Jan. 28, 2005
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Deng Gai registered his third double double over the last four games by recording 22 points and 10 rebounds as Fairfield University posted an 82-65 win over Canisius College at the Arena at Harbor Yard. Terrence Todd added 21 points to the Stags cause, as both players made nine of their 15 field goal attempts in the game.
Fairfield wasted little time in taking control of this game, starting the evening with a 13-0 run over the first five minutes of the game. DeWitt Maxwell scored six of the first 13 points, while Michael Van Schaick added a three-point basket. The Golden Griffs finally broke through with 14:48 remaining in the first half, thanks to a driving layup by Dewitt Doss.
Canisius cut the lead to under 10 points for the final time after Kevin Downey's jumper made the score 15-6 with 13:39 remaining in the half. Fairfield quickly pushed the lead back to double figures with seven straight points, whicn included a three-point play by Maxwell. But, Fairfield was far from over in this half, quickly turning that 16 point lead to a 20-point advantage at 31-11 with six minutes remaining.
The lead reached 28 points at 39-11 with three minutes remaining following basket by Gai, before Anthony Byrd hit a three-pointer for the Griffs to make the score 39-14. Byrd's points were the last for Canisius in the half, allowing Fairfield to close the half with an 8-0 spurt and move the lead to 33 points at 47-14 for halftime. Tyquawn Goode became the seventh player in school history to reach 400 career assists with his final assist of the first half.
The Stags offense continued to build upon its lead, with the advantage reaching its zenith at 37 points following Gai's slam dunk with 16:21 remaining in the game. Canisius slowly chipped away from that point, coming closest at the final buzzer, 82-65.
Maxwell was Fairfield's only other double digit scorer with 19 points, complimenting his eight rebounds. Doss led all Canisius scorers with 14 points, followed by Anthony Byrd's 13 points and Kevin Downey's 10 markers. Downey just missed a double double with eight rebounds.
Fairfield returns to action on January 30 when it travels to Manhattan College for a 4 pm game at Draddy Gymnasium.
