ON TO 2026
Fairfield University Men's Basketball tips off 2026 in Buffalo, N.Y. with a Jan. 2 clash at Canisius. The Friday matinee at Koessler Athletic Center starts at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
After 11 ties and nine lead changes on Monday at Mahoney Arena, Fairfield was on the short side of a 70-66 final against visiting Saint Peter's.
Braden Sparks netted a game-high 22 points for the Stags, highlighted by the 1,000th point of his collegiate career.
Sparks, who was named MAAC Player of the Week earlier in the day, shot 7-for-15 from the field with a 5-for-8 day from three-point range.
Brandon Benjamin returned from a one-game hiatus and delivered a career-best 21 points along with 11 rebounds to record his MAAC-leading fifth double-double of the season. Reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week
Declan Wucherpfennig was just short of his second consecutive double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Rounding out the scoring,
Tony Williams had five points,
Deuce Turner scored four, and
Halon Rawlins netted three.
Bryce Eaton led Saint Peter's with 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Brent Bland added 14 points and eight boards for the Peacocks, and Zaakir Williamson tallied a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
COACH CASEY ON SAINT PETER'S
"Both teams played extremely hard, they just made a few more plays than we did. We're both good rebounding teams, and credit to Saint Peter's, they outrebounded us tonight and had 18 offensive boards. Offensively, I thought we were getting good looks for the most part, but we needed to take care of the ball better against their pressure."
THE CANISIUS UNIVERSITY GOLDEN GRIFFINS
Idle for Monday's resumption of MAAC action, the Golden Griffins are 0-2 in league play as a part of a 5-8 overall mark. The Griffs fell in road outings at Saint Peter's and Siena to begin the MAAC slate in early December. The Peacocks are the lone common foe between Canisius and Fairfield.
Kahlil Singleton and Bryan Ndjonga lead the Griffs on offense with 11.4 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Mike Evbagharu paces the effort on the glass with 6.5 rebounds per contest.
US AND THEM
Fairfield is 56-42 against Canisius. The series began with one matchup between the Griffs and the Division II Stags in 1962 and resumed when Fairfield joined the Division I ranks beginning in the 1964-65 campaign.
1K AND COUNTING
With 22 points on Monday,
Braden Sparks eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career.
To date, Sparks has scored 1,012 collegiate points – 55 in 2022-23 at Mercer, 394 in 2023-24 at Indian Hills Community College, and 563 and counting in the past two campaigns as a Stag.
WEEKLY WINNERS
Braden Sparks and
Declan Wucherpfennig both earned weekly honors after the Dec. 22 victory over CCNY.
Sparks set a new career high with 26 points on 9-for-17 shooting against the Beavers en route to MAAC Player of the Week laurels. His output was fueled by another career best of six made three-pointers.
Wucherpfennig earns his first MAAC Rookie of the Week nod following a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds against the Beavers. The freshman forward also registered three assists and two steals.
LET THE SPARKS FLY
Braden Sparks is the MAAC's leading scorer at 18.4 points per game. The senior tri-captain of the Stags also leads the MAAC and ranks 20th nationally in three-pointers per game (3.36) and slots second in the conference and 25th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.461).
Sparks has scored 20 or more points in eight games this season, including all three MAAC games to date and six of his last seven contests overall.
DUE NORTH
The Stags conclude the Western New York swing with a trek north to Niagara on Sunday, Jan. 4.
