THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE IT
Fairfield University Men's Basketball comes home to Leo D. Mahoney Arena for the first time in 2025-26 to tip off the inaugural Mahoney Classic presented by NIVEA MEN on Friday, Nov. 14.
 
Action between the Stags and visiting Stonehill begins at 7 p.m. with the Hall of Fame duo of Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis '79 on the call.
 
TICKETS
Tickets for all three games of the Mahoney Classic are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.
 
PROMOTIONS

• Halftime Performance: Corgi Race- Bringing the fastest paws to the biggest stage while unleashing the cuteness, chaos, and cheers fans live for.
• FYE Spirit Event: This game will be a 'Spirit' event for all FYE students. Eligible students must have their event pass scanned to be credited for attending the game.

 
THE MAHONEY CLASSIC
The Mahoney Classic presented by NIVEA MEN is the first-ever multi-team event ("MTE") to take place at Mahoney Arena. Fairfield will play Stonehill on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. and Loyola Maryland on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.

The two visiting squads will go head-to-head on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. in the first-ever college basketball game at Mahoney Arena to not feature the hometown Stags.
 
ROOKIE REWARDS
After averaging 15.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his first two collegiate outings, Brandon Benjamin was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week. Benjamin posted a double-double in his debut at Penn State and added 12 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's win at NJIT.
 
Benjamin's 15.0 points per game came on .813 (13-for-16) shooting from the field and .800 (4-for-5) from the free throw line
 
LAST TIME OUT
Braden Sparks tallied his second 20-point game of the season to pace the Stags in an 82-59 loss at Seton Hall on Monday in South Orange. Nasir Rodriguez added a career-best 12 points for the Stags, and Brandon Benjamin scored 11 to go along with nine rebounds.
 
Sparks knocked down three three-pointers en route to his 20 points. Rodriguez also canned three treys for the Stags to fuel his dozen points.
 
Benjamin was just shy of a double-double after posting his second straight game with nine rebounds. Declan Wucherpfennig added seven points and seven rebounds as the Stags were clipped, 43-38, on the boards.
 
Deuce Turner and Tony Williams pitched in three points apiece, Eric Mejia had two, and Isaac Munkadi split a pair of free throws to cap the scoring. Munkadi and Mejia also tore down four rebounds apiece.
 
A.J. Staton-McCray led the Pirates with 13 points. Seton Hall also got 10 points apiece from Elijah Fisher, Mike Williams III, and Najai Hines. Hines also corralled a game-best 10 rebounds.
 
COACH CASEY ON SETON HALL
"We needed to be better against their pressure. Their athleticism was disruptive on our offensive end and the pressure sped us up. We will regroup in the practice gym and get ready for a home game on Friday."
 
OPEN HOUSE
The Stags have won four consecutive home openers, including all three prior seasons of the Mahoney Arena era.
 
THE STONEHILL COLLEGE SKYHAWKS
Stonehill is 1-2 on the season, starting the campaign with a convincing win over Division III Thomas College, then falling on the road to DePaul and Rhode Island.
 
Hermann Koffi has led the Skyhawks in scoring with 19.0 points per game.  The sophomore was an All-NEC Second Team selection last season. William Batchelder, a sharpshooting transfer from Holy Cross, is also averaging double figures with 10.3 points per contest.
 
US AND THEM
Friday's meeting will revive a series between Fairfield and Stonehill that has lay dormant in the regular season since 1986. The Stags are 14-1 over the Skyhawks at home and won six consecutive meetings prior to the series entering its nearly 40-year hiatus.
 
The lone Stonehill victory was a 110-106 win for the Skyhawks in Fairfield on February 27, 1971.
 
Records do not include preseason meetings, notably during the Ed Cooley era of Fairfield Basketball, pitting the former head coach against his alma mater.
 
THE NEC THREE
Stonehill is the first of three NEC foes on the Fairfield non-conference slate. In addition to the Skyhawks, who were picked third in the preseason poll, the Stags will visit second-ranked CCSU and ninth-ranked Le Moyne.
 
THE BUS CAME BY AND I GOT ON
Fairfield opened with three consecutive true road games for the second straight season. The current season also marked the fifth straight year in which the Stags played their first three Division I opponents in true road contests.
 
CAROM COLLECTORS
Fairfield's 54 rebounds at NJIT were the squad's most against a Division I opponent since also corralling 54 against American on Nov. 10, 2006. The 19-rebound margin is Fairfield's largest since outworking Manhattan on the glass, 37-18, in a win on Jan. 10, 2020.
 
SPARKS WAS ELECTRIC
Braden Sparks' 25 points on Monday at Penn State marked an NCAA career high for the senior tri-captain. His five made three-pointers were also a new career standard. Sparks' top scoring output last game was 20 points in a MAAC clash at Siena on March 6.
 
His overall collegiate career high in scoring came during the 2023-24 season at Indian Hills Community College when he poured in 27 points in a winning effort in the NJCAA Region XI Championship Game.
 
TWO OF THIRTY-ONE
Of the 31 double-doubles recorded by true freshmen thus far in 2025-26 (through Nov. 12), Brandon Benjamin owns one of only two to be accomplished in a true road game with his 18 points and 10 rebounds against Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center on Nov. 3.
 
STAY (JUST A LITTLE BIT LONGER)
Nine members of Fairfield's 18-man roster in 2025-26 were also a part of the 2024-25 Stags. This year's Stags have welcomed back 34.9% of their scoring, 37.9% of their rebounding and 34.9% of the total minutes played from last season's squad.
 
Five current Stags were also members of the 2023-24 team that reached the MAAC Championship Game (Curtis, Davidson, Ganton, Rogan, Smith). Michael Rogan is the lone four-year member of the Stags dating back to his redshirt season as a true freshman in 2022-23.
 
NEW KIDS IN TOWN
The other half of Fairfield's roster is comprised of nine newcomers. Five of the new Stags are true freshmen (Rodriguez, Williams, Rawlins, Benjamin, Wucherpfennig), three played elsewhere in the Division I ranks last season (Turner, Estevez, Zan), and Eric Mejia comes to Fairfield after an All-America season on the JUCO circuit.
 
REVVED UP LIKE A DEUCE
Graduate student tri-captain Deuce Turner was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team. Turner scored 9.6 points per game in 2024-25 at UC Santa Barbara, where he logged nearly 20 minutes per game as the sixth man for the Gauchos. He spent the two prior seasons at the University of San Diego, earning 2023-24 West Coast Conference Sixth Man of the Year and All-WCC Second Team honors.
 
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL
In a partnership with Team IMPACT, Fairfield Men's Basketball has officially signed Jahson ("Juju") to be a part of the Stags family. The signing was held in the Walsh Athletic Center following a team practice on Sunday, Oct. 5. Juju, his parents, and his sister Jaiana will join the Stags at games, practices, and other team events.
 
Team IMPACT, has developed a unique multiyear program that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college athletic teams.
 
I'M YOUR CAPTAIN
Head Coach Chris Casey has selected seniors Luke Davidson and Braden Sparks and graduate student Deuce Turner as team captains for the 2025-26 season.
 
CLOSER TO HOME
Fairfield is partnering with NIVEA MEN to present the Mahoney Classic – the first-ever "Multi-Team Event" (MTE) at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. The event will be held from Nov. 14-16, 2025 and will feature the first home games of the season for the Stags against regional foes Stonehill College and Loyola University Maryland.
 
The Mahoney Classic presented by NIVEA MEN will mark the home debut for the 2025-26 Stags when they host Stonehill on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. and Loyola Maryland on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.
 
The two visiting teams will go head-to-head at Mahoney Arena on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m.
 
IT'S JUST A HOUSE PARTY
Fairfield's two games in the Mahoney Classic will be the first of 16 home contests on the 2025-26 slate. The Stags have not played 16 home games in the regular season since the 1993-94 campaign.