THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball is back on the road this Thursday, Jan. 23 for a classic MAAC matchup at Manhattan. Opening tip-off from Draddy Gymnasium in the Riverdale section of the Bronx is set for 7 p.m. with all of the action broadcast live on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT
Fairfield cut a 13-point deficit as low as four on multiple occasions on Saturday against Canisius. But the Stags were unable to climb all the way back as the visiting Golden Griffins left Leo D. Mahoney Arena with a 78-67 decision.
 
Just as in Thursday's win over Niagara, the Stags were led by four scorers in double figures. Jamie Bergens set the pace with 17 points followed by 16 for Prophet Johnson, who also grabbed a team-leading six rebounds.

Deon Perry had 12 points and Louis Bleechmore netted 10.
 
Supplementing the Fairfield scoring, Braden Sparks had eight points with two apiece from Kyle Jenkins and Isaac Munkadi.

Jenkins also pulled in five rebounds with Bleechmore and Seck each nabbing four as the Stags grabbed a 32-28 advantage on the glass.
 
The Griffs' duo of Paul McMillan IV and Tana Kopa accounted for 52 of Canisius's 78 points. McMillan, who entered the day as the MAAC's second leading scorer, matched his career best with 31 points. Kopa, who is the MAAC's top three-point shooter, improved his stake to that claim with 21 fueled by a 5-for-10 outing from downtown.
 
COACH CASEY ON THE CANISIUS GAME
"Credit to Canisius, they played well and made some tough shots. Playing a smaller lineup helped in the second half, but we still didn't get the stops we needed to come all the way back. We will continue to work on our defensive discipline at the end of the shot clock and playing smart and tough for that full 30 seconds."

THE MANHATTAN UNIVERSITY JASPERS
Manhattan played just one game last week, taking a 72-65 home win over Niagara on Jan. 18 to move to 8-8 on the season and 3-4 in the MAAC. The Jaspers also picked up conference victories over Saint Peter's and Rider while falling to Marist, Siena (in double overtime), The Mount and Merrimack. Manhattan is 4-3 at Draddy Gym this season.

Manhattan is the MAAC's highest scoring offense with 75.3 points per game but ranks 12th of 13 squads defensively with 77.0 points allowed per contest.

Individually, Will Sydnor ranks sixth in the MAAC with 15.0 points per game to top a list of five Jaspers averaging in double figures. Sydnor and Masiah Gilyard share the team high and rank sixth in the conference with 6.8 rebounds per game apiece.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Fairfield's two victories last season moved the all-time series to 60-56 in favor of the Jaspers dating back to 1954. The Stags' sweep was the first over Manhattan since 2019-20. Fairfield is vying for its first three-game winning streak against the Jaspers since 2017.

UP NEXT
Action returns to Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Saturday, Jan. 25 when Fairfield completes its first home-and-home of the 2024-25 MAAC slate with a 7 p.m. visit from Merrimack.