Nov. 23, 2004
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Terrence Todd and Tyquawn Goode each scored a team-high 13 points in Fairfield University's (2-1 overall) 59-58 overtime victory against Elon University (1-3 overall) at the Arena at Harbor Yard. But, it was Todd's free throws in the closing seconds of regulation and the opening seconds of overtime that were the difference in this game.
Matt Nowlin made one of two free throws with 26 seconds remaining in overtime to push Elon's lead to two points, 53-51. Todd secured the rebound off the missed charity toss, and was fouled bringing the ball up court. The junior's shot touched nothing but the net to tie the game at 53-53 with 23 seconds remaining in the second half. Nowlin turned the ball over on an over-and-back call with 16 seconds left, giving the Stags one chance to win it in overtime.
Todd kept the ball at the right hash until the 10 second mark, then drove toward the left side of the court. Drawing the defense toward him, Todd dished the ball to Goode in the corner. Goode's shot rattled around the rim, then fell out to send the game into overtime.
Fairfield started the overtime with a 6-1 run to pull ahead 59-54 with 3:37 remaining in the period. Todd started the streak by making one of two free throws, followed by DeWitt Maxwell's three-point play for a 57-53 Stags advantage. Elon's Scottie Rice made one of two free throws to make the score 57-54, before free throws by Michael Bell gave Fairfield its biggest lead at 59-54 since a 36-31 advantage at 18:47 of the second half.
After LeVonn Jordan's basket at the 3:25 mark pulled Elon with three points at 59-56, Colin Wyatt made it a one point game following a layup with 56 seconds left in the overtime. Bell missed a three-point shot with the shot clock winding down, giving the Phoenix one last shot to win the game. Chris Chalko's runner from eight feet fell off the rim and was rebounded by Deng Gai to end the game.
Gai finished the game with his first double-double of the season, registering 12 points with 12 rebounds and three blocks. Jackson Atoyebi paced Elon with 13 points, followed by Nowlin's 12 markers.
The game was hard-fought and close for the entire 45 minutes, with no team holding a lead bigger than five points. Fairfield held a five-point advantage four times during the game, while Elon never led by more than four points. There were six ties and 11 lead changes during the contest.
