FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball closes out a seven-game homestand at Leo D. Mahoney Arena with a Friday night visit from Niagara. The Stags and Purple Eagles tip off the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference clash at 7 p.m. with Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis calling the action for the Stags Sports Network on ESPN3.
 
LAST TIME OUT: SIENA 70, FAIRFIELD 61
After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half and by 16 with 13:09 left in the second period, Fairfield climbed back to within two points of visiting Siena, 63-61, with 2:15 remaining on Sunday at Mahoney Arena. However, the Stags would not score again as the Saints pulled away to escape with a 70-61 decision. TJ Long led all scorers with 19 points.
 
Two days after scoring 19 of a career-high 25 in the second half of a win over Marist, Long scored 17 of his 19 after the break, knocking down five three-pointers with Fairfield on the comeback trail. Conversely, Allan Jeanne-Rose had 12 of his 15 before the intermission, keeping the Stags afloat while the offense struggled to find its stride.
 
Supreme Cook was the third Stags in double figures with 10 points along with five rebounds. Jeanne-Rose and Caleb Field were the Stags' leaders on the glass with eight caroms apiece as Fairfield was edged, 35-34, on the boards.
 
A FISTFUL OF TRIPLES
With five three-pointers in each of the last two games, TJ Long is the first Stag to hit five from distance in back-to-back games since Landon Taliaferro sank eight three-pointers against Rider followed by and five treys at Iona in January of 2019. Taliaferro is also the last Stag to knock down five or more from deep in three straight games, doing so against LIU (5), Wagner (6) and Longwood (5) earlier in the 2018-19 campaign.
 
THE NIAGARA UNIVERSITY PURPLE EAGLES
Niagara comes to Mahoney Arena riding a three game winning streak, including consecutive conference wins over Mount St. Mary's, 67-55, and Rider, 61-59, to improve to 8-5 overall and 3-1 in the MAAC. The Purple Eagles lost their first league outing to Iona and then defeated Quinnipiac in Hamden in addition to their home wins over the Mount and the Broncs.
 
Noah Thomasson and Aaron Gray are the two Purple Eagles averaging double figures with 17.6 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. Thomasson is coming off a 20-point game in the win over Rider, staking his claim as the current MAAC scoring leader.
 
LAST MEETING
Thirteen three-pointers and the best defensive effort in a conference game of the season sparked a 73-53 victory for Fairfield against visiting Niagara on Feb. 12, 2022 at Webster Bank Arena. Jesus Cruz led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points on his 23rd birthday.
 
Led by a career-high four three-pointers from Cruz, the Stags shot 13-for-24 from distance – their best performance this season at 54.2 percent and matching their most made triples against a Division I foe in 2021-22. Caleb Green and Chris Maidoh joined Cruz in double figures with 10 points apiece as all nine Stags to play more than three minutes contributed to the scoring.
 
Green also facilitated much of the offense with eight assists – his single-game high as a Stag – in addition to his 10 points.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
The home-and-home sweep for the Stags last winter trimmed the Purple Eagles' lead in the all-time series to 45-37 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.
 
In addition to last season, the Stags 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.
 
Niagara swept the series in 2020-21, with the meetings held on consecutive days and both at the Gallagher Center due to Covid-19 scheduling. The Purple Eagles have not swept a true "home-and-home" from the Stags since the 2014-15 campaign.
 
As the majority of home meetings were held in Bridgeport over the past two decades, Niagara has not won a game on the Fairfield campus since 1999, with the Stags winning the last three encounters contested at Alumni Hall.
 
SUPREME'S COURT
After averaging 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in two games last week, Supreme Cook is averaging a team-high 12.9 points per game and slots second in the MAAC with 8.2 boards per contest.  Cook is also eighth in the MAAC in field goal percentage (.546) and 14th in free throw percentage (.663). He tops the MAAC in free throws made and attempted, ranking 26th nationally with 95 tosses from the charity stripe. Cook's three double-doubles are one behind Iona's Nelly Junior Joseph for the conference lead.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Friday's game will be a meeting of the MAAC's two toughest defenses. Both the Stags and Purple Eagles are ceding just 64.4 points per game. Fairfield holds the slim edge for the conference lead, allowing 0.027 points per game fewer than Niagara.
 
UP NEXT
The Stags hit the road for the first time since Dec. 1, visiting projected MAAC favorite Iona on Friday, Jan. 13 for a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Hynes Center.
 
Fairfield also visits Saint Peter's on Sunday, Jan. 15 before returning to Mahoney Arena to host Canisius on Friday, Jan. 20.