THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball takes to the national stage when ESPNU comes to campus and to Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Thursday, Feb. 6. The Stags host current MAAC frontrunner Marist in the nationally-televised contest with the tandem of Robert Lee and Noah Savage calling all of the action beginning at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
Deon Perry scored 20 points to lead four Stags in double figures, but Fairfield was on the short side of an 87-64 score on Sunday afternoon at Iona. Peyton Smith added 14 points for the Stags, and the duo of Louis Bleechmore and Prophet Johnson had 10 points apiece.
 
Perry, who netted 23 points on Friday night at Quinnipiac, is the first Stag to post back-to-back 20-point games this season. The junior guard knocked down four three-pointers and was also 6-for-6 from the free throw line en route to reaching the 20-point mark for the third time this season. Perry also dished out four assists and had a pair of steals.
 
Smith was an efficient 6-for-8 from the post on his way to 14 points and also grabbed three rebounds with two blocked shots. Bleechmore and Johnson each had six rebounds in addition to their 10 points apiece. Jamie Bergens chipped in five points and stayed active with six assists and six boards.

As a unit, the Stags shot 18-for-49 (36.7%) from the field, 7-for-20 (35%) from three-point range and were strong from the free throw line at 21-for-25 (84%).
 
Iona was led by a gaudy statline of 25 points and 20 rebounds from Yaphet Moundi. DeJour Reaves poured in 19 points for the Gaels. Iona, which entered the day ranked third in the nation in offensive rebounding, collected 19 rips from the offensive glass and converted them into 18 second-chance points.
 
THE MARIST UNIVERSITY RED FOXES
Since dropping their first and only MAAC game of the season - a 64-57 home loss to Rider - the Marist Red Foxes have swept the Western New York trip and most recently picked up a home win over Siena to move to 16-3 on the campaign and 9-1 in the MAAC. Marist is off to its best start in program history with 16 wins in its first 19 outings of the season.

Marist is one of the top defensive teams in the nation, ranking 18th with a MAAC-best 63.7 points per game allowed. The Red Foxes are holding opponents to a .403 field goal percentage, also best in the MAAC.

Offensively, Marist is the most efficient shooting team in the conference with a .461 team field goal percentage en route to 68.6 points per game (6th in the MAAC).

ALL-TIME SERIES
Fairfield has won five of the last seven meetings overall and the only two all-time encounter at Leo D. Mahoney Arena, moving its lead in the all-time series to 44-29.

NAME GAMES
The 74th meeting between the Stags and Red Foxes is the first between Fairfield University and Marist University, with the latter officially adopting its new name at the end of January.

STAYING CLOSE TO HOME
Fairfield will play five of its last nine regular season games at Mahoney Arena, and six of the remaining nine within the state of Connecticut.

SEE 'U' AT MAHONEY ARENA
Fairfield will be making its second national television appearance of the season with tonight's game. The Nov. 9 contest at Georgetown aired nationally on FS2, and the Stags also made back-to-back regional TV appearances on SNY in games at Monmouth and Columbia in late December.

Tonight's game is the second time that Mahoney Arena has played host to an ESPNU telecast. The Stags welcomed Canisius last March, earning a 74-62 Senior Night win before a national television audience.
 
The Stags participated in three MAAC Wildcard games in 2023-24 as a part of six total appearances on the ESPN family of linear networks during that campaign.

20/20 VISION
Deon Perry dropped 23 points in Friday night's visit to Quinnipiac and added 20 on Sunday at Iona. He is the first Stag to net consecutive 20-point games since Caleb Fields capped his career with 32 points against Chicago State and 20 against Seattle in last season's CBI.

Perry is the first Stag to score 20 points in consecutive games off the bench since TJ Long's three straight in a reserve role in February of 2023.

    The Stags are back in action and back at Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Saturday, Feb. 8 to host Sacred Heart in the first-ever MAAC game between the crosstown clubs. Opening tip-off is set for 7 p.m.