THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball challenges visiting Manhattan for this time this season when the Jaspers come to Webster Bank Arena for a Wednesday matinee. Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis will call the action for the Stags Sports Network live on ESPN3 beginning at 1 p.m.
 

• 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 – 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 at noon.
• $5 Student Parking – Fairfield students with a StagCard can park in any of outdoor lots surrounding Webster Bank Arena for only $5 (cash only).
• 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
Taj Benning hit a layup at the buzzer to force overtime and Caleb Green sank the go-ahead jumper to beat the shot clock in the final seconds of the extra period to carry Fairfield to an 80-76 win over visiting Canisius on Monday night at Webster Bank Arena. Jesus Cruz netted 14 of his career-high 25 points in the second half and overtime to pace the Stags in their second straight MAAC home win.
 
In addition to Cruz's 25 – which included a career-best five three-pointers on six attempts – Benning scored 17 and Green finished with eight.
 
Supreme Cook's pivotal overtime bucket marked the last of his 10 points to go along with eight rebounds. The Stags were edged on the boards, 32-27, which the Griffs converted to a 16-10 lead in second-chance points.
 
Fairfield made up that difference in the turnover battle where, despite an uncharacteristic 14 giveaways to the Griffs' 12, the Stags were the more opportunistic squad with an 18-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
I'M ONLY SWEEPING
The back-to-back wins over Niagara and Canisius completed Fairfield's first two MAAC home-and-home sweeps of the 2021-22 season. Prior to this past weeend, the Stags hadn't swept a league series since 2019-20, when they bested both Canisius and Manhattan in both regular season encounters. The Stags have four more opportunities to sweep a MAAC foe remaining on the schedule: Manhattan (two games), Saint Peter's (two games) and Rider.
 
THE MANHATTAN COLLEGE JASPERS AT A GLANCE
Manhattan snapped a four-game losing streak this past Sunady with an 83-66 victory at Quinnipiac to improve to 12-11 overall and 5-9 in the MAAC. The Jaspers also own conference wins over Marist, Canisius and a sweep of Siena.
 
MAAC leading scorer Jose Perez paces Manhattan with 19.2 points per game. As a team, the Jaspers are averaging 72.1 points per contest -- good for third in the conference -- and rank last defensively with 72.6 points allowed per game.
 
LAST MEETING: FAIRFIELD 59, MANHATTAN 58 (OT) (3/9/21 in Atlantic City)
In the opening round of the 2021 MAAC Championship, the Stags overcame an Ethan Lasko buzzer beater to force overtime, outlasting Manhattan for a 59-58 decision. Jesus Cruz and Jake Wojcik led the offense with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Taj Benning neared a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
The 2021 postseason meeting gave the season series to the Stags, 2-1, and extended Fairfield's advantage in the all-time series to 57-53 dating back to 1954. The Jaspers are visiting Webster Bank Arena, where Fairfield has won 10 of 17 meetings in the series, for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.
 
SEE YOU (MUCH) LATER
The Stags have seen eight of their 10 MAAC opponents at least once, with both ends of the home-and-home series against Manhattan and Saint Peter's still on the slate. While Fairfield was originally set to host Manhattan on Dec. 31 -- a game that was moved to Feb. 16 -- the original schedule did not pit the Stags against SPU until the 16th game of the 20-game MAAC ledger on Feb. 18.
 
This scheduling quirk his has only happened once before in seasons with a 20-game MAAC slate (excluding the "back-to-back" schedule in 2020-21). In the 2014-15 campaign, Fairfield did not meet Niagara for the first time until the 17th MAAC game of the season.
 
COMEBACK KIDS
Monday's overtime win was the Stags' fifth victory this season after trailing in the second half. Fairfield also played from behind during the final 20 minutes in the wins over Sacred Heart, Stony Brook, Holy Cross and Marist. The overtime victory over Stony Brook featured the largest deficit that the Stags faced in an eventual win, trailing by 11 points in the second half. Monday's win over Canisius marked the latest that the Stags trailed in an eventual win as Fairfield was behind 72-70 when Taj Benning's layup went down as time expired in regulation.
 
ACCEPTING CHARITY
Monday's 17-of-18 showing at the free throw line against Canisius was Fairfield's best outing of the season at the charity stripe. The performance was the Stags' best (min. 10 attempts) since canning 21-of-22 free throws in the 2018 MAAC Championship Semifinal win over Quinnipiac.
 
JY IN OT
Fairfield is 6-3 in nine overtime games since Head Coach Jay Young took the helm of the Stags beginning in the 2019-20 season. The Stags have played three overtime games this season. Fairfield hosted and defeated Stony Brook and Canisius in extra sessions and was on the short side of a 77-73 overtime loss at UMass on Dec. 19.
 
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 schedule, this record also includes the second non-conference meeting with Hartford as well as seeing Manhattan, Saint Peter's and Iona for a third time in the MAAC Championship.
 
The Stags are 3-3 in return games this year, defeating Marist, Niagara and Canisius in their second meeting while falling in the series finale against Monmouth, Siena and Quinnipiac.
 
UP NEXT
The Stags' stretch of six straight home games concludes this Friday on ESPNU with a visit from Saint Peter's. Opening tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.