FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team will play its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) road game of the 2018-19 campaign when it heads to Iona College on Saturday afternoon. The game tips off at ! pm and can be viewed on ESPN3.

Fairfield faces the MAAC's top scoring tonight in Iona, which averages 77.8 points per game, after battling the second-highest scoring team in Rider (77.0) on Thursday evening. The Stags currently stand third in the MAAC for scoring average at 71.9 points every forty minutes.

 Fairfield played its eighth game of the year which was decided by one possession and came up on the wrong side of an 83-82 setback to Rider University at Alumni Hall. on Thursday night. Landon Taliaferro finished the game with career highs with 29 points and eight three pointers, netting four long-range shots in each half. Jonathan Kasibabu posted his third double double of the season when he recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds in his 27 minutes of work. The Stags also received good bench production from Omar El-Sheikh and Wassef Methnani who each scored seven points  and grabbed five rebounds in the game.

With his performance, Taliaferro took over the team lead in scoring with 13.9 points per game. Neftali Alvarez saw his scoring average fall  to 13.2 points per contest after netting five points against Rider. Kasibabu is the team's third double-digit scorer with 10.5 points every forty minutes and also represents the team's top rebounder at 7.5 per game.

Taliaferro ranks 13th in the nation for three-point field goal percentage, netting 47.9 percent of his attempts from behind the arc (46 of 96). He places 18th for three-point field goals made per game nationally, averaging 3.54 long-range baskets per outing. His 46 three-point field goals ties him for 27th in Division I.

The Gaels showed why they are one of the top three-point shooting teams in the MAAC by collecting 17 shots from behind the arc as they opened the MAAC schedule with a 103-84 win over Monmouth. The point total represents a season high, eclipsing Iona's 85 points in a one-point loss to Long Beach State. Ben Perez and Jahnathan Maxwell each netted four three pointers against Monmouth. Rickey McGill led all Iona scorers with 29 points while E.J. Crawford hit 20 points while dishing off a team-best five assists.

Crawford is the Gaels' top scorer with a 16.4 scoring average, fifth best in the MAAC. McGill, who places ninth in the conference, registers 14.6 points per game through his 12 starts. Tajuan Agee grabbed a squad-best 10 rebounds in the Monmouth game, raising his season rebounding mark to 6.7 per outing.