THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball resumes non-conference play after starting the MAAC slate at 2-0 with road wins at Canisius and Niagara this past weekend. The Stags' return to the non-league ledger begins with a visit from Holy Cross on Wednesday at Webster Bank Arena.

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
• FREE Student Shuttle – A student shuttle will run continuously from the BCC traffic circle to Webster Bank Arena beginning one hour before tip-off and through the end of the game. Please note that the shuttle will only be available for games played during the fall and spring semesters.
• 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 turned a 31-24 deficit late in the first half in a double-digit lead early in the second and never looked back en route to an 81-71 victory on Sunday afternoon at Niagara. Caleb Green and Zach Crisler paced the Stags' offense with 16 and 14 points, respectively, in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference road win.
 
Green and Crisler were two of four Stags in double figures. Taj Benning netted 13 points and Jesus Cruz scored all 11 of his tallies in the first half to help facilitate the late Fairfield surge into the lead that they would not relinquish.
 
Rounding out the scoring, Chris Maidoh shot 4-for-4 from down low to total eight points, Jake Wojcik had seven, and the duo of Supreme Cook and TJ Long each netted six.
 
The Stags battled their opponents to the deadlock on the boards for the second straight game as each squad corralled 31 rebounds. Benning and Wojcik each collected five caroms and Cook nabbed four.
 
BALANCE AT THE TOP
Through eight games, nine different Stags have either held or shared the team high in scoring. Zach Crisler, Supreme Cook, Taj Benning, Jake Wojcik, TJ Long, Jesus Cruz and Caleb Green have each paced the offense once, while Makai Willis and Jalen Leach shared the team lead with 14 points against in the win over Medgar Evers.
 
THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS AT A GLANCE
An 84-65 loss at Salle this past Saturday was the third consecutive defeat for Holy Cross as the Crusaders dropped to 2-7 on the season. Holy Cross has also lost to Boston College, Quinnipiac, Air Force, Bryant, New Hampshire and Central Connecticut. The Crusaders two victories both came at home -- a season-opening win over Division III Regis and a Nov. 24 victory over Division III Mount St. Vincent.
 
Three Crusaders are averaging double figures this season, led by 12.6 points per game from Judson Martindale. Kyrell Luc adds 12.0 points per outing and Gerrale Gates has netted 11.7 per game in six appearances. An All-Patriot League Third Team honoree last season, Gates is also the leading rebounder for Holy Cross with 8.3 boards per game.
 
THE CRUSADERS IN 2020-21
Holy Cross went 5-11 in the unique Patriot League schedule last season, a slate which included six meetings with Boston University. The Crusaders earned the eighth seed in the Patriot League Tournament but were not able to compete after a positive Covid-19 test within the program ended the season prematurely.
 
LAST MEETING: FAIRFIELD 68, HOLY CROSS 63 (OT, 11/12/2019)
Jesus Cruz and Taj Benning accounted for all 10 of Fairfield's points in overtime to clinch Jay Young's first win as head coach of the Stags. Cruz finished with a game-high 23 points for the Stags and Benning joined him in double figures with 13.
 
The current Holy Cross roster does not include any of the 10 Crusaders who checked into that game in Worcester.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Stags' overtime win in Worcester two years ago narrowed the gap in the all-time series to 22-20 in favor of Holy Cross. The Crusaders took the first five meetings in the series dating back to 1950 and also own a series-best seven-game winning streak that spanned from 1988 to 2007. The Stags have won five of the last six since that stretch.
 
Notable meetings in the series include the 1986 MAAC Championship Game – a 67-64 win for the Stags to claim their first-ever conference title – and a pair of neutral-court clashes at Madison Square Garden in 1981 and 1986.
 
Holy Cross was also the opponent for one of the biggest wins in Alumni Hall history and arguably the biggest regular season win in program history, a 123-103 victory for the Stags on Jan. 21, 1978. The 123 points scored in that game still stand as the program's single-game record.
 
THE STAGS SWEEP THE BUFFALO TRIP
This past weekend was Fairfield's 23rd proper version of the conference's infamous "Buffalo trip" -- playing both Canisius and Niagara on the same visit to Western New York.
 
With the wins over Canisius and Niagara, the Stags brought home just the sixth 2-0 record in program history. Fairfield has swept the trip in three of the last six occurrences, also doing so in back-to-back seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
 
In addition to the six sweeps, Fairfield has gone 1-1 on the trek in eight seasons and has been swept nine times.
 
PROTECT BALL, WIN GAME
The Stags have committed just 86 turnovers in eight games, ranking second in the MAAC with 10.8 turnovers per contest and leading the league with a 1.43 assist/turnover ratio. Individually, Taj Benning and Caleb Green hold the top two spots in the MAAC with assist/turnover ratios of 5.0 and 3.0, respectively.
 
Taking care of the basketball has proven vital in the Stags' success this season. Fairfield is averaging only 8.0 turnovers per game in its five wins compared to 15.3 giveaways per game in its three losses.
 
UP NEXT
Fairfield opens a three-game, non-conference road swing this Sunday, Dec. 12 at William & Mary. The trek also includes trips to Fairleigh Dickinson and UMass before returning home to host Wagner on Dec. 23.