Sunday, November 15th, 7:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Alumni Hall (2,479) -- Fairfield, Connecticut. Television: None. Home Record: Fordham 0-1, Fairfield 0-0. Away Record: Fordham 0-0, Fairfield 0-0. Neutral Record: Fordham 1-0, Fairfield 0-0. Conference Record: Fordham 0-0, Fairfield 0-0. Series Record: Fordham leads, 32-11.

GAME NOTES: For the first of three games to be played on the Fairfield campus at Alumni Hall this year, the Stags entertain the Fordham Rams in non- conference action in the small facility this evening.

As opposed to the Arena at Harbor Yard, a venue that seats close to 10,000 and is located in nearby Bridgeport, Alumni Hall has space for perhaps one-fourth that number and will see Fairfield host both Holy Cross and St. Francis University later this season.

Fairfield began this season against in-state rival Central Connecticut State on Friday night and used the meeting to grab a 67-58 win as part of the Connecticut 6 Classic. After tonight's outing, the Stags hit the road for four straight road dates, beginning with a visit to Maryland on Tuesday night.

As for the Rams, they found themselves in a deep hole against Maine in the season opener on Friday night, trailing by 14 points with just over four minutes to play in the second half, but after make a strong run down the stretch Fordham was still left with the 76-73 setback at Rose Hill Gym.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the teams faced off against each other last year with the Stags capturing a slim 69-66 win at Rose Hill Gym during the second week of December. As a result, Fairfield took another small bite out of its deficit in the series, which now favors Fordham by a count of 32-11.

Fordham actually led the meeting with Maine at the break, 36-30, but then the Rams hit a huge snag with a mere 27.6 percent shooting from the field in the second half, including 3-of-16 behind the three-point line, as they suffered the three-point loss. Jio Fontan emerged with a team-best 25 points for the Rams, shooting 12-of-15 at the free-throw line, but only 5-of-15 from the floor, while Brenton Butler contributed 18 points off the bench and Chris Gaston a double-double with his 15 points and 11 boards. Fontan, a member of the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team a year ago, was the leading scorer for Fordham last season as well with his 15.3 ppg. The top man in the assists department with 132 over 28 games, Fontan had some issues shooting the ball from the floor (.382) and at the free-throw line (.602) in 2008-09, even though he connected on 12-of-15 chances at the stripe in the opener this time around.

Despite playing on their home floor, the Stags were not credited with a home win against Central Connecticut on Friday, rather a neutral-site victory since the outing was part of a local tournament. Regardless of the classification, the Stags were paced by Anthony Johnson with his 18 points and eight rebounds, followed by Derek Needham with 14 points and six of the unit's 11 assists on the night. The team finished with a strong 51.7 percent accuracy from the floor and beat CCSU on the glass, 36-22, yet that still didn't cover up the fact that Fairfield made a mere 2-of-9 chances at the free-throw line. Then again, last year the Stags also had their troubles at the stripe with just 65.7 percent success, which is a major reason why the team managed just 65.4 ppg in 2008-09. Accounting for a sizeable chunk of that minimal scoring was Jonathan Han who is no longer on the roster.

If the Stags have trouble again tonight with their accuracy at the charity stripe, Fordham just might make them pay.

Predicted Outcome

Fordham 66, Fairfield 63