THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball concludes a two-game homestand on Tuesday evening when Drexel visits Leo D. Mahoney Arena at 7 p.m. The Hall of Fame duo of Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis '79 will be on the call for the Stags Sports Network on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT
The third season at Leo D. Mahoney Arena for Fairfield Men's Basketball had an emphatic opening on Friday evening with a 93-44 win over John Jay. Prophet Johnson had a career-high 25 points and tied his career best with 13 rebounds in the victory.

Johnson's 25 points came on 10-for-13 shooting from the field and a 5-for-7 day at the free throw line. In addition to rounding out the double-double with 13 points, Johnson distributed five assists and had three steals.
 
Peyton Smith joined Johnson in double figures with 14 points and helped control the glass with six rebounds. Louis Bleechmore added 13 points and filled out the statsheet with four boards, two blocks and three steals.
 
A total of 10 Stags contributed to Fairfield's 93 points, including Deon Perry with nine points. Braden Sparks and Jamie Bergens added six points apiece and Isaac Munkadi also had six for the second consecutive game.
 
Luke Davidson chipped in five points, including his first career three-pointer on his first career attempt from downtown, Noah Best notched five of his own and Birima Seck converted both of his attempts from the field to finish with four points.
 
COACH CASEY ON THE JOHN JAY GAME
"We stepped up our defense in the second half, and we were good offensively at times, but we still left some points on the board. This is a team that needs more time together to get to a point where we can execute for a full 40 minutes. But I was pleased with how hard we played, and we got something from everybody. So there were a lot of positives to take out of today."

THE DREXEL UNIVERSITY DRAGONS
Drexel is 2-2 on the season. The Dragons are yet to play a game outside of Philadelphia, hosting and defeating Georgian Court and Colgate, falling at Temple and dropping a home game to La Salle. Kobe MaGee leads three Dragons averaging in double figures with 17.3 points per game. Cole Hargrove is averaging a double-double with 12.3 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest.

The Dragons were picked 11th of 14 teams in the CAA Preseason Poll after posting a 20-12 overall record and a 13-5 league mark in 2023-24. Drexel is without their top five and seven of their top 10 scorers from that season, including current Stag Jamie Bergens and current starting center at Kentucky Amari Williams.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Fairfield is 6-3 all-time in a series that dates back to 1960. The nine matchups on the ledger have been defined by the Fairfield defense. The Stags ceded 65, 73 and 77 points in their three losses to Drexel while allowing 62 points or fewer in their six victories over the Dragons.

SWITCHING JERSEYS
Jamie Bergens will be the first Fairfield player to meet his former team as a Stag since Caleb Green started for Stags against Holy Cross on Dec. 8, 2021.

THE STAGS VS. THE COMMONWEALTH
Fairfield is 41-63 all-time against the current Division I teams in Pennsylvania. The Stags two most-played teams from the Commonwealth are former MAAC foe La Salle and long-time opponent Saint Joseph's.

Penn State (0-2) and Pitt (0-1) are the only Pennsylvania teams that the Stags have played but never beaten. Fairfield has never met Lafayette, Temple or Division I newcomer Mercyhurst.

MINUTES TO GO AROUND
Eleven Stags played between eight and 28 minutes in Friday's win over John Jay. In addition, Luke Davidson logged three minutes and the duo of Joe Ganton and Tanner Ostop both made their collegiate debuts down the stretch.

A total of 10 Stags contributed to Fairfield's season-high 93 points in the victory.

UP NEXT
The Stags head up I-95 for the Hall of Fame Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena. Fairfield challenges regional foes Yale and Vermont on Nov. 23-24.