Fairfield Making Presence Felt in MAAC, Seeks 3rd Straight Victory Against Canisius

With senior Marcus Gilbert putting an exclamation point on his college career, complemented by the sophomore starting backcourt of Tyler Nelson and Jerome Segura, the?Fab Four? freshmen, and experienced reserves have all teamed to rejuvenate the Fairfield University men-s basketball program under head coach Sydney Johnson. The Fairfield fifth-year coach calls them the ?Running Stags.? Sunday-s (January 24) statement victory over MAAC conference leader Iona knocked the Gaels from top perch and gave Fairfield (11-9, 5-5 MAAC) its 11th triumph of the season, four more than all of last season when the Stags recorded just seven wins for a second straight campaign. It was Fairfield-s first win over the Gaels since 2013. The Stags seek their third straight victory hosting Canisius (10-11, 4-5 MAAC) at Webster Bank Arena on Friday night (January 29). Gilbert (19.1 ppg), who has topped the Stags in scoring in 11 games, was once again the catalyst. The Smyrna, Delaware product fueled the Fairfield wire-to-wire victory with 32 points on the strength of seven three-pointers. ?Marcus the Magnificent? ranks third in the MAAC in scoring. It was Gilbert-s third 30-plus point performance of the season. Gilbert pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double and is Fairfield-s leader in caroms (5.4 rpg) in the absence of the injured senior Amadou Sidibe. Fairfield ranks 14th in the nation in ?Pace of Play? as of January 25, and owns the 3rd largest improvement in Division I basketball (14th /277th in 2014-15). Back-to-back sparkling recruiting classes for Johnson ? the ?Kiddie Korps? ? are led by the second-year guard Tyler Nelson (15.7 ppg), who had 22 points in the Iona victory. The shooting guard has been on fire in Fairfield-s last seven victories, scoring over 20 points in each of the triumphs. Last year-s MAAC All-Rookie selection out of Boston has led the Stags in scoring on six occasions, all Fairfield victories, including a 27-point, career-high outburst against Niagara on January 15. Jerome Segura, Nelson-s starting backcourt mate, dished off a career-high 11 assists against Marist on January 22. The ?Texas Tornado? is Fairfield-s leading playmaker with 5.2 apg, second in the MAAC, and 32nd in the nation. He averages 7.6 points for fifth on the Stags- scoring leader board. The ?Fab Four? rookies are spearheaded by Curtis Cobb (9.4 ppg), who poured in a career-high 21 points to lead Fairfield to the January 22 road victory over Marist. Like Nelson a Boston product, Cobb is third on Fairfield-s scoring leader board in a starting role, and combines with his fellow New Englander to form the ?Beantown Brothers,? complimenting elite scorer Gilbert. The rookie big men are both international players making their presence felt in the front court.Jonathan Kasibabu (6.6 ppg) blocked four shots to key the defense in the Marist victory. The Republic of the Congo import also chipped in with 10 points. Kasibabu has led the Stags in rebounds in six contests, and averages 5 rpg just behind Gilbert. The second freshman ?big,? Matija Milin (6.5 ppg) from Serbia, scored 12 points to give Fairfield-s rookies 45 points in Friday-s Marist win, over half the Stags- scoring output. ?Double M? was five-for-five from the field. Rookie Jerry Johnson, Jr., returned to form with 11 points in 16 minutes against Iona. ?Triple J? scored a career high 20 points in the 97-85 triumph against Dartmouth when he hit five of Fairfield-s 12 three-point field goals. The Memphis product averages 8.5 ppg as Fairfield-s fourth leading scorer. Junior Scott King, Jr., who scored 11 key points in the win against Iona, and sophomore Kevin Degnan (3.5 ppg), with eight points in 12 minutes against Marist, key the reserves. Men-s Basketball Stat Sheet 1/25/1 Individual Player Stats/Rankings Tyler Nelson (Ranking in MAAC stats) 8th in scoring 9th in assists 7th in steals 3rd in assist to turnover ration 3rd in free throw % 12th in 3 PT FG made Marcus Gilbert (Season/Career milestones) Currently #3 in the MAAC in scoring Career high 7 three-pointers in win over Iona on 1/24 Currently #9 on all-time scoring list with 1,485 points Career high 33 points in win over Columbia 25 points against #1 UNC in the 2nd game of the 2015-16 season Jerome Segura: 32nd in the nation in assists and 2nd in the MAAC National Team Rankings: Pace of Play Pace of Play: ranked 14th in the nation as of January 25th Fairfield Men-s Basketball owns the 3rd largest improvement in Division I basketball (14th as of January 25, 277th in 2014-15) Scoring Offense 49th at 79.7 ppg (Finished 2014-15 ranked 327) Three Pointers Per Game 22nd with 9.5 per game (Finished 2014-15 raked 173) Total Three Pointers Made Tied for 19th with 190 (Finished 2014-15 tied for 194 with 198 FG made) Assists Per Game Tied for 40th with 16.2 per game (Finished 2014-15 ranked 306) Team Free Throw Percentage Tied for 49th at 73.1 percent (Finished 2014-15 ranked 90th)