THE OPENING TIP
Fairfield University Men's Basketball returns to Leo D. Mahoney Arena to host Mount St. Mary's on Friday, Feb. 28. Opening tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. with the Hall of Fame duo of Bob Heussler and Joe DeSantis calling the action for the Stags Sports Network on ESPN+.

TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.

PROMOTIONS

• Halftime performance: Simon Sez Sponsored by FUSA

LAST TIME OUT
Fairfield led wire-to-wire in a key MAAC victory on Friday evening at Rider. The Stags knocked down 10 three-pointers and turned in their best defensive outing of the season in the 69-49 road win.
 
The Stags shot 10-for-17 from three-point range (58.8%) and finished at 28-for-48 (58.3%) from the floor overall. The effort included a 43-point outburst in the first half as the Stags led by as many as 22 points before halftime and never saw the margin shrink closer than 14 points after the break.
 
Defensively, Fairfield held a Division I opponent to less than 50 points for the first time since a 70-47 win at William & Mary on Dec. 12, 2021.
 
Prophet Johnson paced a balanced effort with 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Jamie Bergens added 13 points fueled by three three-pointers, and Kyle Jenkins joined them in double figures with 12 points to go along with seven boards.
 
Rounding out the attack were Peyton Smith with nine points, Braden Sparks with eight and the duo of Louis Bleechmore and Deon Perry with five points apiece. In total, all seven Stags to attempt a field goal converted on at least two, and all six with a try from three-point range made at least one.
 
Rider was led by 15 points from Zion Cruz, and T.J. Weeks Jr. added 10 for the Broncs.

COACH CASEY ON THE RIDER GAME
"We got some of the same shots we've been getting, and tonight we made them. But we won the game on the defensive end. We really guarded, we got defensive rebounds and we got to more 50/50 balls."
 
THE MOUNT ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY MOUNTAINEERS
The Mount defeated Rider in Emmitsburg on Sunday to run its current winning streak to four games. Mount also defeated Saint Peter's at home and swept the Western New York trip during its current run.

Mount St. Mary's boasts three double-digit scorers led by 12.6 points per game from Dola Adebayo. Jedy Cordilia adds 10.3 points per contest and is the MAAC's fourth-leading rebounder with 7.4 boards per outing.

EARLIER THIS SEASON
In the highest scoring Fairfield Men's Basketball game in seven seasons, the Stags were on the short side of a 101-94 MAAC slugfest on Dec. 8 at Mount St. Mary's. Prophet Johnson recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead five Stags scoring in double figures.
 
Johnson's 22 points came on 9-for-16 shooting from the floor. He corralled six offensive rebounds as a part of his game-best 10 caroms. Joining him in double figures were Braden Sparks with 16 points, Jamie Bergens with 15, Noah Best with 13 and Louis Bleechmore netting 11. In total, 11 Stags contributed to Fairfield's 94 points.
 
As a team, Fairfield shot 50% (34-for-68) from the field, 33% (10-for-30) from three-point range and 72.7% (16-for-22) from the free throw line. Johnson was also the Stags' top facilitator with five assists.
 
Alongside Johnson's 10 rebounds, Isaac Munkadi hauled in six boards and fueled the defense with five blocked shots.
 
The Mount was sparked by an 11-for-13 start from the field, as the hosts never trailed and built a lead as large as 15 points in the first half. The Stags battled back to within five in the second stanza, but the Mount had an answer to every rally and rode their early advantage all the way to the final horn.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The Mount's high-scoring win in December snapped a four-game winning streak in the series for the Stags. It was Fairfield's first loss to the Mount since becoming conference foes beginning in the 2022-23 campaign.

Prior to The Mount joining the MAAC, Fairfield had challenged them just once before. The 80-68 win for Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 3, 1949 was only the eighth game in the Stags' varsity history, occurring two months after incumbent Harry S Truman was re-elected President of the United States.

MAKING SHOTS...
Fairfield's .583 team field-goal percentage in the 69-49 win over Rider was the Stags' best against a Division I opponent since shooting .619 in a win at Manhattan on March 6, 2020.

The Stags' .588 (10-for-17) performance from three-point range was the team's best with a minimum of 10 attempts since shooting .625 (10-for-16) at Manhattan on Jan. 5, 2017 - the game in which Curtis Cobb scored a program-record 46 points fueled by a 9-for-13 day from three-point range.

Fairfield last shot better than .588 from downtown with 17 or more attempts on Jan. 29, 2012 with a .667 (12-for-18) day in a home win over Marist.

...AND GETTING STOPS
With just 49 points allowed to the Broncs, Fairfield held a Division I opponent to fewer than 50 points for the first time since a 70-47 win at William & Mary on Dec. 12, 2021.

UP NEXT
The Stags make one of the shortest road trips in Division I with a Sunday, March 2 jaunt to Sacred Heart.