Jan. 15, 2004
With the month-long road trip winding down, the Fairfield University men's basketball team plays its ninth straight game away from the Arena at Harbor Yard when it travels to Iona College for a January 16 match up. The Stags are hoping to even up their conference record with a victory, and could finish the 10-game road/neutral site trip with a 5-5 record should they defeat Iona and Manhattan on Sunday.
Fairfield plays Iona for the first time this year, but for the 79th time in school history. The Red and White have only played Saint Peter's more, battling the Peacocks 81 times. The Stags currently own an 8-6 overall record and a 1-2 MAAC mark.
Three of Fairfield's five starters reached double digits against Marist, led by Terrence Todd's 14 points. Since going 0 for 7 from the floor against Elon, Todd has rebounded with a career-high tying 21 points against Saint Peter's and a team-best 14 in the Marist game. Todd and Deng Gai are averaging better than 10 points per game during the road trip, tossing in 12.1 and 11.6 points per game. Gai just missed a double-double average with 9.0 rebounds per contest during the eight-game stretch.
Iona College sandwiched wins over Marist and Canisius around a loss at Niagara to push its MAAC record to 3-2. DeShaun Williams enjoyed a great run during those contests, scoring 27 points against both Canisius and Niagara, as well as 25 points in the Marist game. While Williams is the team's top scorer with a 13.8 scoring average, the senior guard is averaging better than 22 points per game against conference competition. Steve Burtt also put together a solid performance in those three games, throwing in 18 points per game. He scored 21 points against both Canisius and Niagara, and added 12 markers against Marist.
Fairfield returns to action on Sunday at Manhattan College, a game which will be televised on the Madison Square Garden channel at 4 p.m. The Stags return to the Arena at Harbor Yard on Wednesday, January 21 against the Jaspers, a make up game from the December 5 snow storm. Tickets for the Manhattan game and all Fairfield University home basketball games can be purchased by calling the Fairfield University athletic ticket line - (203) 254-4103; by going on line at www.fairfieldstags.com or www.ticketmaster.com or at the Arena box office.
