FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's basketball team will play its third home Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series of the season when it hosts Siena College for two games this weekend. The Stags and the Saints will meet on Saturday and Sunday at Alumni Hall with both games tipping off at 4 pm.

The Stags won their second conference game with a 72-56 decision over Rider last Saturday. Both Fairfield MAAC wins came at Alumni Hall and were by more than 10 points, beating Rider by 16 and Iona by 18. Jake Wojcik scored a team-best 13 points in the Rider win, one of five different Stags to lead or co-lead the team in scoring this season. He has been the team's top scorer in two of his five appearances this year which includes a 12-point effort versus Fairleigh Dickinson. 

Taj Benning, who set a career high with 22 points in the first Rider game last weekend, averaged 16 points over the weekend and raised his team-best scoring average to 12.9 points per game. Like Benning, Wojcik continues to improve on his scoring average as his 28 points over the two Rider games increased his number to 11.8 points every forty minutes. Benning has also emerged as one of the team's top three-point shooters not only on the team but in the MAAC. He currently averages 1.9 three pointers per game overall (11th in MAAC) and 2.7 three pointers per MAAC game (3rd in MAAC). He remains the top three-point shooter in MAAC games only with his .485 percentage. Jesus Cruz enjoyed his best game since coming off the bench with his nine points against Rider, giving him a 6.8 scoring average in the last three games as a reserve.

The Saints played their first two games of the season by hosting and sweeping Monmouth University with a one-point win (78-77) and  a 14-point victory (76-62). Siena, the preseason favorite in the MAAC coaches' poll, entered this season as the defending regular-season champions. The wins were team oriented as four student-athletes averaged more than 10 points per game to account for most of the team's 77.0 scoring average.

At the top of the list stands Jalen Pickett who continues to establish himself as one of the top players in the MAAC. The 2020 MAAC Player of the Year, Pickett was the only student-athlete in the last 25 years to average at least 15 points (15.1 ppg), six assists (6.0 apg), one block (1.1 bpg), and one steal (1.0) in a season. He currently averages 19 points and 10 rebounds this season. Manny Camper returns after averaging 13.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game last season, one of 29 student-athletes in Division I to average a double-double last season. He, along with Pickett, is currently averaging a double-double this year with his 13 points and 10 caroms per contest. Siena will finish up its four-game road trip next weekend with a two-game series at Rider.

Following this home series, Fairfield will play eight of its next 10 conference games on the road, beginning with two dates at Marist College on January 15 and 16. The team returns home for a pair of games against Canisius College for a pair of contests on January 22 and 23 before making a six-game run on the road.