Central Plains FFA Chapter

01/08 03:43 CST Rider visits Fairfield following Cruz's 20-point showing Rider visits Fairfield following Cruz's 20-point showing By The Associated Press Rider Broncs (1-12, 0-4 MAAC) at Fairfield Stags (9-7, 1-4 MAAC) Fairfield, Connecticut; Friday, 7 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Rider visits Fairfield after Zion Cruz scored 20 points in Rider's 74-65 loss to the Siena Saints. The Stags are 5-2 on their home court. Fairfield is the MAAC leader with 35.8 rebounds per game led by Brandon Benjamin averaging 9.9. The Broncs are 0-4 in MAAC play. Rider is 0-3 in one-possession games. Fairfield's average of 8.3 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.5 more made shots on average than the 7.8 per game Rider allows. Rider averages 61.6 points per game, 12.7 fewer points than the 74.3 Fairfield allows. The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play. TOP PERFORMERS: Braden Sparks averages 3.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Stags, scoring 17.9 points while shooting 44.2% from beyond the arc. Benjamin is shooting 56.6% and averaging 14.1 points over the past 10 games. Aasim Burton is shooting 25.0% from beyond the arc with 1.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Broncs, while averaging 11.7 points. Cruz is shooting 33.3% and averaging 9.3 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Stags: 5-5, averaging 78.6 points, 35.2 rebounds, 12.2 assists, 6.0 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.1 points per game. Broncs: 0-10, averaging 60.9 points, 32.5 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 5.5 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 38.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.2 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.