THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball eyes a 2-0 MAAC weekend in Western New York with Sunday's trip to Niagara. Winners of four of their last five games, the Stags head to Niagara Falls coming off of a 74-68 road win at Cansius to begin conference play.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Fairfield opened the MAAC portion of the 2021-22 season on Friday night with a 74-68 win at Canisius. Jesus Cruz led three Stags in double figures with 16 points.
 
Caleb Green had his most productive scoring night of the season, as he shot 6-for-11 from the field, highlighted by two three-pointers, en route to 14 points. Allan Jeanne-Rose made his first start of 2021-22 and responded with 13 points along with six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
 
Chris Maidoh and Supreme Cook drove the Fairfield effort down low with nine and eight points, respectively. In total, the Stags score 42 points in the paint. Taj Benning added seven points to round out the scoring and hauled in a game-high and personal season-best 10 rebounds. The battle under the boards was even at 36-36.
 
THE STAGS ON THE BUFFALO TRIP
Fairfield is in the midst of the 23rd proper version of the conference's infamous "Buffalo trip" -- playing both Canisius and Niagara on the same visit to Western New York.
 
The Stags are vying for only the sixth 2-0 trip to Canisius and Niagara, most recently doing so in back-to-back seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17. A loss on Sunday would mark the ninth 1-1 split in Western New York and the sixth time the Stags defeated the Griffs and lost to the Purple Eagles on the trek.
 
The NIAGARA UNIVERSITY PURPLE EAGLES at a Glance
Niagara tipped off its MAAC slate with a 59-47 loss to Monmouth on Friday, falling to 3-4 overall. The Purple Eagles have also dropped decisions to Xavier, then-#17 Ohio State and St. Thomas while earning wins over SIUE, Youngstown State and Colgate.
 
MAAC leading scorer Marcus Hammond paces Naigara with 18.7 points per game as the only Purple Eagle currently averaging double figures. Jordan Cintron is next on the leger with an even 9.0 points per contest. Hammond was a Preseason All-MAAC First Team pick this fall as Niagara was tabbd for 10th by the league's head coaches.
 
THE PURPLE EAGLES IN 2020-21
Niagara went 9-11 last season, posting a 7-9 MAAC tally en route to earning the fifth seed in the MAAC Championship. Niagara defeated fourth-seeded Marist in quarterfinal round before falling to eventual champion Iona in the semifinals.
 
LAST MEETING: NIAGARA 81, FAIRFIELD 61 (12/19/2020)
In the back half of a two-game series in Western New York, Niagara pulled away in the second half for an 81-61 win to complete the MAAC sweep. Marcus Hammond scored a game-high 24 points and led all players with eight rebounds for the Purple Eagles, with Kobi Nwandu adding 17 points and Jordan Cintron also netting double figures with 13.
 
The Stags were led by 18 points from Taj Benning and a career-high 16 points netted by Jalen Leach. Zach Crisler added seven points and seven rebounds.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Niagara's sweep in Western New York last season extended the Purple Eagles' lead in the all-time series to 45-35 since 1966. Each team has put together a six-game streak in the series, with Niagara winning a half-dozen in a row from 1991-93, and the Stags winning six consecutively from 2010-12.
 
The Stags most recently swept the season series in 2015-16 and 2016-17. The series was a split the following year, but Fairfield took the vital rubber match in the MAAC Championship Quarterfinals en route to a Championship Game appearance.

Apart from last season's sweep, in which both games were played on their home court, the Purple Eagles last took both ends of the home-and-home version of the series in the 2014-15 campaign.

PROTECT BALL, WIN GAME
The Stags have committed just 79 turnovers in seven games, leading the MAAC with 11.3 turnovers per contest and a 1.37 assist/turnover ratio.

Taking care of the basketball has proven vital in the Stags' success this season. Fairfield is averaging only 8.3 turnovers per game in its four wins compared to 15.3 giveaways per game in its three losses.

TWO AT A TIME
The Stags attempted a season-low 13 three-pointers in the win at Canisius on Friday night, canning five of them for a .385 success rate from beyond the arc. Despite this lower-than-normal output from distance, Fairfield's 74 points in the victory marked the most scored by the Stags in a regulation (non-overtime) game against a Division I opponent this season.

UP NEXT
Fairfield resumes the non-conference slate and returns to Webster Bank Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 8 to host Holy Cross. The clash with the Crusaders is the Stags' lone home game in a span in which they will play five of six on the road. Tickets are on sle now at the Webster Bank Arena box office and through Ticketmaster.