Men's Basketball Southern Conference

Fairfield Tops Elon

ELON, N.C. - Deng Gai pounded home 22 points, hauled in 11 rebounds and swatted six shots - all game highs - as Fairfield survived Elon 69-64 in a non-conference men's basketball battle Thursday night at Alumni Gym.

Gai hit eight of his 13 shots, including three of his four attempts from three-point land, as the Stags (8-4) handed the Phoenix (4-9) a rare home loss. Entering the contest, Elon was 4-0 at Alumni Gym on the season and 38-15 in home games over the past five years.

The Phoenix soared to an early 12-5 advantage on a Rasmi Gamble lay-up with 14:40 remaining in the first half. The Stags stormed ahead 26-21 on a three-pointer by Tyquawn Goode with 5:21 left before the break, capping a 21-9 run. In a game that featured six ties and eight lead changes, Fairfield eventually extended its lead to 57-49 on a lay-up by Rob Thomson with 7:28 remaining.

Elon reeled off nine consecutive points to claim a 58-57 edge on a pair of Gary Marsh free throws with 3:30 to play. Dewitt Maxwell canned a pair of charity shots just 20 seconds later to ignite a 12-6 surge by the Stags to finish the game.

Scottie Rice paced the Phoenix with 20 points and a career-high nine assists while teammates Jackson Atoyebi (14 points, two blocked shots) and Marsh (13 points - all in the second half - and eight rebounds) also scored in double figures. Gai received plenty of support from Kudjo Sogadzi (11 points), Maxwell (10 points) and Thomson (10 rebounds).

Fairfield bested the Phoenix in bench points (21-14), second chance points (16-8), fast break points (4-2), field goal percentage (43.4-37.1), three-point field goal percentage (61.5-33.3), rebounds (45-30) and blocked shots (7-5). Elon ended up with edges in points off turnovers (10-8), free throw percentage (83.3-68.2), assists (16-10) and turnovers (6-16). Each team tallied 20 points in the paint and four steals apiece.