Loyola game, Fairfield will play a non-conference game at Bucknell on December 27 before getting back to conference play on January 2 at Manhattan. The next Fairfield home game will be played at Alumni Hall on January 4 when the Stags welcome Dartmouth College, under the direction of Paul Corimer.
