DAYTON, Ohio – Gardner-Webb mounted a big second half rally Saturday afternoon, but lost to Fairfield, 75-64, on the second day of the 2017 Wright State Invitational Thanksgiving Tournament.
Down 44-29 at halftime, Gardner-Webb opened the second half with a 21-10 run to get back into contention. The Runnin' Bulldogs would eventually get as close as a single point, but Fairfield (3-2) stymied the rally and eventually pushed its lead back to double figures in the final 20 seconds.
After making 4-of-5 shots to start the game with an early 10-5 lead, Gardner-Webb (2-5) made just 6-of-20 the rest of the first half. Fairfield closed the first half on an 18-6 run to take a 44-29 lead at the break that was too much to overcome.
After an uncharacteristic night on Friday, D.J. Laster came out strong early on Saturday, scoring the first five points for Gardner-Webb. Three-pointers by Laster and
David Efianayi pushed Gardner-Webb to a 10-5 lead just three minutes in, as Gardner-Webb started out hot.
Disaster struck for Gardner-Webb soon after its fast start, as Laster picked up his second foul and sat for the final 15:30 of the half. Fairfield began to find its range outside as the half wore on, and the Runnin' Bulldogs made just five of their next 17 shots (29.4 percent) as the Stags slowly built a 33-25 lead with just over three minutes left in the half.
That run grew to an 18-6 rally over the final 5:15, as the Stags took advantage of Gardner-Webb's cold shooting and eight turnovers to build its healthy halftime margin.
Gardner-Webb found its shooting touch again in the second half, with Laster sparking an early rally that quickly trimmed the Stags' advantage to single digits. The Runnin' Bulldogs trailed by only four points midway through the half, but could not chip away further until later in the game.
The 'Dogs cut it to 58-57 on Cornwall trey with 6:21 left, but Fairfield answered on the other end with another three-pointer from Nelson. The Fairfield sharpshooter added another 18-footer two possessions later to push the Stags' lead back to 63-57 with 4:06 left to play.
A dunk by Jonathan Kasibabu with 3:12 left gave Fairfield a 65-57 advantage and Gardner-Webb would not have enough time to catch up. After the 'Dogs cut it to 65-61 with 1:58 left, Fairfield's Ferron Flavors drained a long three-pointer with 1:21 left and GWU missed on the other end.
Matija Milin sank a pair of free throws with 39.7 seconds left after another rebounding foul underneath to push the lead to 70-61 and flip the
Laster took a pass from
Brandon Miller with 28.4 seconds left and sank a wing three-pointer from 22 feet, cutting the Fairfield lead to 70-64, but Nelson broke free on the inbounds for a layup and the Stags created another turnover on the next offensive possession for GWU.
Nelson made two free throws with 17.6 seconds left to get the lead back to double digits.
Gardner-Webb shot 49.0 for the game (24-of-49), but coughed up 19 turnovers that led to 20 Fairfield points. It marked the third game in a row for GWU with at least 17 turnovers and allowed the Stags a 13-point edge in points off of turnovers Saturday afternoon.
Laster and Efianayi each scored 14 to lead the Runnin' Bulldogs, with Laster doing his damage in only 19 minutes due to foul trouble. O'Reilly added 11 points and Cornwall scored eight for the 'Dogs.
Fairfield knocked down 43.3 percent from the floor (26-of-60) and made 14-of-20 from the free throw line (70 percent). Nelson torched the nets for a game-high 26 points and Kasibubu added 15 points for the Stags.
Gardner-Webb will play Jacksonville (Fla.) on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the 2017 Wright State Invitational Thanksgiving Tournament. The game will air live on ESPN3 and the ESPN app from the Nutter Center.
