POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The 11^th-seeded Marist men's basketball team opening play in the 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday, when the Red Foxes play sixth-seeded Fairfield.
 
Thursday's game will be broadcast on the Red Fox Network, with Dean Darling and Ed Weir on the call, and will be carried live on ESPN3 with Eddy Occhipinti and Steve Bazaz on the call.

Here is a closer look at the Marist-Fairfield match-up, and some facts about the Red Foxes:
 
This Season vs. Fairfield
Marist and Fairfield split the 2017-18 regular-season series, with each team prevailing at home. The Red Foxes earned a 95-89 victory in overtime on Jan. 13. The Stags prevailed 83-79 on Feb. 15.
 
First Meeting
Marist lost leading scorer Brian Parker to an ankle injury just 1:19 into the game, but Austin Williams stepped in with 23 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. David Knudsen scored a team-high 24 points, including a 6-for-9 performance from three-point range, to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Marist built a 13-point lead with 9:14 remaining, but Fairfield took the lead in the final minute. Ryan Funk scored 10 of the Red Foxes' 15 points in overtime to seal the victory. For Fairfield, Tyler Nelson scored a game-high 35 points. Aidas Kavaliauskas made his first career start at point guard, and finished with 14 points and 10 assists against just two turnovers.
 
Second Meeting
Fairfield build a six-point halftime lead, which reached as large as 12 in the second half. The Stags led by nine with one minute to play, but the Red Foxes closed the deficit to two with 7.4 seconds remaining. But Ferron Flavors Jr. sealed the Stags' victory with two free throws with 5.4 seconds left. Marist had five double-digit scorers, led by Brian Parker with 18. Fairfield's Tyler Nelson led all scorers with 29. Flavors contributed a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Statistics From the Season Series

• Marist had five players average in double figures in the two games, led by Austin Williams at 17.5 points per game.
• Williams and Lasse Gummerus tied for the team lead in rebounds at 6.0 per game.
• Four Fairfield players averaged in double digits per game, led by Tyler Nelson at 32.0 ppg. Nelson shot .500 (21-for-42) from the field, .421 (8-for-19) from three-point range, and 1.000 (14-for-14) from the free-throw line.
• Aidas Kavaliauskas shot .900 (9-for-10) from the field, had 16 assists against three turnovers, and averaged10.5 points per game.
• Marist shot .518 from the field, .423 from three-point range, and .692 from the free-throw line.
• Fairfield shot .462 from the field, .393 from three-point range, and .718 from the free-throw line.
• Marist held a 1.5 rebound advantage, while Fairfield was +4.5 in turnovers.

 
Championship History vs. Fairfield
This will be the third Marist-Fairfield meeting in the MAAC Championships. The first came in 1998 (Marist's first year in the conference), when the eighth-seeded Red Foxes topped the ninth-seeded Stags 74-73 in overtime. The most recent meeting came in 2011, when the top-seeded Stags downed the ninth-seeded Red Foxes 55-31 in the quarterfinal round.
 
Top Tournament Tidbits

• Brian Parker has 1,340 career points, which ranks 11th all-time in program history. Mike Hart is in 10th place on the all-time list with 1,343 points.
• Parker's 276 career assists rank 10th all-time in program history.
• In his last five games, Ryan Funk is averaging 17.4 points per game while shooting .500 (28-for-56) from the field, .452 (19-for-42) from three-point range, and 1.000 (12-for-12) from the free-throw line.
• Funk has made 15 straight free throws.
• David Knudsen is one of six players in the MAAC who have increased his scoring average at least six points per game from last season.