THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball makes the annual early December dip into the MAAC portion of the schedule with a Wednesday, Dec. 4 visit from Rider. Opening tip-off at Leo D. Mahoney Arena is set for 7 p.m. with the Hall of Fame duo of Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis '79 calling the action for the Stags Sports Network on ESPN+.
PROMOTIONS
- Teddy Bear Toss at halftime benefiting Teddy Bears with Love
- Bears/stuffed animals will be going directly to children with compromised health, it is imperative that donations be new/with tags, and if possible, in their original packaging.
- For more information on the Teddy Bears with Love fundraiser visit the Fairfield Student Alumni Association page here.
- FYE 'Connect' Event: This game will be a 'Connect' event for all FYE students. Eligible students must have their event pass scanned to be credited for attending the match and supporting the Stags.
LAST TIME OUT
Fairfield erased an 11-point second half deficit, rallying to a 78-74 win over FDU on Sunday at Mahoney Arena. Eleven Stags scored in the victory, led by 20 points from
Jamie Bergens and a double-double for
Peyton Smith.
Bergens' 20 points were the spark behind a season-best 55 bench points for the Stags compared to 10 for the Knights. Five of Fairfield's top six scorers were in a reserve role as
Deon Perry and
Matt Curtis each added nine points off the bench,
Prophet Johnson had seven and
Birima Seck netted five.
For Smith, his double-double consisted of 16 points and a game-leading 10 rebounds. Johnson hauled in seven boards, including three from the offensive glass, as Fairfield claimed a 37-32 advantage on the glass.
Supplementing the Fairfield's scoring,
Noah Best and
Michael Rogan had three points apiece with the trio of
Braden Sparks,
Louis Bleechmore and
Kyle Jenkins each netting two.
Despite early foul shooting woes, the Stags made their last 12 free throws to finish at 21-for-29 (72.4%) to put the victory on ice.
Jo'el Emanuel led FDU with 16 points. Terrence Brown, who entered the day ranked eighth in the nation with 23.1 points per game, was limited to a season-low 12.
COACH CASEY ON THE FDU GAME"A big part of that win was that we stayed tough. The thing that we do best right now is that we fight, and if we just continue to fight, we'll also continue to make progress in other areas where we need to improve."
THE RIDER UNIVERSITY BRONCS
Rider is 4-4 thus far in the non-conference slate. The Broncs hold wins in four true road games, defeating San Diego, Coppin State, Navy and Bucknell. Rider has been on the short side at UCLA, Iowa and Villanova and, most recently, in their home opener against Delaware.Â
T.J. Weeks Jr. is the Broncs' leading scorer with 12.5 points per game, and Jay Alvarez also adds double figures with 11.1 points per outing. Weeks and Tariq Ingraham share the team lead with 5.6 rebounds per game apiece.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Fairfield's sweep of the Broncs last season increased the Stags' advantage to 39-36 in the all-time series. Since Rider joined the MAAC in the 1997-98 season, the Broncs hold a 29-27 advantage, including three postseason meetings. In those tournament games, Rider topped Fairfield in the 2005 MAAC Championship in Buffalo, while the Stags bested Rider in Springfield in 2012 and 2013.
The teams were previously league foes in the Tri-State Conference in the 1960s.
STARTING THE MAAC-TION
The Stags are 4-6 in their last 10 MAAC openers and 5-5 in their last 10 MAAC home openers, including a 2-3 mark when those two events are the same game.
THE BENCH MOB
Fairfield scored 55 bench points in Sunday's win over FDU. Five of the Stags' top six scorers were in a reserve role, including
Jamie Bergens with a game-best 20 points off the pine. All 13 scholarship players took the court for the Stags, with 11 contributing to Fairfield's 78 points. It was also the first game of the season in which all 13 were active.
The effort was one of 15 Division I vs. Division I games this season where a team scored 55 or more bench points. In addition, Sunday's game was one of just two in which the winning team netted 50+ bench points and more than 70% of its total points came from the bench. The other is a 81-61 win for Missouri over Lindenwood in which 64 of the Tigers' points came from their reserves.
ICING IT AT THE STRIPEÂ After a 9-for-17 start at the free throw line against FDU, the Stags connected on their last 12 charity tosses to help put away the 78-74 win. The span included
Jamie Bergens going 4-for-4 in the final 18 seconds as well as
Matt Curtis hitting all three tries after drawing a foul while shooting from downtown to put the Stags in front, 66-64, with four minutes remaining.
BUT YOU SHOULD STILL WATCH THE WHOLE GAMESunday's win was the first time in eight Fairfield games this season that the team leading at halftime did not go on to win the game. The Stags trailed FDU, 32-30, at the break before rallying to take a 78-74 win. Despite several games going down to the wire, the team holding the lead with an even 5:00 left remains a perfect 8-0.
BUZZER BEATERS
The Stags have scored at the first-half buzzer in three of their last four games.
Peyton Smith tipped in an offensive rebound at the horn against Drexel,
Deon Perry made a layup as time expired against Yale, and
Jamie Bergens hit a corner three-pointer just before the buzzer against FDU.
NEC STREAKFairfield has won six straight games against the Northeast Conference. The Stags defeated FDU on Dec. 1, knocked off Sacred Heart, FDU, Wagner and Le Moyne in the 2023-24 season and also beat the then-NEC Pioneers in the 2022-23 non-conference campaign.
The Stags will have one more chance to extend that streak this season when reigning NEC Regular Season Champion Central Connecticut State visits Mahoney Arena on Dec. 18.
UP NEXT
The Stags make the trek to The Mount for a MAAC road game on Sunday, Dec. 8. With the MAAC "Buffalo Trip" not a part of Fairfield's league schedule this season, this weekend's journey to Emmitsburg is the longest road trip remaining on the 2024-25 slate.
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