FAIRFIELD IN FEBRUARY
Fairfield University Men's Basketball brings a three-game winning streak into the month of February when Quinnipiac visit Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Sunday, Feb. 1. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m. with Dave Popkin and the Hall of Famer Joe DeSantis '79 on the call on ESPN+.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Halon Rawlins' free throw with 3.3 seconds to play was the difference in a classic MAAC match up as Fairfield knocked off host Iona, 71-70, on Friday at Hynes Athletics Center. Braden Sparks scored a career-best 27 points, and Brandon Benjamin recorded his 11th double-double in the Stags' first win in New Rochelle since 2007.
 
Rawlins' winning free throw broke the 14th tie and represented the 11th lead change of the contest.
 
Benjamin's 11th double-double was comprised of 13 points and a game-leading 15 rebounds – matching his career-high on the boards. Benjamin also distributed a career-best and team-leading five assists.
 
Declan Wucherpfennig was the third Stag in double figures with 16 points, highlighted by 10 points in the second half.
 
Rawlins' free throw capped a full day for the rookie wingman, who finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
 
To round out the Fairfield scoring, Deuce Turner had four points and Tony Williams netted two.
 
COACH CASEY ON IONA
"First of all, that was a great college game. I thought both teams played their hearts out, and we were fortunate enough to make one more play than they did. I'm proud of our guys. [Iona] is a tough atmosphere, and we came in here and grinded and came out with the win."
 
FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME
Friday's win at Iona was Fairfield's first in New Rochelle since Jan. 14, 2007, snapping a 17-game losing streak at Hynes Athletics Center.
 
Declan Wucherpfennig, the youngest active Stag, was one day old when the Stags last won at Iona prior to this season.
 
EVERY POSSESSION MATTERS
Fairfield holds a 10-5 record in one possession games under Head Coach Chris Casey and has won its last six contests decided by three points or less.
 
The Stags are 23-13 in all games under Casey that were decided by either one or two possessions (six points or fewer).
 
REBOUNDING ROOKIES
Brandon Benjamin matched his career high with 15 rebounds in Friday's win to set a new Fairfield freshman rebounding record with 229 boards and counting. He is only the third true freshman Stag to grab 200+ rebounds in a campaign.
 
LET THE SPARKS FLY
After netting a career-high 27 points in Friday's win at Iona, Braden Sparks reclaimed sole possession of the title of the MAAC's leading scorer at 17.4 points per game. The senior ranks second in the MAAC in three-pointers per game (2.96), third in three-point percentage (.395), eighth in field goal percentage (.408), and ninth in free throw percentage (.816).
 
THE QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS
Back-to-back losses, most recently dropping a 98-91 game to visiting Sacred Heart on Friday, have Quinnipiac at 14-9 on the season with a 7-5 in the MAAC. The preseason conference favorites are 3-3 in league road games and 6-6 away from Hamden overall.
 
The MAAC's top scoring offense at 77.7 points per game is paced by 16.9 points per contest by Jaden Zimmerman and 15.5 points per game from Amarri Monroe. The reigning MAAC Player of the Year Monroe is also the Bobcats' top rebounder with 7.9 boards per game.
 
US AND THEM
After splitting the home-and-home series in each of the last three seasons, Quinnipiac holds a 15-10 lead in the series.
 
The teams only met once prior to Quinnipiac joining the MAAC, with Fairfield winning that inaugural contest by a 72-60 count at Mohegan Sun Arena in the Connecticut 6 Classic. The lone MAAC Tournament game between the in-state foes was a 74-64 victory for the Stags in the 2018 Semifinals in Albany.
 
EARLY ENDINGS
Fairfield has completed the season series with six MAAC opponents — Merrimack (one game), Rider (one game), Manhattan, Niagara, Canisius, and Iona (one game) — before beginning this year's ledger against 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMIN
Brandon Benjamin is one of 15 players in the nation to average a double-double, posting 14.0 points and a MAAC-best 10.4 rebounds per outing. Among those 15, Benjamin is one of only four true freshmen on the ledger. He ranks 12th in the nation in total rebounds per game and fourth nationally with 4.29 offensive boards per outing.
 
A five-time MAAC Rookie of the Week, Benjamin also leads the MAAC in field goal perecntage (.586) and ranks second in blocked shots (1.55/game). He slots 11th overall in the conference and second among MAAC freshmen in scoring (14.0 ppg) and leads the league with 11 double-doubles this season.
 
CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS
Led by Benjamin's conference-best 10.4 rebounds per game, as well as 7.7 boards per contest from Declan Wucherpfennig, the Stags are currently leading the MAAC in total rebounding (39.04/game), offensive rebounds (14.26/game) and rebounding margin (+4.5).
 
The Stags' offensive rebounding average is also good for 10th in the nation. Fairfield had 21 offensive rebounds in Friday's win over Iona.
 
Fairfield has outrebounded its opponent by 10 or more boards in seven games this season, including five MAAC outings.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Stags have started four true freshmen (Benjamin, Rawlins, Williams, Wucherpfennig) in 10 games this season. To date, no other Division I team has reported a starting lineup featuring four true freshmen this season.
 
FOR STARTERS
Fairfield has used seven different starting lineups this season. Braden Sparks and Declan Wucherpfennig have both started all 23 games, and Brandon Benjamin has been in the starting five for all 22 games in which he was available.
 
ONWARD AND UPWARD
At 14 wins and counting, the Stags have already improved upon last year's 12-win campaign with a minimum of nine games remaining.
 
CROSSTOWN TRAFFIC
Up next, the Stags head across town to challenge Sacred Heart on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.