Jan. 17, 2005
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Deng Gai earned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference co-player of the week award after leading the Fairfield University men's basketball team to a 2-0 record and a share of first place in the MAAC standings.
The forward averaged 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and eight blocks per game in the two wins. He paced the team with 25 points, nine rebounds, and 10 blocks in Fairfield's 72-69 road win against Rider University. He started the week with 14 points, eight rebounds, and six blocks in a 77-66 win at Siena.
Gai entered last week as the nation's leading shot blocker with 4.8 per game. He raised that average with his performances against Siena and Rider, giving him an average of 5.2 blocks per game.
Gai moved into the Division Top 25 blocks leaders list following the Rider game. He has 357 blocks in 85 games, moving him past Dikembe Mutombo (354 blocks in 96 contests) and tying Auburn's Kyle Davis (357 blocks in 116 games) for 24th all-time.
He currently ranks second on the team with a 14.2 scoring average, and leads the team with 8.7 rebounds per game.
The Stags will play Marist College on Wednesday night, a game which will determine first place in the conference standings. Both Fairfield and Marist are tied for the lead with 5-1 records. Fairfield owns an 8-7 overall record under head coach Tim O'Toole.
