FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team will play its third straight home game on Thursday night when it hosts Niagara University at Webster Bank Arena. The game will tip off at 8 pm and will be broadcast on ESPN3. The Stags won the first two games of this four-game home stand, defeating Marist and Manhattan.
The Purple Eagles have won three of their last four games including an 80-67 victory over Rider University on January 28. The run began with consecutive decisions at Saint Peter's and against Canisius before being edged by Manhattan, 70-69, at home.
Junior Matt Scott proved to be a major reason for Niagara's success last week as the team posted a 2-1 record over the seven-day stretch. The guard nearly averaged a double-double with 18.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, and three assists per game. He posted 20 points in the Manhattan game and followed up with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Rider, one of which represented his 1,000th career point. Four Purple Eagles reached double figures against the Broncs, namely Kahlil Dukes (17 points), Chris Barton (11 points), and Kevin Larkin (10 points).
Scott leads the team in scoring both overall and in MAAC games, entering this contest with a 17.3 overall scoring average and a 17.9 MAAC scoring average. Dukes has been consistent regardless of the opponent, posting 15.7 points overall per date and 15.8 points per MAAC game. Scott and Barton are nearly even in the rebounding category with Scott recording 7.0 per game and Barton registering 6.8 per contest.
The Stags won their second straight game and fifth MAAC contest with their 78-49 decision over Manhattan College, completing the season sweep of the Jaspers. Fairfield evened up its overall record to 10-10 with the win and came within a game of the .500 mark in conference play at 5-6. Defense was the theme of Tuesday's night win as Fairfield held Manhattan to a season-low 49 points, undercutting the Jaspers' previous low of 61 points set twice earlier this season.
After surrendering 90-plus points in a pair of road losses, the Stags have responded by allowing just 111 points during the first two dates on this four-game home stand which is the lowest-two game total by an opponent since giving up a combined 98 points in a 55-53 loss to Niagara and in a 57-43 win over Saint Peter's during the 2014-15 campaign.
For the second straight game, Curtis Cobb and Tyler Nelson each reached 20 points in a game. Cobb posted 20 points against Marist and followed up with 22 points versus Manhattan, while Nelson netted 21 points in the Marist game and 20 points in the Manhattan game. The duo sit atop of the Fairfield scoring leader list with Nelson owning a 19.2 scoring average and Cobb following with 14.7 points per game.
The men's game will be the second game of a basketball doubleheader as the Fairfield women's team will host Quinnipiac University beginning at 5 pm.
