FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team will host Iona College on Friday night for the first of two games at Alumni Hall. The second game will be played on Saturday with both games tipping off at 7 pm. Friday night's contest will be broadcasted nationally on ESPNU while Saturday's game will air on ESPN# with Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis calling the action.

The Stags return home after playing a pair of games at Stony Brook and at Hartford. The team's most recent game was last Monday, a 67-54 loss to the University of Hartford. Jesus Cruz paced the offense with 16 points including his first three-point field goal of the season. The senior's three pointer was an important one, hitting the shot at the buzzer to send the Stags into halftime with a three-point lead. Caleb Green posted the first points of the second half to push Fairfield in front by five points, 32-27, a margin it would still hold with 12 minutes left in the game. Hartford scored 10 straight points to turn a 38-33 deficit into a 43-38 lead at the nine-minute mark. The Stags would not regain the lead for the rest of the game. In addition to Cruz's 16 points, Taj Benning also hit double figures with 12 points.

Cruz has developed as the team's top scorer over the last three games, starting the run with the team's only double-double this season (10 points, 11 rebounds) against Hartford (December 2). Over the three-game run, Cruz is averaging 14.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He currently leads the team in scoring with his 13.0 scoring average while Benning represents the team's other double-digit scorer with his 11.3 points every forty minutes. Tshiefu Ngalakulondi is the team's top rebounder with his 7.5 caroms per contest, one better than Supreme Cook's 6.5 rebounds every forty minutes.

The Gaels are coming off a home loss to Morgan State, dropping the team's overall record to 1-2. Iona picked up a win at Hofstra after opening the season at Seton Hall. Iona led early in the second half after a pair of free throws from Dylan Van Eyck pushed the score to 42-40 with 18 minutes left. Morgan State put together a 16-4 run over the next four minutes to take control of the game, taking a 56-46 lead en route to the 83-72 win.

Isaiah Ross has been the force within Iona's offense over the first three games, averaging 22.7 points per game. He is the only MAAC student-athlete averaging more than 20 points per game. He netted a season-best 33 points in the win over Hofstra, netting 10 of 17 field goal attempts. Freshman Nelly Junior Joseph has also made an impact just three games into his career, earning the MAAC Rookie of the Week honor after averaging 11.0 points and seven rebounds per game since his arrival. Berrick JeanLouis is also scoring in double figures with his 10.0 points per game. The trio has brought the Gaels to the top of the scoring offense list within the MAAC as the team averages 72.0 points per game, the only conference team with a scoring average above 70 points. The Gaels are also the most accurate shooting team in the MAAC with their .446 team field goal percentage.