FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team starts a Jersey run on Friday night with a match up against Rider University in Lawrenceville, The Stags and the Broncs will tip off at 7 pm at Alumni Gymnasium. The team will follow up its Rider date by hosting another team from New Jersey when Monmouth University comes to Webster Bank Arena on Tuesday, February 4.

The Stags returned to .500 in the MAAC with their 63-55 win against Canisius at Alumni Hall. Fairfield overcame a six-point second-half deficit to earn the victory, taking the lead for good on  a pair of Jesus Cruz free throws. The junior spent a lot of time on the line, making all 13 of his attempts including six in the final seven minutes of the game. Cruz finished the game with 21 points, his first 20-point effort since netting 23 markers in an overtime win at Oakland.

The Stags own a 3-1 record this year when Cruz hits the 20-point mark, also defeating Holy Cross in overtime and falling to Bucknell in the season opener. Landon Taliaferro also reached double figures with 16 points in his 35 minutes of work. The Stags picked up 15 offensive rebounds against the Golden Griffins, turning those second-chance opportunities into 21 points. Chris Maidoh finished the game with nine rebounds, his third game in the last four with at least that many rebounds.

Taliaferro remains the team's top scorer with his 13.9 scoring average while Cruz ranks second among his teammates with 12.0 points per game. Vincent Eze represents the team's top rebounder with 5.8 per game while Maidoh has improved his season average to 4.5 rebounds every forty minutes.

Fairfield remains the top team in the MAAC for overall scoring defense by allowing 63.5 points per game, holding a slight lead over Saint Peter's (64.7 ppg). The Stags are second in the conference for scoring defense in MAAC games, allowing 62.2 points per game. Saint Peter's leads the MAAC in that category by surrendering 60.6 points per conference date.

The Broncs won a pair of games last weekend, defeating Saint Peter's at home (70-66) and Manhattan on the road (67-63). Four of the team's last six games have been decided by four points or less including the two victories over the weekend. It's been a historic few games for the Broncs as three student-athletes reached 1,000 points over the last five outings. Frederick Scott (Jan. 24), Tyere Marshall (Jan. 19), and Dimencio Vaughn (Jan. 12) all reached 1,000 career points in the last two weeks. Head Coach Kevin Baggett also grabbed a piece of Rider history by moving into the number three spot for career wins with his 132nd win coming on January 12.

The team's latest victory came at Manhattan as Scott posted his fourth double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds. The Broncs never trailed in the game but saw a 13-point second-half lead cut to two points with 14 seconds left but held on for the victory. Vaughn leads the offense with his 13.6 scoring average, followed closely by Scott (13.4 ppg) and Tyere Marshall (13.2 ppg). Marshall is the top rebounder with 7.9 per game while Steve Jordan is the top play maker with 4.3 assists per contest.