THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball concludes its three-game, season-opening road trip on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at the University of New Hampshire. Tip-off from Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham is scheduled for 7 p.m. with all of the action streaming live on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT
Fairfield University Men's Basketball went into halftime at Georgetown facing a 36-33 deficit this past Saturday at Capital One Arena. However, while the Stags stayed within reach of the Hoyas, they never drew even over the second 20 minutes as the hosts gradually pulled away to take a 69-57 victory.
 
Braden Sparks netted a new personal career high with 17 points, including three three-pointers, to lead the Fairfield offense. Sparks also corralled a team-leading eight rebounds. Jamie Bergens joined Sparks in double figures with 12 points.
 
Bergens netted nine of his 12 after halftime to keep the offense moving, but vaunted Georgetown rookie big man Thomas Sorber had 17 of his game-best 25 points to hold the Stags at bay as the Hoyas crept away with the 69-57 decision.
 
Prophet Johnson finished with seven points and six rebounds for the Stags, and Peyton Smith added seven points, five boards and four steals.
 
In addition to Sorber's 25 points, Jayden Epps had 12 points for the hosts and Micah Peavy filled out the statsheet with eight points, five rebounds, five assists and seven steals.

COACH CASEY ON THE GEORGETOWN GAME
"I thought we shot the ball fairly well and we took some positive steps defensively, but what I'm most proud of is the way that we fought. Of course, I'm disappointed that we lost, but I am happy with some of the progress that we made today, and now we need to use that as a springboard into the next one on Tuesday."

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDCATS
New Hampshire is yet to play a game decided by fewer than 29 points, as the Wildcats have lost to UMass (103-74) and #3 UConn (92-53) and earned a win over Division III UMass Boston (99-69). Anthoyn McComb III has paced UNH with 16.7 points per game, with Sami Pissis just behind him at 16.0 points per contest.

Coming off of a 16-15 campaign, New Hampshire was selected ninth of nine teams in the America East Preseason Poll. The Wildcats are in the midst of relplacing their top three scorers (and four of their top five) from last season, including America East Player of the Year Clarence Daniels and All-AE Third Teamer Ahmad Robinson.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Fairfield is 10-4 all-time against New Hampshire in a series that dates back to 1978, though the Wildcats have won the last two meetings. The Stags are 4-2 in the six prior meetings in the Granite State.

STAGS VS. NEW ENGLAND
The Stags are 166-184 all-time against the current Division I basketball programs in New England.

Fairfield has never lost to regional foes Dartmouth (4-0), Merrimack (4-0) and Sacred Heart (10-0). The only two current Division I teams in New England that the Stags have never defeated both reside in the Ocean State. Fairfield is 0-7 against Rhode Island and has never played Bryant, which joined the Division I ranks in 2008.

AN OFFENSIVE SPARK(S)
Braden Sparks' team-leading 17 points on Saturday at Georgetown marked a new Division I career high for the junior. His previous best was 15 points in a win over VMI as a student-athlete at Mercer two seasons ago.

Sparks' overall collegiate career high came last season at Indian Hills Community College when he poured in 27 points in the NJCAA Region XI Championship Game.

VISITING OLD FRIENDS
The Nov. 9 game at Ed Cooley's Georgetown Hoyas was the 14th time that Fairfield Men's Basketball met its former head coach as the leader of another program. 

Previously, the Stags met Cooley's Providence teams on five occasions (2011-23), played Mitch Buonaguro and the Siena Saints six times (2010-13), and hosted and defeated Paul Cormier's Dartmouth Big Green in the 2015-16 season.

UP NEXT
The Stags begin the home slate on Friday, Nov. 15 with a visit from John Jay College. Tip-off at Leo D. Mahoney Arena is slated for 7 p.m.