THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball takes the court at Webster Bank Arena for the first time in 647 days when they host Medgar Evers College for their home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 16. The game will be broadcast live by the Stags Sports Network on ESPN3 with the familiar duo of Bob Heussler and Fairfield Athletics Hall of Famer Joe DeSantis calling the action.

Single-game tickets for all 15 home games are on sale now through Ticketmaster and the Webster Bank Arena box office. Fans who plan to attend Tuesday's game on any home game this season are advised of the following:

• Webster Bank Arena Box Office – The Box Office is a preferred cashless site. Single game tickets for all Fairfield home games can be purchased in advance at fairfieldstags.com/basketballtix
• Webster Bank Arena Concessions – All food and beverage vendors will be cashless including the bar inside the Stags Club. All major credit cards are accepted.
• Parking – Basketball season passes are still available for purchase at fairfieldstags.com/TIX. The parking garage and lots surrounding Webster Bank Arena accept cash only on game day
• Covid-19 Policy – Per the city of Bridgeport, all spectators are required to wear masks at all times while inside Webster Bank Arena unless actively eating or drinking.

 Admission is free for Fairfield University students (with a valid StagCard) to all regular season home games in all sports. Free student shuttles will run continuously from the BCC traffic circle to Webster Bank Arena and back beginning at 6 p.m. through the end of the game.
 
LAST TIME OUT: FOUR NET DOUBLE FIGURES, STAGS CLIPPED AT BC
For the second time in a week, Fairfield went toe-to-toe against a Power 5 host but came up just shy of the upset. Sunday's opponent was traditional New England rival Boston College, and despite four Stags netting double figures, the Eagles came away with the 72-64 decision.
 
Supreme Cook led the Stags' offense with a new career-high 16 points. Cook shot 4-for-8 from the field and drew plenty of contact from his BC counterparts, finishing at 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Taj Benning added 14 points, knocking down a pair of three-pointers and also dishing three assists. TJ Long filled out his stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Jesus Cruz also scored 13 points fueled by a 3-for-6 performance from three-point range.
 
TJ LONG: MAAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
After a pair of double-digit scoring performances to begin of his career, TJ Long has been named the MAAC Rookie of the Week. Long averaged 12.0 points per contest in road games at Providence and Boston College.
 
Long's 24 total points for the week came on 9-for-16 shooting from the field (.563) and 4-for-11 (.364) from three-point range. He filled out his statsheet with 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22.6 minutes of work per outing. He netted 11 points with three rebounds and one steal in Tuesday's opener at Providence. He followed that with 13 points, five boards, three assists and a steal at Boston College on Sunday.
 
THE MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE COUGARS AT A GLANCE
Medgar Evers College is 1-2 on the season. The Cougars started the campaign on the short side of a 124-64 rout at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, but has since rebounded with a competitive 87-76 loss to Kean and, most recently, picked up a 77-67 victory over Maritime College. Mousa Sinera paces Medgar Evers with 18.0 points per outing, with Andre Evans Jr. (16.7) and Keison McIntosh (13.3) also averaging double figures. Sinera is also the Cougars' leading rebounder with 13.7 boards per game, though MEC has been outworked on the glass by an average of 10.0 rebounds per game.
 
Brian Nigro is in his fifth season as the Cougars' head coach (including the canceled 2020-21 season). He previously spent nine seasons at his alma mater, the College of Mount Saint Vincent, en route to 121 wins in 14 campaigns as a head coach.
 
THE COUGARS IN 2019-20
In their last active season, Medgar Evers went 7-19 overall and 4-10 in the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC).
 
FIRST TIME FOES
Medgar Evers is the only first time opponent on Fairfield's 2021-22 slate. The last time Fairfield added a new opponent to the all-time list was in the 2019-20 season when the Stags challenged USC and Davidson for the first time in two of their three games at the ESPN Orlando Invitational.
 
UP NEXT
This lone road trip of the current four-game stretch is Fairfield's shortest possible jaunt among all Division I foes. The Stags make their first-ever trip to the Pitt Center this Saturday, Nov. 20 to meet Sacred Heart at 8 p.m.
 
Action returns to Webster Bank Arena for a pair of games around the Thanksgiving holiday as the Stags host Stony Brook on Wednesday, Nov. 24 and Loyola Maryland on Sunday, Nov. 28.