FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball makes its 2022-23 ESPNU debut on Friday night in Hamden as the Stags visit Quinnipiac for Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action. Opening tip is slated for 7:05 PM with Steve Lenox and Mark Adams on the call.
 
LAST TIME OUT: RIDER 78, FAIRFIELD 69 (OT)
A putback at the buzzer in regulation for Rider's Allen Powell forced overtime this past Sunday afternoon at Leo D. Mahoney Arena, and the visiting Broncs outlasted Fairfield in the extra session to escape with a 78-69 decision. Supreme Cook led the Stags with 16 points and a game-best 10 rebounds.
 
Cook's double-double was his sixth of the season as he not 7-for-9 from the floor on his way to 16 points. TJ Long accounted for 13 of the Stags' 17 bench points, knocking down three of the Fairfield's six three-pointers. Jalen Leach had 12 and Allan Jeanne-Rose was the fourth Stag in double figures with 10. Cook was also the top facilitator for the offense with three assists out of the post.
 
In addition to Cook's 10 rebounds, Leach hauled in five as the Stags were outpaced on the boards, 41-30. Rider had 18 second-chance points in the contest, contributing toward their 46 points in the paint.
 
Fairfield won the turnover battle with only six giveaways to the Broncs' 12. Cook had two steals as a part of that effort.
 
FOR THE FIRST TIME, FOR THE LAST TIME
Quinnipiac is the only MAAC team that Fairfield has not yet played this season. In addition to completing the first leg of the double round robin, the Stags have played both ends of the home-and-home with Saint Peter's and Siena on their way to a 6-5 league record.
 
THE QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS
Quinnipiac rallied for a 72-66 win over Marist on Tuesday evening to get back in the win column after seeing its six-game winning streak snapped at Iona on Sunday. The Bobcats are currently 16-6 overall and 7-4 in the MAAC.
 
Dezi Jones and Matt Balanc pace Quinnipiac in scoring with 11.9 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. Ike Nweke also averages double figures with 10.5 points per outing. Paul Otieno leads the effort on the boards with 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
The Bobcats rank second in the MAAC in scoring at 72.8 points per game and are seventh defensively, conceding 66.9 points per contest.
 
LAST MEETING
Fairfield fell behind early against visiting Quinnipiac on Feb. 9 at Webster Bank Arena, facing a double-digit deficit at the midpoint of the first half. And while the Stags would put together several spurts to keep the contest in reach, they ultimately played from behind the rest of the way as the Bobcats left Bridgeport with a 69-60 decision. Supreme Cook led Fairfield from the post with 10 points and a career-best 16 rebounds.
 
The Stags shot 33.3 percent from the field (22-for-66) with a 30.4 percent (7-for-23) success rate from downtown and a 60 percent (9-for-15) clip from the free throw line.
 
Cook accounted for eight of Fairfield's 20 offensive boards en route to his sixth double-double of the season. His 16 total caroms are the most by a Stag since Amadou Sidibe pulled down 19 in a win over Army on Nov. 26, 2016.
 
The 20 rebounds form the offensive glass for the Stags – the most since also nabbing 20 at Niagara during the 2019-20 season – led the Stags to a 40-37 rebounding advantage.
 
The scoring was paced by TJ Long, who shot 3-for-4 from three-point range off the bench on his way to scoring 11 of the Stags' 26 bench points.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
A recent 4-0 run in the all-time series has Quinnipiac on top, 12-7, in the 19 all-time meetings between the two programs. The clubs met once as non-conference foes at the 2011 Connecticut 6 -- a 72-60 Fairfield victory in Uncasville. The Stags and Bobcats also clashed in the semifinal round of the 2018 MAAC Championship with Fairfield taking a 74-64 decision to advance to the finals.
 
CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Eight of the 19 all-time meetings between Fairfield and Quinnipiac have been decided by one possession and/or in overtime. Seven of those encounters featured either a game-winning or game-tying basket within the final five seconds of regulation.
 
In total, the 19 games in the series between the Connecticut foes have been decided by an average of just 6.3 points.
 
UP NEXT
The Stags return to a sold-out Leo D. Mahoney Arena to host Iona on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. The Gaels, who will host Mount St. Mary's on Friday, are currently 14-7 overall and 7-3 in the MAAC.