THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball is back on the road to cap its first traditional MAAC "Friday-Sunday" on the season with a visit to Marist. Opening tip-off from McCann Arena is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 12 with Dean Darling and Steve Eggink calling the action on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT
Deon Perry four free throws in the final 17 seconds capped a season-best 22 points for the junior and sealed a 68-64 win for Fairfield over visiting Iona on Friday at Mahoney Arena. Perry's final buckets also brought his career total to an even 1,000 points.

The Stags' defense limited Iona to 64 points on 37.3% shooting from the field and 22.2% shooting from three-point range while forcing 17 turnovers – all stats that mark team bests against a MAAC opponent thus far in 2024-25.
 
Offensively, Perry's 22 points came on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. He was true on both of his three-point attempts and went 6-for-6 from the stripe. Fourteen of his game-high output came in the second half. Perry – the Patriot League's leading scorer last season – scored 878 points in two seasons at Loyola Maryland and has netted 122 thus far in his first campaign as a Stag to reach an even 1,000 points and counting.
 
Also netting double figures was Michael Rogan with 11 points. Rogan, who entered the starting lineup for the first time this season, went 3-for-5 from three-point range en route to his 11 points. Braden Sparks had 10 points and a team-leading seven rebounds.
 
As a unit, the Stags were just shy of 50% from the floor at 23-for-48 (47.9%). Fairfield shot 6-for-19 (31.6%) from downtown and 16-for-19 (84.2%) from the charity stripe.
 
COACH CASEY ON THE IONA GAME
"That was our most complete defensive game of the season. And it wasn't a new scheme or doing anything different. We were tough and we executed and that's what drove us to a win tonight."

THE MARIST COLLEGE RED FOXES
Idle on Friday night, Marist heads into Sunday with a record of 11-2 overall and 4-0 in the MAAC. The Red Foxes are one of two remaining MAAC unbeatens (Merrimack, 4-0) and are also 7-0 at McCann Arena.

Josh Pascarelli ranks third in the MAAC with 17.3 points per game, followed by 12.8 points per outing by Elijah Lewis. The Red Foxes are the conference's most efficient offense shooting 45.5% from the field.

As expected from a John Dunne team, Marist also boasts a stingy defense, conceding a MAAC-low 65.9 points per game.

NET NOTES (through games played Jan. 10)
Marist ranks third in the MAAC in the most recent NET at #197. All 13 of the Red Foxes' games to date have been within Quad 4. Marist's best victory by the numbers is its most recent, a Jan. 5 home win over Quinnipiac (#196). The Foxes' best non-conference win is also their best road victory, a 79-72 decision at Richmond (#242) on Nov. 9.

Merrimack continues to boast the best NET in the MAAC at #188 bolstered by the league's only Quad 2 non-conference win - a 72-68 victory at #121 Troy.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The Stags and Red Foxes split the season series in 2023-24 with each team winning on its home court. Fairfield picked up the all-important "rubber match" in the series last March, earning a 65-61 win in Atlantic City to advance to the MAAC Championship Game and run its lead in the all-time series to 44-28.

Fairfield has won five of the last six meetings overall and had won three straight in Poughkeepsie prior to Marist's victory on its home court last season.

NAME GAMES
The 73rd meeting between Fairfield University and Marist College will be the last. When the teams convene at Mahoney Arena on Feb. 6, the Red Foxes will take the court representing "Marist University."

STAYING CLOSE TO HOME
Due to the unbalanced MAAC schedule this year, Fairfield will not make "The Buffalo Trip" to Canisius and Niagara. With the Dec. 8 trek to The Mount and the Jan. 3 journey to Merrimack in the rearview mirror, Fairfield makes only six trips out of Connecticut for the rest of the regular season. Visits to Rider (approx. 115 miles) and Siena (approx. 140 miles) are the only remaining regular season games that will be played more than 100 miles away from campus.

GRAND COMPANY
Deon Perry's season-best 22 points brought him to an even 1,000 in his collegiate career. The Patriot League's leading scorer last season amassed 878 points in two campaigns at Loyola Maryland and has netted 122 points to date in his first season as a Stag.

In Fairfield's prior contest on Jan. 3 at Merrimack, Prophet Johnson eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone for his college career. Johnson currently sits at 1,009 points in three seasons of collegiate hoops.

Louis Bleechmore is poised to make it three in three games, as he enters the Marist game with 997 career points to his name.

Kyle Jenkins is already a 1,000 point scorer in his career, netting 1,042 points in four seasons at Lafayette. He has boosted his total to 1,069 points with his efforts this season.

GAELS GET LOCKED DOWN
In Friday's win over Iona, the Stags' defense limited the Gaels to 64 points on 37.3% shooting from the field and 22.2% shooting from three-point range while forcing 17 turnovers.

All of those stats represent Fairfield's best against a MAAC opponent thus far in 2024-25.

UP NEXT
The Stags will play back-to-back home games for the first time in the MAAC slate. Fairfield hosts Niagara on Thursday, Jan. 16 and welcomes Canisius to Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Saturday, Jan. 18.