SHIPPING UP PAST BOSTON
Fairfield University Men's Basketball concludes the annual early December weekend of MAAC play on Sunday, Dec. 7 at Merrimack. Opening tip-off from Lawler Arena in North Andover, Mass. is slated for 1 p.m. with Jacob VanRyn and John Avino on the call on ESPN+.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Braden Sparks scored a game-high 22 points and Declan Wucherpfennig was a force in the post with 15 points and 19 rebounds, but Fairfield was on the short side of a 70-66 decision on Friday at Manhattan in the Stags' Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener.
 
Halon Rawlins added seven points from the bench. Eric Mejia and Cam Estevez each chipped in six – with Estevez knocking down a pair of first-half triples. Deuce Turner scored five, Brandon Benjamin had four points, and Isaac Munkadi split a pair of free throws to finish with one.
 
Fueled by Wucherpfennig's 19 rips, the Stags gained a 45-35 advantage on the boards. Benjamin hauled in seven to aid in the effort, with Sparks and Munkadi corralling five apiece. Fairfield's 20 offensive boards were the most for the Stags since December 1, 2022 – also a MAAC outing at Manhattan.
 
Jaden Winston paced the Jaspers with 18 points, six assists, and six steals as one of four Manhattan players to score in double figures.
 
DECLAN'S DAY
Declan Wucherpfennig recorded his second consecutive double-double with 15 points and a career-high 19 rebounds on Friday at Manhattan.
 
His 19 rebounds were the most by a Stag since Amadou Sidibe corralled 19 boards in a 2016 win over Army. The nine offensive boards for Wucherpfennig are the most for a Fairfield player since Prophet Johnson had 10 from the offensive glass last season at Monmouth.
 
LET THE SPARKS FLY
Friday's game marked Braden Sparks' second consecutive 22-point effort and fourth time eclipsing the 20-point mark this season. He is tied with Quinnipiac's Jaden Zimmerman as the MAAC's leading scorer with 16.8 points per game.
 
POST PRESENCE
Brandon Benjamin and Declan Wucherpfennig are the top two rebounders in the MAAC with 9.0 and 8.4 boards per game, respectively. They also top the conference in offensive rebounds per game, with Benjamin corralling 3.89 and Wucherpfennig pulling in 3.11. Benjamin is also second in the MAAC in blocks (1.67/game)
 
THE MERRIMACK COLLEGE WARRIORS
Merrimack earned a 68-66 win over visiting Rider on Thursday evening, improving to 4-6 on the season and 1-0 in the MAAC.  The Warriors have also defeated Boston University, Maine, and La Salle with non-conference losses to South Dakota State, Auburn, Tarleton State, Florida, Penn, and Hofstra.
 
Ernest Shelton leads Merrimack with 15.5 points per game, fueled by 33 three-pointers at a .367 clip. Kevair Kennedy adds 14.3 points per outing, and Andres Marrero chips in 10.5 points per contest.
 
US AND THEM
The Stags are 4-2 all-time against Merrimack. The two meetings last season - the Warriors' inaugural campaign in the MAAC - were the first between Fairfield and Merrimack since 1977.
 
LAST ONE ON THE LIST
Merrimack is the only MAAC team that Head Coach Chris Casey has not defeated has head coach of the Stags. Casey earned a win over the Warriors in the Division II ranks as head coach of the LIU Post Pioneers during the 2012-13 season.
 
BACK HOME IN A WEEK
The Stags return to non-conference action and return to Mahoney Arena next Sunday, Dec. 14 to host Monmouth.

The Hawks are 5-4 with a Dec. 6 trip to Georgia Tech on the docket before their visiting to Fairfield.