THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield Men's Basketball plays its first return trip of the 2021-22 MAAC slate, heading to Marist on Sunday to wrap up the annual home-and-home series with the Red Foxes. Opening tip from Poughkeepsie is slated for 2 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
After six ties and 11 lead changes, Fairfield trailed by one point with possession in the final minute of Thursday's clash with Monmouth. However, the trip came up empty and the visiting Hawks sank a pair of free throws to seal a 61-58 decision.
 
Taj Benning scored 13 points for Fairfield, including the 1,000th of his career, as one of three Stags to net double figures. Jake Wojcik led the Fairfield scoring tonight with 15 points, knocking down five of the Stags' 10 three-pointers.
 
Jesus Cruz was the third Stag in double figures, scoring seven of Fairfield's final eight points down the stretch as a part of his 14 for the game.
 
1,000 POINT TRIO
Taj Benning scored his 1,000th career point this past Thursday to become the 45th member of the Stags' 1,000 Point Club. His 13 points pushed him to 1,007 career tallies and past his former teammate Jonathan Kasibabu into 44th place all-time.
 
In addition, Caleb Green reached 1,000 career points on Sunday at Quinnipiac, having scored 633 in two seasons at Holy Cross and 367 to date in two active campaigns at Fairfield.
 
Jesus Cruz netted his 1,000th point last season and has since risen to 15th on the career charts with 1,322 points. Next on the list for Cruz is Flip Williams, who scored 1,371 points for the Stags from 1976-80.
 
THE MARIST COLLEGE RED FOXES AT A GLANCE
Marist is coming off of a stunning 84-48 rout of Monmouth last Sunday to improve to 8-8 overall and 3-4 in the MAAC. The Red Foxes' other two MAAC wins were road triumphs at Fairfield and Rider. They have taken a pair of league losses to Iona in addition to home defeats to Siena and Rider. •
 
Marist's top two scorers are both among the top 10 in the MAAC. Ricardo Wright slots sixth at 14.9 points per game and standout freshman Jao Ituka is eighth with 14.6 points per contest. As a unit, the Red Foxes rank sixth in scoring offense (70.4 ppg) and third in scoring defense (66.5 ppg).
 
LAST MEETING: MARIST 60, FAIRFIELD 51 (Jan. 7, 2022 at Webster Bank Arena)
Fairfield held visiting Marist scoreless for a nine-minute stretch during the Jan. 7 game at Webster Bank Arena, turning a 32-19 deficit into a 35-35 deadlock. But the Red Foxes made the contest's last run, pulling away to claim a 60-51 decision.
 
Fairfield was playing its first game following a two-week layoff from competition, only returning to full team practices on Monday due to Covid protocols. Marist entered the game without two starters due to their own Covid-related concerns.
 
Jake Wojcik paced the Stags offensively with 14 points, including three of Fairfield's six three-pointers on the day. Supreme Cook joined him in double figures with 13 points and matched his career high with 14 boards to register his third double-double of the season.
 
Zach Crisler also corralled seven rebounds and split the team high in assists and he and Caleb Green each distributed three helpers.
 
Marist's Ricardo Wright led all players as one of four Red Foxes in double figures with 17 points.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
After the Jan. 7 meeting in Bridgeport, Fairfield owns a 39-27 lead in an all-time series that dates back to Jan. 23, 1984 -- exactly 38 years prior to Sunday's 67th meeting. Since Marist joined the MAAC beginning in the 1997-98 campaign, the Stags hold a 30-22 lead in the series.
 
The clubs have met three times in the MAAC Championship, with Marist earning an overtime win in 1998 and the Stags picking up postseason victories over the Red Foxes in 2011 and on their way to an appearance in the championship game in 2018.
 
SECOND TIME AROUND
Last season, the Stags went 8-5 when seeing an opponent for the second (or third) time. In addition to the MAAC "back-to-backs" that comprised the majority of last season's slate, this record also includes the second non-conference meeting with Hartford and seeing Manhattan, Saint Peter's and Iona for a third time in the MAAC Championship.
 
WOJ BOMBS
Jake Wojcik set a new career high with eight three-pointers against Iona on Jan. 11. The Fairfield record is 10 treys, established by Landon Taliaferro as a part of a 34-point day in the upset win over Texas A&M in the 2019-20 season.
 
Two Stags have also knocked down nine triples in a game: Curtis Cobb en route to a program-record 46 points at Manhattan in 2017 and Mike Evanovich in the "Miracle at Mason" 27-point comeback win over George Mason in the 2010 CIT.
 
This season, Wojcik has drained a team-high 41 three-pointers shooting at a 36.6 percent clip. He has hit four or more triples in four of the last five games, and is shooting 43.4 percent (23-for-53) with 3.75 conversions per game from downtown against MAAC opponents.
 
THE MAAC IRON MAN
The Jan. 11 game against Iona was the 139th appearance as a Fairfield Stag for Jesus Cruz, breaking the program record held of 138 that he currently shares with Colin Nickerson. Cruz, who has never missed a game in his career dating back to 2017, is also the new MAAC record holder with his 141 appearances for the Stags and counting.
 
Taj Benning will take the court for the 131st time on Sunday. If he plays every game the rest of the way, he will likely finish second behind only Cruz in total games played in MAAC history.
 
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Supreme Cook's weekend against Marist (Jan. 7) and Siena (Jan. 9) made him the first Stag to post consecutive double-doubles since Jonathan Kasibabu had back-to-back double-doubles against Oakland (17 pts. 12 rebs.) and Old Dominion (13 pts., 15 rebs.) in the 2018-19 season.
 
Prior to Cook, the last Stag to register a double-double in consecutive MAAC games was Amadou Sidibe in against Rider (12 pts., 10 rebs.) and Quinnipiac (16 pts., 12 rebs.) during the 2016-17 campaign.
 
Cook has posted five double-doubles this season, including three in his last five appearances.
 
ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE NOTE
Cook's five total double-doubles this season are the most since Jonathan Kasibabu had six during the 2018-19 season. Other notable double-double performances in recent years include nine for Amadou Sidibe in 2016-17 and 11 for Rakim Sanders in the 2011-12 campaign.
 
PROTECT BALL, WIN GAME
Taking care of the basketball has proven vital in the Stags' success this season. Fairfield is averaging only 8.8 turnovers per game in its eight wins compared to 13.5 giveaways per game in its 10 losses.
 
UP NEXT
Sunday's game is the start of a three-game MAAC road swing. The trip also includes a clash at Rider on Friday, Jan. 28 and a return visit to Monmouth on Friday, Feb. 4.
 
The Stags will return to Webster Bank Arena for a six-game homestand beginning on Sunday, Feb. 6 against Siena.