FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- For the third time this season, the Fairfield University men's basketball team will host a game at Alumni Hall when Saint Peter's University comes to campus on Tuesday night. The game is set for a 7 pm tip off. The Stags are holding a 'Red Out' at the game and encourage all fans to wear red. The first 500 students in attendance will receive a free "Stags Up" t-shirt from Stags in the Stands.
The Peacocks are off to their best start in the MAAC since the 1994-95 season. Saint Peter's won their fifth conference game in six tries with a 76-67 win over Marist College. The team has won three of its first four games in 2016, including a split in Buffalo. Trevis Wyche has been the team's top scorer in each of those four games, including a 20-point performance against Marist. He also posted 16 points at Marist, 18 points at Niagara, and 16 points at Canisius.
The Peacocks took control of their last game against Marist with a 15-2 run down the stretch with Wyche netting seven of those decisive points. He also helped seal the win by making seven of eight free throws over the final three minutes.
Antwon Portley posted 15 points in the win over the Red Foxes, raising his season scoring average to a team-best 14.8 points per game overall.He is also the team leader in conference games as well with a 14.5 scoring average against the MAAC. He is the second highest scoring freshman in the MAAC, trailing only Marist's Brian Parker (16.5 ppg). Wyche is next in line with a 12.5 scoring average which is two points lower than his MAAC scoring average of 14.5 points every 40 minutes.
Quadir Welton ranks as the team's top rebounder with 7.3 caroms per contest. The forward is also ranked fifth in the conference with 1.1 blocks per game (16 rejections in 15 games). Speaking of rankings, the Peacocks are ranked first in the MAAC for scoring defense, allowing just 67.5 points per contest.
Fairfield won the middle game of its three-game home stand with a 73-68 win over Niagara last Friday night. The Stags moved over .500 once again and looks to hit double digits in the win column for the first time since the 2012-13 season (19-16 overall). Since opening the season 0-3, the Stags have won nine of 14 games including six of their last 10 outings.
Tyler Nelson continued his torrid pace with a team-best 27 points in the Niagara game, giving the sophomore eight straight games with double-digit scoring totals. He is averaging 19.9 points per game during that stretch, which also happens to be the longest such streak of his brief career. The guard's three-point shot broke a 63-63 tie and put the Stags in front for good.
Marcus Gilbert contributed 17 points to the cause, which sent him into the top 10 on Fairfield's all-time scoring list with 1,432 points. Curtis Cobb also reached double digits in the win with 11 points, his fourth game in double figures over the last five dates. He is averaging 11.7 points per game over the five-game stretch and 8.6 points per contest overall.
Gilbert and Cobb are also tied together as two of the top three-point shooters in the MAAC. Gilbert places ninth with a .400 percentage while Cobb ranks 14th with a .377 mark. Jerry Johnson Jr., who went scoreless for the first time this year in the Niagara game, is eighth in the MAAC with a .408 three-point percentage.
