FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After opening the 2022-23 season with eight straight games away from home, Fairfield University Men's Basketball will make its long-awaited debut at the Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Saturday, Dec. 3 against visiting Saint Peter's. Opening tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. with Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis calling the action on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT: FAIRFIELD 53, MANHATTAN 56
TJ Long knocked down a three-pointer with 3:36 remaining to tie Fairfield with host Manhattan at 51-51 on Thursday at Draddy Gymnasium. But the Jaspers were the squad to emerge from the deadlock, holding off the Stags to claim a 56-53 decision.
Caleb Fields led the Stags with 12 points, while
Jalen Leach netted 11 and hauled in six rebounds.
Allan Jeanne-Rose was just short of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.
Supreme Cook led the effort on the glass with a game-high 11 boards to along go with eight points.
The Stags pulled down 22 offensive rebounds – which led to 20 second-chance points – marking the most offensive boards since Jan. 4, 2010 when Fairfield also collected 22 caroms for their own glass at Niagara. In tonight's game, the Stags finished with 44 boards compared to 29 for the Jaspers.
WE'VE MISSED YOU
The Stags last played on campus AND in front of fans on March 1, 2020, which will be a span of 1,004 days as of Saturday night's opening tip-off at Mahoney Arena.
Fairfield played the entirety of the 2020-21 season on campus without fans due to Covid-19 protocols and played all of 2021-22 at Webster Bank Arena (now Total Mortgage Arena) in Bridgeport during the construction of Mahoney Arena.
THE SAINT PETER'S UNIVERSITY PEACOCKS
Saint Peter's comes to Fairfield with a record of 4-3 and stands at 0-1 in the MAAC after dropping a 73-58 decision to conference newcomer Mount St. Mary's on Thursday in Jersey City. The Peacocks have played only two road games thus far, falling to Seton Hall and St. Francis Brooklyn while earning home wins over NJIT, Bucknell, FDU and Division III SUNY Old Westbury.
Jaylen Murray and Isiah Dasher - Saint Peter's top two returners from last season - are the Peacocks' top double-digit scorers this campaign averaging 14.7 and 10.0 points per outing, respectively. Latrell Reid leads the rebounding effort with 5.9 boards per game as SPU has outworked its opponents on the glass by a +6.6 rebounding margin.
The Peacocks were tabbed for a tie for eighth place in the MAAC Preseason Poll after Head Coach Shaheen Holloway took the head job at Seton Hall while their top six (and eight of their top 10) scorers from their 2022 MAAC Championship and March Madness run all moved on via the transfer portal or graduation.
ALL-TIME SERIES
In 125 meetings with their most frequent opponent in program history, Saint Peter's holds a 64-61 edge over the Stags in the all-time series.
Last season's three wins by the Peacocks en route to their historic March Madness run marked the first time (excluding 2017-18, when the teams only played once) that both squads did not earn at least one victory in the series since the "Desi Washington Year" when the SPU guard beat the Stags in the closing seconds in all three meetings in 2013-14.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Stags are among the last teams in the nation to tip-off in front of a friendly crowd when they make their debut at the new on-campus Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Saturday
Only three Division I teams will play their home opener later than Fairfield's Dec. 3 game. South Carolina State plays its first home contest on Dec. 13 after 11 road games, Alcorn State begins the home slate on Jan. 2 after 13 games away from home, and Jackson State will play 14 straight road games before beginning its home schedule on Jan. 7 as the last Division I squad to host a regular season game in 2022-23.
Gardner Webb and Alabama State will also play their home openers on Dec. 3, tipping off in the afternoon prior to Fairfield's 7 p.m. start.
MEET THE ELITE
Saturday's game marks the first time that the Stags will play an Elite Eight team from the season prior since challenging defending National Champion Louisville, led by current Iona head coach Rick Pitino, in the 2013-14 campaign. With the Cardinals' tournament run from that season having since been vacated by the NCAA committee on infractions, Fairfield last "officially" played an Elite Eight team from the season prior in 2011-12 when they met defending National Champion UConn.
SECOND CHANCE U.
Fairfield grabbed 22 offensive rebounds on Thursday at Manhattan, the most since also collecting 22 from their own glass at Niagara on Jan. 4, 2010. Two days earlier, that Stags' team hauled in 27 offensive boards in a road triumph at Canisius.
UP NEXT
The Stags continue their eight-game homestand and return to non-conference action on Wednesday, Dec. 7 for a 7 p.m. visit from crosstown rival Sacred Heart.
