Friday, February 29th, 7:30 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Arena at Harbor Yards (9,500) -- Fairfield, Connecticut. Television: None. Home Record: Manhattan 6-8, Fairfield 6-6. Away Record: Manhattan 5-8, Fairfield 7-8. Neutral Record: Manhattan 0-0, Fairfield 0-0. Conference Record: Manhattan 5-11, Fairfield 10-6. Series Record: Manhattan leads, 43-34.

GAME NOTES: The Fairfield Stags are set to play their final home game of the season tonight, as they host the Manhattan Jaspers in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. The Stags have gone an even 6-6 at home thus far, and they have won their last three outings to improve to 5-3 against league foes at the Arena at Harbor Yards. Overall, Fairfield has won a season-high six straight games, including a 60-51 victory in a non-conference bout at Drexel on Saturday. With the recent surge, the team is now just one win shy of reaching the .500 mark at 13-14 overall. As for Manhattan, it wrapped up a five-game homestand with a 66-56 setback to non-conference foe Binghamton on Saturday. The loss snapped the team's three game win streak and dropped it to 11-16 overall. The Jaspers now return back to MAAC play, where the have gone just 5-11. Manhattan leads the all-time series with Fairfield, 43-34, but the Stags claimed a 66-61 victory in an earlier meeting this month.

The Jaspers shot a dismal 33.3 percent from the field compared to a 49.0 percent effort by Binghamton, as they were dropped at home on Saturday. The team lost the battle on the boards, 36-28, and it was also outscored in the paint, 26-10. Chris Smith paced Manhattan in defeat with 14 points, while Antoine Pearson and Devon Austin chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively. For the season, Pearson leads the squad in scoring at 12.1 ppg and he also has 25 steals to his credit. Austin is next in line with 10.8 ppg and he is converting 80.3 percent of the time at the charity stripe. Overall, the Jaspers are turning in 69.3 ppg on 42.5 percent shooting from the field for the season.

The Stags limited Drexel to a lackluster 35.6 percent shooting performance from the floor, as they scored a road win on Saturday. Fairfield connected on 42.3 percent of its chances from the floor and it also hit six three-pointers as opposed to two by Drexel. Jonathan Han led the charge with 14 points and eight assists, while Greg Nero had 12 points and eight boards. For the season, Han is the only player on the team averaging in double figures, with 11.3 ppg. He also leads the club in assists (6.2 apg) and steals (45), in addition to shooting 44.9 percent from downtown. As a team, the Stags are making good on 38.6 percent of their long-range attempts for an average of 65.6 ppg.

Fairfield has started to come on strong and it should be able to use its momentum and homecourt advantage to get past the Jaspers in this one.

Predicted Outcome

Fairfield 68, Manhattan 59