FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team begins play in the 2020 Hercules Tire Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Basketball Championship on Tuesday night, taking on Manhattan College at 5 pm. The game, which represents the first contest of the men's bracket, will be played at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. The two teams should be well acquainted for this match up, playing for the third time this season and the second time in as many games.
Fairfield ended the regular season with a 66-50 win over Manhattan, a decision which ensured that the two teams will meet tonight in the first game of the 2020 Hercules Tire MAAC Basketball Championship. The Stags never trailed in the game and there was only one tie which occurred at 2-2 after Samir Stewart's jumper at the 19:04 mark. Fairfield scored the next six points and kept the lead for the remainder of the game. Manhattan made a strong run midway through the second half, turning a 40-19 deficit into a 50-44 margin with seven minutes remaining. Fairfield once again used a 6-0 spurt to regain command of the game and never led by less than 10 points after that run.
Jesus Cruz came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points followed by
Landon Taliaferro's 19 markers. For Cruz, it was the second time in the last four games in which he scored more than 20 points as a reserve, starting with a team-high 22 points in a 60-58 setback against Quinnipiac. Taliaferro leads the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game with Cruz coming next at 11.2 points per game.
Vincent Eze serves as the top rebounder with 5.8 per game, slightly higher than
Chris Maidoh's 4.8 average.
By holding Manhattan to 50 points, Fairfield continues to lead the MAAC for overall scoring defense, allowing 62.9 points per game. The Stags are also first in the conference for scoring defense in MAAC games, allowing 62.1 points per game. Saint Peter's is second in both categories with its 64.4 overall average and 62.5 average in MAAC games.
Manhattan, which brings a 12-17 overall record and 8-12 MAAC mark into the tournament, dropped its third game in a row with its 66-50 setback against Fairfield on Friday night. The scoring output was the team's lowest since netting 47 points against Stony Brook in early December. The Jaspers never led in the game but used a strong run midway through the second half that brought a 21-point deficit (40-19) down to six points (50-44) with seven minutes on the clock. Six different Jaspers scored during that 25-10 run with Samir Stewart and Tyler Reynolds each scoring eight points over the stretch. Manhattan netted four of its seven three pointers in the game during that run as well with Stewart and Reynolds each responsible for two long-range jumpers.
Tykei Greene represents the team's top scorer overall with 10.2 points per game, just a touch above Paulicap's 10.0 scoring average. Paulicap is the team's top rebounder (6.2 per game) and one of the best shot blockers in the MAAC (1.9 per game). Paulicap and Greene switch spots when it comes to MAAC scoring, averaging 10.7 and 9.8 points per game respectively.
The winner of the Fairfield-Manhattan opening round game will take on top-seedd Siena College on Wednesday night. Game time is scheduled for 7 pm.
