FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- After opening the 2019-20 campaign at home, the Fairfield University men's basketball team will play its first road game of the season when it travels to the College of the Holy Cross on Tuesday night. The two teams will tip off at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex with game time listed for 7 pm.

The Stags started the season with a pair of games at Webster Bank Arena, playing two close games that did not go their way. Fairfield nearly erased a double-digit deficit with four minutes left in regulation before falling to Bucknell by four points. A few days later, the team came one possession short in a 62-60 setback to UMass. Now, Head Coach Jay Young will bring his team on the road for the first time on Tuesday night,  starting a one-month long swing that sends the Stags to Maryland and Florida throughout November.

Against UMass, Fairfield had a chance to take the lead with four seconds remaining in the game, but Landon Taliaferro's long three-point shot hit the back rim and was rebounded by UMass with 1.9 seconds on the clock. Taliaferro was certainly the student-athlete that  Coach  Young wanted to have the basketball in that situation since the senior had made five three pointers in 12 attempts (42 percent) prior to that attempt. Taliaferro ended the game as the team's top scorer with 15 points, one better than Jesus Cruz who led the team in scoring with a career-high tying 24 points against Bucknell.

With those back-to-back efforts, Cruz sits atop the Stags scoring leader list this year with a 19.0 scoring average, a number which also places him fourth in the MAAC overall and second among players who played at least two games this season. Taliaferro is the team's other double-digit scorer with 16.0 points per game with nearly half of his 32 points coming from behind the three-point line (15 points). Taj Benning has shown his ability to rebound the basketball so far this season, leading the team with seven caroms per contest. He is also the team leader in minutes played, averaging 37.5 minutes per game including a 40-minute effort against UMass.

The Crusaders also opened the season with a pair of setbacks, falling to #7 Maryland in the opener followed by New Hampshire last Saturday. Holy Cross is playing its first season under a new head coach, namely Brett Nelson who spent the last five seasons at Marquette including the last two as the associate head coach. The Crusaders have received an early boost from freshman Drew Lowder, who opened his season with 24 points against Maryland. The 24-point effort was the most by a Holy Cross freshman in an opener in more than 30 years. Lowder leads the team in scoring with a 19.0 scoring average while classmate Joe Pridgen is next in line with 12.5 points per contest. The team also has two other double digit scorers in freshman Ryan Wade (12.0 ppg) and sophomore Marlon Hargis (10.5 ppg). This game is the first of three straight home games for Holy Cross.