HEADING TO HYNES
Fairfield University Men's Basketball concludes the month of January with a Jan. 30 trip to New Rochelle and the Hynes Athletics Center to challenge Iona. Opening tip-off is at 7 p.m. with David Resnick and Kevin Hamilton calling the action on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
Fairfield completed the sweep of a pivotal MAAC home weekend with a 61-55 win over visiting Canisius on Saturday at Mahoney Arena.
Deuce Turner and
Braden Sparks each scored 14 points, and
Brandon Benjamin recorded his 10th double-double of the season in the home triumph.
Offensively, Sparks and Turner each knocked down two three-pointers on their way to 14 points apiece. Sparks also hauled in four rebounds and dished out a team-leading four assists. For Turner, his 14 points were more than half of the 22 tallies contributed by the Fairfield bench.
Benjamin's double-double consisted of 13 points and a game-best 13 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots. The MAAC's leading rebounder has grabbed double-digit boards in 11 contests this season and scored in double figures in eight of his last 11 outings. Benjamin was 5-for-7 from the floor and converted all three of his free throw attempts.
Supplementing the scoring,
Eric Mejia had six points as a part of a full statline that also included four rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
Declan Wucherpfennig had five points and nine rebounds, and
Tony Williams also netted five points.
COACH CASEY ON CANISIUS
"I thought our defense really set a tone for the game. I think that's the closest we've come to playing 40 minutes of defense and getting after somebody. They're big, they're physical, they're well-coached, they run stuff well. It's very important that you guard them well."
"I'm proud of our guys. They grinded it out. This time of the year, there's a lot of grind it out wins. The scores start to come down a little bit and you've got to be able to grind. And I thought we did a good job of that this weekend in two MAAC wins."
TAKE FIVE
For the fifth time this season,
Brandon Benjamin has been named the MAAC Rookie of the Week. Benjamin recorded a double-double in both ends of the weekend sweep.
Benjamin averaged 15.5 points per game on .684 shooting from the floor and hauled in 12.0 rebounds per game last week as the Stags dispatched Niagara and Canisius. He posted a game-best 18 points and corralled 11 boards in the Thursday win over the Purple Eagles. In Saturday's victory over the Griffs, Benjamin scored 13 points and a game-leading 13 rebounds and also registered four blocked shots.
THE IONA UNIVERSITY GAELS
Iona most recently won both ends of a MAAC home weekend, knocking off Merrimack and rival Manhattan, to iprove to 14-8 overall and 6-5 in MAAC play. The Gaels are 9-1 at home with lone loss coming in their MAAC opener against Quinnipiac by a score of 89-68.
C.J. Anthony leads four Gaels scoring in double figures with 13.9 points per game and slots second in the conference with 5.6 assists per contest. Lamin Sabally ranks second in the MAAC in rebounding with 8.0 caroms per game to go along with 11.4 points per outing.
The Gaels are one of the top three-point shooting teams in the MAAC, knocking down 9.4 triples per game with a .353 three-point percentage.
US AND THEM
Through 126 meetings between the Stags and Gaels, Iona owns a 78-48 lead. The Stags recently snapped a seven-game skid against the Gaels with wins in the 2024 MAAC Championship Quarterfinals and a split of the home-and-home series last season.
Fairfield is seeking its first win at the Hynes Center since 2007 and only its 15th victory in 59 total games in New Rochelle dating back to 1950.
EVERY POSSESSION MATTERS
Fairfield holds a 9-5 record in one possession games under Head Coach
Chris Casey and has won its last five contests decided by three points or less.
The Stags are 22-13 in all games under Casey that were decided by either one or two possessions (six points or fewer).
SECOND TIME AROUND
The Stags are 3-0 this season when playing an opponent for the second time. Fairfield earned a home-and-home sweep of Niagara and took the back half of series splits with both Manhattan and Canisius.
EARLY ENDINGS
Fairfield has completed the season series with five MAAC opponents — Merrimack (one game), Rider (one game), Manhattan, Niagara, and Canisius — before beginning this year's ledger against Iona (one game), Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, or Mount St. Mary's (one game).
The Stags' only regular season game with defending MAAC Champion Mount St. Mary's is on March 1 — the final day of the regular season.
REBOUNDING ROOKIES
Brandon Benjamin had 13 rebounds in Saturday's win, increasing his season total to 214. He is only the third true freshman Stag to grab 200+ rebounds in their rookie campaign.
TOTAL REBOUNDS BY A TRUE FRESHMAN
HOT START TO A COLD MONTH
Fairfield rings in the month of February with a visit from in-state MAAC foe Quinnipiac on Sunday, Feb. 1. Opening tip-off from Mahoney Arena is set for 2 p.m.
