March 7, 2003
TRENTON, N.J. -- Sophomore Deng Gai (Sudan) earned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Defensive Player of the Year award for the second straight season. The announcement was made during a press conference at the Sovereign Bank Arena, home of the 2003 MAAC Tournament. The award was the result of a vote by the conference head coaches.
Gai received the award after leading the conference in blocked shots with 84, averaging four rejections per game. The forward/center also places fourth in the country for blocks per game. Gai blocked five or more shots in seven straight games during the regular season, and had as many as eight blocks in a game on two different occasions.
The sophomore also leads the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and in rebounding (6.3 rpg). He was the team's top scorer and rebounder against MAAC opponents as well. Gai earned a spot on the All-MAAC first team for 2003, which was announced earlier in the week.
Fairfield plays its first game in the MAAC tournament on Saturday, March 8. The Stags, seeded second in the tourney, will play the winner of seventh-seed Rider University and eighth-seeded Saint Peter's College. Fairfield captured the second seed after finishing the season with a 17-10 overall record and a 13-5 MAAC mark under fifth-year head coach Tim O'Toole.
