RICHMOND, Va. – Eight days before the start of the 2025-26 season, Fairfield University Men's Basketball traveled to Richmond, Va. for a Sunday exhibition game at reigning Atlantic 10 Champion VCU. The Stags closed a 13-point halftime deficit to just five points in the second half before the host Rams pulled away to take an 82-64 decision.
 
"I loved how hard we competed today for a full 40 minutes. But there are certainly some things that we can improve upon," said Head Coach Chris Casey. "At 48-43 with 12 minutes to go, we have to be better on both ends of the floor down the stretch. We're looking forward to the upcoming week in the gym as we prepare to go on the road again and compete hard at Penn State."
 
Making his first appearance in a Fairfield uniform, Brandon Benjamin led the Stags with a double-double comprised of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Fellow newcomers Cam Estevez and Declan Wucherpfennig added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Wucherpfennig also hauled in eight rebounds.
 
After Deuce Turner lifted the lid for the Stags with the first of his seven points, the Stags kept pace with VCU out to a 10-9 tally. At that point, the hosts went on the first run of the day with nine straight tallies over the next three minutes to open up a double-digit cushion at 19-9. Nasir Rodriguez ended the short drought with a three-pointer, but the Rams continued to match the Fairfield scoring efforts to maintain their advantage. VCU closed the period with five points in the final 45 seconds to send the game into the intermission with the Stags facing a 39-26 deficit.
 
VCU's Brandon Jennings split a pair of free throws to start the second half and push the margin to its largest up to that point at 40-26. Fairfield responded with a Braden Sparks layup and triple from Estevez. Halon Rawlins added a fastbreak layup and a three-point play, followed by paint points from Eric Mejia and Benjamin to cut the deficit down to 45-40. After a VCU three-pointer, Benjamin completed his own three-point play to maintain the five-point gap at 48-43.
 
However, the Rams answered the Stags' rally with a 12-3 run to reconstruct their 14-point cushion, and Fairfield never drew closer than nine points over the final nine minutes as VCU closed out the 82-64 final.
 
Led by Benjamin's 14 points, a total of nine Stags contributed to the scoring. Benjamin, Estevez, Wucherpfennig, Turner, Rawlins, Rodriguez, and Mejia all – unofficially – netted the first points of their Fairfield careers in the exhibition. Ryan Zan and Tony Williams also both took the court for the first time as Fairfield Stags. Coach Casey utilized 12 players in total, with Turner leading the way with 25 minutes played.
 
Also fueled by Benjamin with 10 rebounds, the Stags and Rams were even on the glass at 40-40. Wucherpfennig hauled in eight caroms, including five offensive rips, and Isaac Munkadi collected six boards. The Stags turned 20 offensive boards into 18 second chance points.

The turnover battle was also even at 11-11, and VCU held a slim 38-36 edge on points in the paint.
 
The Rams were led offensively by Tyrell Ward with 18 points. Jadrian Tracey pitched nine 11 points and nine rebounds for the preseason favorites in the A10.
 
Fairfield Men's Basketball opens the regular season in Happy Valley with a Monday, Nov. 3 trip to Penn State. The Stags will play three straight road games to open the campaign before kicking off the 16-game home schedule with the inaugural Mahoney Classic presented by NIVEA MEN on Nov. 14-16 at Leo D. Mahoney Arena.