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FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- After a quick stop at Webster Bank Arena on Thursday night, the Fairfield University men's basketball will play yet another road game this weekend with its Saturday night match up against Marist College at the McCann Center. The game is scheduled for a 7 pm tip on ESPN3.

The Stags returned home after a three-game road trip but came up empty with its 59-53 loss to Manhattan at Webster Bank Arena. Fairfield trailed by 12 with five minutes to go and rallied for seven straight points to cut the deficit to five points in the closing minutes. But a Rich Williams three-point field goal as the shot clock expired pushed the lead back to eight points with under a minute left, squashing the Stags' comeback hopes. Tyler Nelson and Ferron Flavors Jr. each scored 14 points to lead the Stags offense, while Matija Milin returned to double figures with 10 points in addition to his five rebounds.

Despite the low point total, Fairfield shot well from the floor by making 43 percent of its field goal attempts (21 of 49) including 55 percent in the first half (12 of 22). Nelson's 14-point performance dropped his season scoring average to 19.8 points per game, still ranking third in the MAAC. Jonathan Kasibabu secured a team-high seven rebounds against Manhattan, the fifth time in the last six games he has reached at least seven caroms in a game. The junior leads the team with a 5.1 rebounding average.

The Red Foxes will try to halt a three-game skid that includes a pair of overtime setbacks. Marist fell to Manhattan in an offensive showcase which ended in a 101-96 victory for the Jaspers, and dropped an 80-79 overtime decision to Quinnipiac in its last outing. The one-point  loss was the fourth time that a Red Foxes' game was decided by three points or less this year (1-3 record). Marist held Quinnipiac to 26 first-half points and held a six-point edge at intermission before the Bobcats shot 53 percent from the floor in the second half and posted 47 points to tie the game at 73-73 after regulation. Marist excelled in the paint with 38 of its 79 points coming in the lane.

At the heart of the team's attack was Brian Parker who netted a team-best 25 points in 43 minutes of work. The performance marked the 11th time this season in which Parker was the top Marist scorer, helping his post a team-best 19.3 points per game which ranks fourth in the MAAC. Over the last three games, Parker is averaging 26.3 points per contest highlighted by his 33 points against Manhattan. David Knudsen (11.1 ppg) and Ryan Funk (10.1 ppg) are also averaging in double figures this season. 

The two teams will meet for the 58th time with the Stags holding a 34-23 edge in the series that began during the 1979-80 season. Fairfield has been rather successful over the last few years, winning 14 of the last 17 meetings including the last four games where these two teams played each other. Last season, Fairfield completed a season series sweep with a 72-62 win at Webster Bank Arena as well as a 73-53 victory at the McCann Center.