Sparks leads Fairfield against Canisius after 22-point performance

Fairfield Stags (8-6, 0-3 MAAC) at Canisius Golden Griffins (5-8, 0-2 MAAC)

Buffalo, New York; Friday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Fairfield visits Canisius after Braden Sparks scored 22 points in Fairfield’s 70-66 loss to the Saint Peter’s Peacocks.

The Golden Griffins have gone 4-1 at home. Canisius ranks fourth in the MAAC in team defense, allowing 70.2 points while holding opponents to 43.8% shooting.

The Stags are 0-3 against MAAC opponents. Fairfield has a 4-4 record against teams over .500.

Canisius is shooting 40.5% from the field this season, 3.5 percentage points lower than the 44.0% Fairfield allows to opponents. Fairfield averages 8.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.1 more makes per game than Canisius gives up.

The Golden Griffins and Stags match up Friday for the first time in MAAC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kahlil Singleton is shooting 39.0% and averaging 11.4 points for the Golden Griffins. Bryan Ndjonga is averaging 9.4 points over the last 10 games.

Sparks is shooting 46.1% from beyond the arc with 3.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Stags, while averaging 18.4 points. Brandon Benjamin is averaging 13 points, nine rebounds and 1.5 blocks over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Griffins: 4-6, averaging 57.9 points, 29.9 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 4.4 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 39.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.3 points per game.

Stags: 6-4, averaging 80.4 points, 35.5 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 6.7 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.