THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball opens the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off on Saturday, Nov. 23 against in-state foe Yale. Opening tip-off from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville is slated for 2:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
Fairfield erased a 13-point second half deficit to take the lead over visiting Drexel with 6:17 to go on Tuesday at Mahoney Arena, but the Dragons ended the game on an 8-2 run to take a 67-61 decision. Louis Bleechmore scored 11 of his 12 points and Prophet Johnson had 10 of his dozen after the intermission to spark the Fairfield rally.
 
Fairfield shot 16-for-35 (45.7%) from the field and 5-for-13 (38.5%) from three-point range after halftime to rack up 40 points after managing just 21 points on 8-for-32 shooting in the opening frame. The Stags trailed by as many as 16 points in the first frame and Drexel held a double-digit lead until the 13:19 mark of the second half. The Stags finally pulled in front with a 9-2 run as a trey for Bleechmore take a 51-49 lead with 8:16 left.

After an Isaac Munkadi added a rebound and lay-in to knotted the game for what proved to be the final time at 59-59 with under two minutes to go, the next four points went to Yame Butler for the Dragons to open up a two-possession advantage. Johnson responded with a putback for the last of Fairfield's 15 second-chance points, but Fairfield did not score again and Drexel went 4-for-4 from the stripe in the final seconds to ice a 67-61 final.
 
In addition to his 12 points, Johnson filled out his statline with team highs of nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. Braden Sparks added eight points and three assists and Don Perry also finished with eight points to go along with four boards from the perimeter.
 
COACH CASEY ON THE DREXEL GAME
"We played hard; I love this team's fight. It came down to a few shots, a few free throws and a few plays on the defensive end. But we had a very good second half, and the next step is to turn that into a full 40-minute performance."

THE YALE UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS
Yale comes to Mohegan Sun with a 3-3 overall record, most recently claiming an 86-64 win at Stony Brook on Wednesday The Bulldogs also won by more than 20 points in their season opener against Quinnipiac (88-62) and against Division III Emerson (100-46). Yale's losses have all come away from Payne Whitney Gymnasium at UIC (79-91), Purdue (84-92) and Minnesota (56-59).

The Elis are led in the early stages of 2024-25 by 20.7 points per game from All-Ivy sharpshooter John Poulakidas.

Last season, Yale won the Ancient Eight and upset Auburn to advance to the NCAA Championship Second Round. The Bulldogs finished at 23-10 with an 11-3 Ivy League tally.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Including last season's win in New Haven, the Stags are 14-11 all-time against Yale in a series that dates back to 1977. The ledger includes one postseason clash - a 68-56 win for the Stags at Webster Bank Arena in the 2012 CIT First Round.

Nine of the all-time meetings in the series have been decided by one possession and/or in overtime, with Fairfield holding a 5-4 edge in those contests.

NEUTRAL NUTMEG
The last time Fairfield played a fellow Connecticut team in a game played in the state of Connecticut but on neither team's home court was also against Yale in the final playing of the Connecticut 6 Classic on Nov. 13, 2015 at CCSU's Detrick Gymnasium in New Britain.

STIFF COMPETITION
With Yale and Vermont on the docket, Fairfield will be playing a pair of 2024 NCAA Tournament teams in back-to-back games. The Stags last challenged consecutive teams who competed in the prior season's NCAA Tournament in the 2018-19 season when they opened the year against the trio of Purdue, Bucknell and LIU.

STAGS VS. NEW ENGLAND
The Stags are 166-185 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.

UP NEXT
After Sunday's clash with Vermont, the Stags make it a total of six straight games in Connecticut when they return to Mahoney Arena to host FDU on Sunday, Dec. 1 and welcome Rider to kickoff MAAC play on Wednesday, Dec. 4.