FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball is back on the road for a trip to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on Friday, Feb. 17, looking to complete the season sweep of Marist. Opening tip from McCann Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: FAIRFIELD 76, MOUNT ST. MARY'S 72
Fairfield scored the final seven points of regulation, capped by two TJ Long free throws with 48 seconds to play, to force overtime with visiting Mount St. Mary's on Sunday at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. The Stags outscored the Mount, 12-8, in the extra session to come away with a 76-72 victory.
 
Long's four points at the close of regulation capped a 21-point day for the sophomore, who knocked down two three-pointers and shot 9-for-9 from the free throw line as a part of scoring effort. Caleb Fields and Supreme Cook added 14 points apiece, with Cook also corralling a game-best 14 rebounds to complete a double-double. Allan Jeanne-Rose was the fourth Stag in double figures with 12 points in the victory.
 
Rounding out the scoring, Jalen Leach scored seven points – highlighted by four in overtime – and the duo of James Johns Jr. and Zach Crisler added four points apiece.
 
Cook's 14 rebounds led the Stag to a 39-33 advantage on the glass.
 
SECOND TIME AROUND
The Stags are 3-2 this season when seeing an opponent for the second time, defeating The Mount, Saint Peter's and Siena while falling to Iona and Rider.
 
Fairfield went 6-6 in return games last year - 5-5 during the MAAC regular season and 1-1 in Atlantic City. Those six wins include two "payback" victories over opponents who had earned a result over Fairfield earlier in the campaign.
 
THE MARIST COLLEGE RED FOXES
Back-to-back road losses have the Red Foxes at 8-16 overall and 4-11 in the MAAC entering this weekend. Marist's conference victories are comprised of a sweep of the Buffalo trip as well as home wins over the Mount and Canisius.
 
Patrick Gardner netted 25 points this past Sunday and now leads Marist – and shares the MAAC lead with Niagara's Noah Thomasson – at 18.9 points per game. Gardner is shooting .499 from the floor, .336 from distance and .707 from the stripe. He is also Marist's top rebounder, ranking seventh in the MAAC with 6.5 boards per outing.
 
As a team, Marist is 10th in the MAAC in scoring with 62.4 points per game and rates eighth defensively with 66.6 points per contest allowed.
 
LAST MEETING
TJ Long set a new career high with 25 points to lead Fairfield to a 73-54 win over visiting Marist on Dec. 30 at Mahoney Arena. Supreme Cook added 15 points and eight rebounds in the league victory.
 
Long's 25 points – besting his 23 scored in last season's home win over Rider – included five of the Stags' nine three-pointers. He scored 19 in the second half as the Stags grew their lead as large as 29 points over the Red Foxes.
 
For Cook, seven of his 15 points came at the free throw line as he shot 7-for-10 on charity tosses.
 
The Stags' defensive performance was bolstered by 34 points off 20 Marist turnovers. That number included 11 Fairfield steals, many of which factored into the Stags' 15 fast break points. Long and Caleb Fields had three swipes apiece.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
After this December's win at Mahoney Arena, Fairfield owns a 41-27 lead in an all-time series that dates back to Jan. 23, 1984. The Stags and Red Foxes have split the series in each of the last three seasons. Fairfield is eying its first season sweep since 2018-19; Marist has not swept the home-and-home since the 2006-07 campaign.
 
Since Marist joined the MAAC beginning in the 1997-98 campaign, the Stags hold a 32-22 lead in the series.
 
PUTTING IN A SHIFT
Caleb Fields was on the court for 43:26 in Sunday's win over The Mount -- all but 94 seconds of the overtime triumph. His effort was the most minutes played in a game by a Stag since Jake Wojcik and Taj Benning both played all 45 minutes of Fairfield's overtime win over Manhattan in the 2021 MAAC Championship First Round.
 
On the season, Fields leads the MAAC and ranks 27th nationally, playing an average of 36:08 per game.
 
ON LOCKDOWN
Fairfield has ceded 60 points or fewer in 12 games this season, posting a record of 9-3 in those outings. The Stags currently ranks second in the MAAC and ranks 52nd nationally with 64.8 points per game allowed. Against MAAC opponents, Fairfield also ranks second in the league (behind Siena) with 63.5 points allowed per contest.
 
TWO AT A TIME
The Stags lead the MAAC and are 10th in the nation, holding opponents to a 28.6 shooting percentage from three-point range. Conference foes are shooting just 25.4 percent from distance against the Stags. No MAAC team has made more than seven three-pointers against the Fairfield defense, including a 1-for-13 showing by Marist and a 3-for-17 clip from Canisius.
 
The seven made treys came in the Jan. 26 win at Mount St. Mary's, with the Mount needing 21 attempts to convert their seven triples.
 
UP NEXT
The Stags return to Mahoney Arena to host Manhattan on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. The Jaspers, who will visit Iona on Friday, are 9-14 overall and 7-7 in the MAAC entering the weekend.