THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball concludes the non-conference portion of the schedule and begins a four-game homestand with a visit from Wagner. Opening tip-off from Webster Bank Arena on Thursday, Dec. 23 is set for 2 p.m. with Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis calling the action for the Stags Sports Network on ESPN3.

Tickets for Wednesday's game are on sale now at Ticketmaster and the Webster Bank Arena box office. Fans who plan to attend 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 – Season parking passes are still available for purchase at fairfieldstags.com/TIX. The parking garage and lots surrounding Webster Bank Arena accept cash only on gameday
• FREE Student Tickets – Admission is free for current Fairfield University students by presenting a valid StagCard
• College Student Ticket Special: Present a valid college ID (for ANY college) at the box office for one free general admission ticket.
• $5 Student Parking – Fairfield students with a StagCard can park in any of outdoor lots surrounding Webster Bank Arena for only $5 (cash only). Please note that the free student shuttle will not run for home games from Dec. 18 - Jan. 7. It will resume when dorms reopen for the spring semester.
• 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.

LAST TIME OUT
Fairfield got a career-high 21 points from Allan Jeanne-Rose and a double-double from Supreme Cook, but host UMass went on the game's final run to force overtime and then pull out the decision in the extra session, 77-73, last Sunday at the Mullins Center.
 
Jeanne-Rose shot 8-for-11 from the field and 5-for-7 from the free throw line to amass his 21 points. Cook's second double-double of the season was comprised on 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Caleb Green added nine points with Jesus Cruz and Zach Crisler each netting eight.
 
Cook's 13 rebounds paced the Stags to a 41-33 advantage on the glass. Cruz hauled in six boards with Crisler and Taj Benning each pulling down four.
 
Fairfield was uncharacteristically on the short side of the turnover battle, committing 16 miscues while only forcing nine UMass giveaways.
 
NON-CONFERENCE VICTORIES
Fairfield is seeking its seventh non-conference win in the final non-MAAC game of the regular season. The Stags' six non-conference wins this season are the most since the 2015-16 team went 6-4 in its non-league slate (postseason games not included).
 
Fairfield has not won seven regular season non-conference games since the 2012-13 team went 8-5 outside of the MAAC.
 
THE WAGNER COLLEGE SEAHAWKS AT A GLANCE
Wagner comes to Webster Bank Arena off of a decisive 93-51 win over Delaware State on Monday to improve to 5-2. The Seahawks have also defeated Hartford, VCU, Stony Brook and Immaculata, all by double figures, with their losses coming to Power 5 squads Seton Hall and Penn State.
 
The Seahawks return four starters, including Preseason All-NEC picks Alex Morales and Elijah "Boogie" Ford, from last season's squad en route to earning the top spot in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Morales leads the squad with 16.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game thus far in 2021-22.
 
Wagner has only played seven games as a result of a Covid-related pause that scrapped scheduled non-league outings against Saint Peter's, NJIT and Army West Point.
 
THE SEAHAWKS IN 2020-21
Wagner went 13-7 overall and 13-5 in the NEC to win the Northeast Conference Regular Season Championship. The Seahawks were stunned in the semifinal round on their home court by visiting fourth-seeded Mount Saint Mary's, 66-60, to end their campaign.
 
LAST MEETING: FAIRFIELD 66, WAGNER 54 (12/28/2019)
A 12-0 run over a span of nearly nine minutes grew a one-point lead to a 58-45 advantage as the Stags pulled away from host Wagner for a 66-54 win over Dec. 28, 2019 on Staten Island.
 
Landon Taliaferro scored 17 points and Vincent Eze posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Stags. Taj Benning and Aidas Kavaliauskas joined them in double figures with 10 points apiece.
 
Former Stag Curtis Cobb led all players with 19 points for the Seahawks, while Alex Morales added 11 for Wagner.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Fairfield holds a 6-3 lead in a series dating back to 1963. The Stags won the first four meetings with Wagner from 1963-96, at which point the series went dormant until 2015.
 
The teams met in five straight campaigns until a one-year hiatus caused by last season's truncated non-league slate. The road team has gone 4-1 in the most recent stretch of encounters, including two wins for Seahawks at Webster Bank Arena.
 
1,000 IN THEIR SIGHTS
Taj Benning enters Thursday's game with 942 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 a total of 959 points between his two seasons at Holy Cross and his two-year tenure as an active member of the Stags.
 
Jesus Cruz netted his 1,000th point last season and has since risen to 19th on the career charts with 1,277 points. Next on the list for Cruz is Anthony Johnson, who scored 1,292 points for the Stags from 2006-10. If maintained, Cruz's current 2021-22 scoring average of 8.1 points per game would slot him in a tie for 11th all-time (1,429 points) if he appears in every game for the remainder of the regular season.
 
I AM IRON MAN
Jesus Cruz is chasing another Fairfield milestone, as Thursday's game against Wagner is slated to be his 136th game played as a Stag. The record currently belongs to Colin Nickerson, who played 138 games for Fairfield from 2009-13.
 
Taj Benning will take the court for the 125th time on Thursday. If he plays every game the rest of the way, he will likely finish second behind only Cruz in total games played as a Stag.
 
UP NEXT
The Stags bring their 2-0 MAAC record back into conference play for their first home weekend of the league slate. Fairfield hosts Manhattan at Webster Bank Arena on Friday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. and then welcomes defending MAAC Champion Iona on Sunday, Jan. 2 at 1 p.m.
 
The Jaspers are 7-3 overall and 1-1 in the MAAC with a Dec. 21 game at the Citadel still pending before their trip to Bridgeport. Iona in 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference and will play Delaware and Siena before coming to Webster Bank Arena.