Nov. 13, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- After holding 12th-ranked Mississippi State to just 53 points in the season opener, the Stags defense improved on that total with a 62-47 victory over Alabama A&M in the consolation game of the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic.
Fairfield forced the Bulldogs to go minutes at a time without a field goal, including the first 10 minutes of the second half. Alabama A&M shot 30 percent from the floor in the game, including just 29 percent in the second half.
Without question, the inside presence of Deng Gai was a key factor in the Bulldogs' apprehension to drive the lane, forcing outside shot after outside shot. Gai finished the game with six rejections, and the two-game series with nine blocks.
Meanwhile, junior DeWitt Maxwell found his shooters touch, making seven of 10 field goal attempts. His accuracy translated into a team-high 15 point performance, just one point ahead of Gai. Gai tallied 14 points for the second straight night, making six of 12 shots including both three-point tries.
The three-point line may have been moved back for this tournament (experimental rule of 20-feet, six inches), but it did not bother the Stags. The team made seven of 11 long-range jumpers in the game, including three of four for guard Terrence Todd.
Fairfield never trailed in the game, jumping out to a 4-0 lead courtesy of a layup by Maxwell and a dunk by Gai. The lead quickly jumped to seven points, 9-2, with 15:37 remaining in the first half. Fairfield more than doubled that advantage over the next 13 minutes, taking its biggest lead of the half at 30-15 with 1:56 left on the clock, before the Bulldogs' Joe Martin closed the scoring with a layup for a 30-17 halftime score.
The Red and White opened the second half with a dominating 23-6 run over the first nine minutes of the period, and the lead reached 30 points following a three-point basket by Alvin Carter, 53-23. The Stags were never really in danger the rest of the way, even though Alabama A&M finished the game with a 9-0 run to turn a 24-point deficit with 2:34 remaining into a 15-point loss at the final buzzer.
Alabama A&M's Joe Martin led all players in both scoring (16 points) and rebounding (8).
