THE BANK IS OPEN ON SUNDAY
Fairfield University Men's Basketball makes the short trip north to M&T Bank Arena for a Sunday, Feb. 22 clash at Quinnipiac. Opening tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Before a near-record crowd of 3,565 fans at Leo D. Mahoney Arena, Fairfield completed a home-and-home sweep of crosstown foe Sacred Heart with a 78-68 victory on Friday evening. Braden Sparks scored a game-high 21 points, and the rookie frontcourt duo of Brandon Benjamin and Declan Wucherpfennig each posted a double-double.
 
After trailing 30-20 in the first half, the Stags overcame a double-digit deficit en route to victory for the second time this season.
 
Sparks' 21 points included a 5-for-9 performance from three-point range. Benjamin scored 18 points and pulled in 10 rebounds for his MAAC-best 14th double-double of the season. Wucherpfennig had 10 points and 10 boards to notch a double-double for the seventh time.
 
Joining that trio in double figures was Eric Mejia, who had a team-best 11 of the Stags' 23 bench points. Deuce Turner pitched in seven points and four assists.
 
Halon Rawlins added six points for the Stags, including a key corner three early in the second half. Ryan Zan knocked down a trey to finish with three points, and Isaac Munkadi had two. Tony Williams did not factor score but matched Turner for the team high with four assists.
 
COACH CASEY ON SACRED HEART
"The energy in the Arena was great. I was really excited about the fan base that was here. The energy is always great in this building, but especially with those students here. They did a great job of energizing us."
 
MAHONEY MADNESS
The crowd of 3,565 fans on Friday was the second largest Fairfield Men's Basketball crowd in the four-year history of Mahoney Arena, eclipsed only by the crowd of 3,605 at the Feb. 5, 2023 game against Iona. Friday also marked the 10th crowd of 3,000+ fans at the venue.
 
THE QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS
Coming off of a bye on Friday, Quinnipiac is 18-10 overall and 11-6 in the MAAC. Most recently, the Bobcats lost 56-49 to visiting Merrimack on Feb. 15 to snap a four-game winning streak that began with QU's win at Mahoney Arena.
 
Jaden Zimmerman paces the Bobcats with 16.0 points per game, and reigning MAAC Player of the Year Amarri Monroe has 15.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest.
 
Quinnipiac ranks third in the MAAC in scoring offense at 75.5 points per game and slots seventh defensively, conceding 71.4 points per outing.
 
EARLIER THIS SEASON
Fairfield was on the short side of a 72-65 decision to visiting Quinnipiac on Sunday, Feb. 1 before a crowd of 3,204 fans at Mahoney Arena. Declan Wucherpfennig set the pace for the Stags with team highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Wucherpfennig's double-double was his sixth of the season, as the rookie shot 6-for-12 from the floor and made two of his three free throws. Brandon Benjamin was right behind him and just shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
 
Braden Sparks led the backcourt with 13 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Tony Williams added eight points and Halon Rawlins scored four to round out the offensive output from the starting five.
 
The Fairfield bench produced 13 points, led by six from Deuce Turner on a pair of three-pointers. Cam Estevez added five points, and Isaac Munkadi pitched in three points, three rebounds, and two blocked shots.
 
Quinnipiac was led by the MAAC's reigning Player of the Year Amarri Monroe, who finished the day with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
 
US AND THEM
Quinnipiac holds a 16-10 lead in the series. The Stags are looking for a split in the annual home-and-home for the second straight campaign.
 
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.
 
SECOND TIME AROUND
The Stags are 5-1 when playing an opponent for the second time. Fairfield has earned a home-and-home sweep of Niagara and Sacred Heart and took the back half of series splits with Manhattan, Canisius, and Marist. Saint Peter's is the lone MAAC opponent to win its second meeting with the Stags in 2025-26.
 
REBOUNDING ROOKIES
Only four true freshmen have grabbed at least 200 rebounds in Fairfield Men's Basketball history, and two of them share the frontcourt this season. Brandon Benjamin has a rookie-record 284 rebounds, and Declan Wucherpfennig has also surpassed the milestone with 214. Wucherpfennig is seven boards short of second place on the list.
 
SIGHTS AIMED HIGHER
With Brandon Benjamin already in possession of the Fairfield rookie rebounding mark, the MAAC record for rebounds by a true freshman belongs to La Salle's Lionel Simmons, who posted 322 boards (9.8 rpg) in 1986-87. Benjamin is second behind Simmons and on pace to eclipse him in both total rebounds and rebounds per game by a MAAC rookie.
 
LET THE SPARKS FLY
Braden Sparks ranks third in the MAAC in scoring at 17.5 points per game. With 490 total points, he is 10 points shy of only the 23rd 500-point campaign in 78 seasons of Fairfield Men's Basketball.
 
Sparks' MAAC-high 86 three-pointers rank tied for sixth in a season in Fairfield history. He is first in the MAAC with 3.07 three-pointers per game and third in the conference among NCAA qualifiers with a .408 three-point percentage.
 
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
The Feb. 20 win over Sacred Heart marked the fourth time this season that freshman forwards Brandon Benjamin and Declan Wucherpfennig both recorded a double-double in the same game.
 
Nov. 30 vs. New Hampshire (W, 72-68)
Benjamin: 16 pts., 10 rebs. | Wucherpfennig: 14 pts., 14 rebs.
 
Jan. 9 vs. Rider (W, 68-62)
Benjamin: 10 pts., 13 rebs. | Wucherpfennig: 17 pts., 11 rebs.
 
Jan. 22 vs. Niagara (W, 62-61)
Benjamin: 18 pts., 11 rebs. | Wucherpfennig: 13 pts., 13 rebs.
 
Feb. 20 vs. Sacred Heart (W, 78-68)
Benjamin: 18 pts., 10 rebs. | Wucherpfennig: 10 pts., 10 rebs.
 
Benjamin and Wucherpfennig are the first Fairfield teammates to record a double-double in the same game since Taj Benning (24 pts., 12 rebs.) and Supreme Cook (11 pts., 14 rebs.) led the Stags to a 2021 MAAC Championship Semifinal win over Monmouth.
 
FRIDAYS ARE FOR THE STAGS
The final weekend of the regular season at Mahoney Arena will pit the Stags against Siena on Friday, Feb. 27 and The Mount on Sunday, March 1. Tickets are on sale now at FairfieldStags.com/TIX.