FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team returns home for a Saturday afternoon game with Monmouth University. The game will be played at Webster Bank Arena and will tip off at 1 pm. 

The Stags come off a three-game road trip that saw the team post a 1-2 record. Fairfield wrapped a loss to Manhattan and Siena around a win over Marist on the road trip. Against the Saints, Fairfield never led in the game but managed to draw into a tie twice. Landon Taliarferro's three pointer tied the game at 45-45 while Wassef Methnani also knotted the game at the 10:04 mark (47-47) with a jumper on the next possession. Methnani's points would be last for Fairfield until Taliaferro netted a three-point shot with 1:32 left in the game. Taliaferro and Methnani were the only Stags to reach double figures with 14 and 12 respectively.

Taliaferro seemed to find his three-point range once again with four shots from behind the arc, the most since he posted five three pointers at Iona on January 5. Taliaferro stays on top of the team's scoring list with 12.1 points per game, joining Neftali Alvarez (11.3 ppg), Jonathan Kasibabu (10.9 ppg), and Jesus Cruz (10.3 ppg) as the team's double-figure scorers. Kasibabu corralled three more rebounds which was good enough to keep on top of the team with his 7.7 rebounding average.

Taliaferro scored a team-high 14 points at Siena last Monday, giving him 32 points on the team's three-game road swing.  The performance marked the fifth time that he was the team's top scorer in a game and the first time since he netted a career-high 29 point against Rider on January 3. The junior was the only Stag to average better than 10 points per game during the road trip (10.7 ppg) with Jonathan Kasibabu coming in a distance second with his 7.7 scoring average.

The Hawks played Thursday night, and posted a 53-51 road win over Saint Peter's. Marcus McClary paced the Monmouth offense with 13 points while Diago Quinn contributed with 10 points. Monmouth trailed the home team by two points at halftime, but managed to build an eight-point lead around the eight-minute mark. Saint Peter's cut that deficit down quickly with back-to-back three pointers at 44-42, and eventually took the lead with 5:28 on the clock. With the score tied at 51-51 with just over a minute left, Quinn rallied his team with a game-winning layup at the 1:09 mark to put Monmouth into the lead for good. Saint Peter's had one final try at a game winner but a three-point try near the buzzer was errant.

Deion Hammond leads the team in scoring with 12.2 points per game, and represents one of the team's top free throw shooters (.793). Ray Salnave is second among his teammates with an 11.9 scoring average, and also serves as the team's leading play maker with 59 assists. Quinn and Mustapha Traore are tied for the team lead with 5.2 rebounds per game.

Game Promotions
Fairfield County Alumni Chapter Pregame Reception: The Fairfield County Alumni Chapter will gather for a special pregame reception in the Stags Club. For more information, contact Patricia Perazzini at pperazzini@fairfield.edu.
 
Animal Adoption Awareness Night: Visit PAWS on the concourse for more information and to meet some furry friends.

Fairfield Cheer & Dance Alumni Game: Featuring a special halftime performance

Free Student Shuttle: A free shuttle will run between Alumni Hall and Webster Bank Arena beginning at noon through the end of the game.
 
Bring your game ticket to Alumni Hall for free admission to the 5 p.m. Fairfield Women's Basketball game vs. Niagara