THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball makes the short trip across town on Saturday evening, trekking to the Pitt Center for the first time to challenge host Sacred Heart. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. with the action televised live on SNY and streamed online at NEC Front Row.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Stags are coming off of their first home game and first win of the young season, a 110-55 rout of Medgar Evers on Tuesday at Webster Bank Arena. Thirteen different Stags scored in the contest – seven of whom netted double figures – led by 14 points apiece from Makai Willis and Jalen Leach.
 
The 55-point margin of victory was Fairfield's largest since 1958 when the Stags' established the current program record with a 109-53 win over Merrimack. The 15 three-pointers tonight were two shy of the program record established when Fairfield buried 17 treys in the 113-74 victory at Maryland Eastern Shore in 2015 (matched later that season against Bucknell).
 
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.
 
Long added his third double-digit game with 11 point in Tuesday's win over Medgar Evers.
 
THE SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY PIONEERS AT A GLANCE
Sacred Heart is 2-2 on the season, most recently topping Division III Fisher College on Tuesday, 109-49. The Pioneers also own an 86-81 win at La Salle with losses coming at Providence, 92-64, and at home against Binghamton, 72-60. Tyler Thomas is Sacred Heart's leading scorer through four games with 21.3 points per game. SHU was tabbed for sixth of 10 teams in the NEC Preseason Poll with Thomas garnering Preseason All-NEC honors.
 
THE PIONEERS IN 2020-21
Sacred Heart went 9-9 overall and 9-7 in the NEC last season. The Pioneers earned the third seed in the NEC Championship and were dropped in the semifinals by second-seeded Bryant, 85-55.
 
LAST MEETING: FAIRFIELD 85, SACRED HEART 63 (11/11/2016)
Curtis Cobb scored the first 16 points for Fairfield as the Stags opened up an early lead and never looked back en route to an 85-63 win over Sacred Heart in the 2016-17 season opener at Webster Bank Arena. A total of five Stags netted double figures in the contest with Cobb joined by Jerome Segura (17), Jerry Johnson (13), Tyler Nelson (12) and Matija Milin (11). Quincy McKnight led the Pioneers in scoring with 25 points.
 
Neither the Fairfield or Sacred Heart rosters this season feature any player who checked into that game.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES (FAIRFIELD LEADS 7-0)
The Stags are 7-0 all-time against Sacred Heart dating back to 2007. Saturday's game is the first time one of the squads will venture to the other's campus, as six of the prior meetings were held at Webster Bank Arena in addition to a neutral site contest at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2010. Fairfield and Sacred Heart were slated to meet at Alumni Hall during the campaign, but the game was canceled due to Covid-19 protocols within the SHU program.
 
1,000 IN THEIR SIGHTS
Taj Benning enters Saturday's game with 847 career points, the closest active Stag to becoming the 45th member of the program's 1,000 Point Club. In addition, Caleb Green has scored 875 points between his two seasons at Holy Cross and his tenure with the Stags. Jake Wojcik, Fairfield's leading scorer last season, is currently at 659 points and could approach the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career with another double-figure scoring average this year.
 
Jesus Cruz netted his 1,000th point last season and has since risen to 25th on the career charts with 1,202 points. With four points against Medgar Evers, he surpassed Fairfield Athletics Hall of Famer James Brown. He is within 18 points of leapfrogging the trio of Nick Macarchuk, Darren Phillip and Pete DeBisschop for 22nd place on the ledger.
 
UP NEXT
Following Saturday's game, the Stags return to Webster Bank Arena for a pair of non-conference contests around the Thanksgiving holiday. Fairfield hosts Stony Brook on Wednesday, Nov. 24 and Loyola Maryland on Sunday, Nov. 28. Both games are slated for 2 p.m. with the Sunday game kicking off a doubleheader that also features Fairfield Women's Basketball hosting in-state foe Yale.