WINNING WEEKEND ON THE LINE
Fairfield University Men's Basketball and Loyola Maryland both aim to be the only team to turn in a 2-0 performance at the inaugural Mahoney Classic presented by NIVEA MEN.
 
Action between the Stags and the visiting Greyhounds on Sunday, Nov. 16 begins at 2 p.m. with the Hall of Fame duo of Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis '79 on the call.
 
THE MAHONEY CLASSIC
The Mahoney Classic presented by NIVEA MEN is the first-ever multi-team event ("MTE") to take place at Mahoney Arena.

Saturday's 74-63 win for Loyola over Stonehill marked the first-ever college basketball game at Mahoney Arena to not feature the hometown Stags.
 
OPEN HOUSE
Including Friday's overtime win over Stonehill, the Stags have won five consecutive home openers. The current run includes all four seasons of the Mahoney Arena era.
 
MAN OF THE GAME
Deuce Turner was selected as the NIVEA MEN "Man of the Game" following the Friday victory over the Skyhawks. Turner scored 14 of his game-high 22 points after halftime, including five of the Stags' eight total points in the overtime session. He knocked down a key, game-tying three-pointer in OT as well as the layup that stood as the game-winner.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Deuce Turner scored 14 of his game-high 22 points after halftime to lead Fairfield to a 73-71 overtime win against visiting Stonehill on Friday at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. The contest was the Stags' home opener and the first game of the inaugural Mahoney Classic presented by NIVEA MEN.
 
Included in Turner's 22 points were five in overtime. The Stags also got three Eric Mejia free throws in the OT.
 
Braden Sparks joined Turner in double figures with 16 points to go along with four rebounds and a team-high three assists. The third Stag in double figures was Declan Wucherpfennig, with 11.
 
Wucherpfennig and Brandon Benjamin shared the team high on the boards with the nine apiece as the Stags were clipped, 44-43, by Stonehill on the glass.
 
The Skyhawks were paced by a double-double from Raymond Espinal-Guzman with 19 points and 12 rebounds. All-NEC Second Teamer Hermann Koffi added 14 for the visitors.
 
COACH CASEY ON STONEHILL
"Credit to Stonehill, they played hard and made plays, and we were fortunate to make one more play than they did. And credit to us, because we really fought them for it. We handled adversity when it went to overtime. And right now, that's the emphasis on what we do – play hard, defend, rebound, and offense will come from that."
 
BONUS BASKETBALL
Fairfield's overtime win against Stonehill was the Stags' third consecutive triumph when a game goes beyond 40 minutes.
 
Fairfield is 2-2 all-time in overtime contests at Mahoney Arena.
 
THE LOYOLA UNIVERSITY MARYLAND GREYHOUNDS
Loyola is 2-2 on the season after its win over Stonehill on Saturday at Mahoney Arena. The Greyhounds also own a win over Penn State Abington with losses to Towson and NJIT.
 
Braeden Speed and Jacob Theodosiou share the team lead at 13.8 points per game. The balanced Loyola offense also posted three players averaging 8.8 points per contest -- Sam Springer, Jordan Stiemke and Troy Cicero -- with Jonas Sirtautas posting 8.0 points per outing.
 
US AND THEM
Fairfield holds a 38-24 advantage over Loyola Maryland since the series began in 1977. The majority of those meetings came when the Greyhounds were a part of the MAAC from 1989-2013.
 
The squads met twice prior to Loyola's MAAC tenure -- two home wins for the Stags in 1977 and 1982. Fairfield is 2-5 in seven meetings since the Greyhounds' departure for the Patriot League.
 
OLD FRIENDS
Loyola Maryland is the first of two former MAAC institutions on the non-conference slate. The Stags will also host Monmouth at Mahoney Arena on Dec. 14. Of the six former full-time MAAC programs, La Salle is the only one that Fairfield has not played since their exit from the conference. The Stags' last meeting with the Explorers came in the quarterfinals of the 1992 MAAC Championship, which Speedy Morris's La Salle team went on to win over top-seeded Manhattan.
 
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.
 
'PHIN FIGHTERS
Fairfield returns to the road next weekend, heading to Le Moyne for a Saturday, Nov. 22 clash with the Dolphins.
 
The Stags have not played Le Moyne in Syracuse since 1955.