FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Men's Basketball tips off at the 2023 MAAC Championship at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall on Tuesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. The seventh-seeded Stags will meet 10th-seeded Saint Peter's in a First Round game, with the winner advancing to play second-seeded Rider in a Wednesday night Quarterfinal.
 
LAST TIME OUT: FAIRFIELD 92, QUINNIPIAC 82
Supreme Cook scored a career-high 26 points and Caleb Fields knocked down five three-pointers en route to 21 as Fairfield defeated visiting Quinnipiac, 92-82, on Senior Night at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. Allan Jeanne-Rose added 18 points and nine rebounds to help lock up the win before a raucous crowd of 2,748 fans.
 
The Stags' 92 points are the most for Fairfield against a Division I opponent since a 102-98 win over the Bobcats in double overtime on Feb. 17, 2018 – the game in which Tyler Nelson '18 broke the program's all-time scoring record. The last time Fairfield accomplished the feat in regulation was earlier in that campaign, a 104-85 win over Niagara on Jan. 20, 2018.
 
In addition to a season best in points, the Stags shot a season-high .552 from the field (32-for-58).
 
Cook's 26 points were on 12-of-15 shooting from the floor. Fields' 21 points were highlighted by 5-for-8 shooting from distance to go along with three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jeanne-Rose neared a double-double with 18 points and a pair of career highs with nine rebounds and five assists. He was 3-for-4 from the field and 12-for-14 from the free throw line. TJ Long was the fourth Stag in double figures with 10 points.
 
The Stags won the rebounding battle, 33-28, and committed only nine turnovers while forcing 12 Bobcat miscues.
 
THE SAINT PETER'S UNIVERSITY PEACOCKS
Saint Peter's comes to Atlantic City as winner of two of its last three games, landing the 10th seed in the tournament at 7-13 in the league as a part of a 12-17 overall mark.
 
Isiah Dasher leads Saint Peter's and ranks 13th in the MAAC with 13.4 points per game, while Juju Murray contributes 11.7 points per game. Corey Washington is the Peacocks' leading rebounder, posting just 4.9 boards per game, though SPU has used a team effort on the glass to post a +3.1 rebounding margin.
 
The Peacocks rank last in the MAAC offensively with 61.7 points per game but are the conference's top defensive unit, allowing 65.5 points per contest.
 
LAST MEETING
Fairfield ceded just 21 second-half points, turning a seven-point deficit at the half into a 56-52 victory on Jan. 15 at Saint Peter's. Jake Wojcik scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half.
 
Along with Wojcik's 17 points, Supreme Cook posted 12 points and eight rebounds and Allan Jeanne-Rose filled out every column of the statsheet with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and four blocks.
 
Cook's eight rebounds helped buoy the Stags on the boards as Saint Peter's hauled in 29 offensive boards and gained an overall 42-29 advantage on the glass. The Peacocks managed just 10 second chance points from their 29 offensive rips.
 
SPU attempted 76 field goals to the Stags' 37. However, Fairfield made the most of its opportunities, shooting 51.4% (19-37) from the field and also shot 82.4% (14-17) from the free throw line. Defensively, the Stags limited Saint Peter's to 27.6% shooting (21-76) from the floor and 12.5% (3-24) from distance. Saint Peter's was led by 13 points from Isiah Dasher and 12 by Jayden Saddler.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
In 127 meetings with their most frequent opponent in program history, Saint Peter's holds a 64-63 edge over the Stags in the all-time series.  This season, Fairfield gained its first season sweep of the Peacocks since 2012-13, when the Stags won both regular season meetings as well as a MAAC Tournament encounter.
 
THE THRICE IS RIGHT
Including last season's win against Canisius, the Stags have played a team in the MAAC Championship that they swept during the regular season on 18 occasions and are 12-6 in those contests.
 
On the flip side, Fairfield hast not defeated a team in the third meeting that swept them in the regular season since topping Saint Peter's in the 2016 first round after losing a pair to the Peacocks, including the regular season finale in Jersey City.
 
The Stags have been on both sides of the "tough to beat a team three times" adage during a pair of their title runs. In 1986, Fairfield swept Manhattan, Saint Peter's and Holy Cross in the regular season and completed the trifecta against all three foes at the Meadowlands en route to the MAAC Championship. Eleven years later, Fairfield was swept in the regular season by Iona, Saint Peter's and Canisius, but avenged all three losses to claim the 1997 conference crown.
 
BACK-TO-BACK BUSTERS
Fairfield is looking to knock off the defending MAAC Champion in the conference tournament for the first time since the third-seeded Stags downed sixth-seeded Manhattan in the quarterfinals of the 2005 edition of the MAAC Championship in Buffalo.
 
In their meetings with the reigning champs since then, the Stags lost to Siena in 2009 and 2010 and Iona in 2018 – all on their way to a repeat MAAC Title – and were also on the short side against defending champion Niagara in 2006.
 
SUPREME COOK: ALL-MAAC THIRD TEAM
Supreme Cook has been named to the All-MAAC Third Team, as voted upon by the league's head coaches. Cook leads the Stags with 13.3 points per game and ranks third in the conference with a team-best 8.5 rebounds per contest.
 
Cook is Fairfield's first All-MAAC honoree since Tyler Nelson was tabbed for the All-MAAC First Team in 2017-18. This season, Cook and Marist's Patrick Gardner – a Second Team pick – are the only two MAAC players to lead their respective teams in both points and rebounds.
 
Cook bolstered his 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game with eight double-doubles, the second-most in the MAAC this season. He also ranks fifth in the MAAC in field goal percentage (.549) and slots second in both free throws made (104) and attempted (165).
 
THE TWO POSSESSION LEAGUE
Coach Young has referred to the MAAC as the "ultimate two-possession league." This season, the Stags had nine of their 20 MAAC games decided by two possessions or in overtime, including six determined by just one possession (or in OT). Of the 11 games settled by more than two possessions and in regulation, seven of them were within six points during the final three minutes.
 
MICRO LEADS TO MACRO
With the plethora of close games, it's no surprise that the league standings were among the closest in the era of the 20-game schedule.  The Stags secured the seventh seed at 9-11, but finished only two wins behind third-seed Quinnipiac and only two wins ahead of 10th-seeded Saint Peter's.
 
While the top seed has traditionally separated itself with three losses or fewer, Rider's seven losses are the most by the #2 seed in seven seasons of the 20-game conference schedule.
 
TWO AT A TIME
Supreme Cook's 26 points against Quinnipiac on Thursday are the most by Stag without converting a three-pointer since Tyler Nelson scored 30 points in the 2017-18 season-opening win over Penn, despite an 0-for-4 day from downtown by the most prolific scorer and three-point shooter in program history.
 
Cook is the first Stag to score 26 or more points without even attempting a triple since Anthony Johnson did so three times in his senior season of 2009-10 -- most recently scored 28 in a Feb. 26 win over Iona and netting 27 without a three-point attempt in wins over Manhattan on Jan. 10 and Rider on Feb. 12 of that season.