DAYTON, Ohio -- Point totals grab headlines. Rebounds grab attention. But it's the little things that actually win basketball games. Tonight, the Fairfield University men's basketball team did all those little things and turned them into a big win. The Stags fell behind early, rallied to take the lead midway through the first half, and never relinquished that advantage which resulted in a 75-64 win over Gardner-Webb University. 

Fairfield passed the ball with precision and played solid defense throughout this game, two qualities that led to 19 assists on 26 baskets and 19 turnovers against a good team in Gardner-Webb. The Stags posted nine steals which helped the team score 20 points off turnovers, most of which seemed to come in transition. And at the heart of those numbers were Jerome Segura, Jonathan Kasibabu, and Jesus Cruz, a trio of players who made key plays throughout the game, but especially down the stretch when the Runnin' Bulldogs were trying to rally for the win.

Kasibabu picked up an important block and made three key passes to open teammates that set up baskets in the closing minutes to stave off Gardner-Webb's comeback bid. Segura dished off three assists with a steal in addition to controlling tempo and keeping Fairfield at an advantageous pace throughout the game. And Cruz, who earned his first start of the game, finished the game with 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists with four steals against one turnover in 40 minutes of work.

"Jon hinges on just being energetic and enthusiastic and bringing that positive energy and we certainly needed that with a disappointing effort yesterday," Head Coach Sydney Johnson said. "Jesus has earned a lot of his minutes from his defensive focus. He can do something offensively, but he was really locked in defensively as well. Jerome has tremendous heart but today I challenged him to get the other players to his level and that's through example and communication on the court. And, he stepped up to that challenge big time. He was sensational and although what he does is not always reflected in the box score, he always gives energy and we do not win this game without his influence."

Cruz opened the game with a basket on the team's first possession to give the Stags an early lead before Gardner-Webb used a 10-3 run to double up the Fairfield offensive effort at 10-5 three minutes into the game. It took Fairfield a while to gain any momentum against this opponent, but today, the team stayed focused and within the game plan as opposed to yesterday's first half when Jacksonville built a 21-point halftime lead.

"I think the guys really wanted to have a better account of themselves today," Coach Johnson said. "They wanted to show what they are about because I don't think we represented ourselves very well in the first half against Jacksonville. We certainly got it going in the second half yesterday and the two halves today of a lot of focus and much, much better from us."

Cruz capped a 10-4 run with a three-point play with 13:32 left in the first half to provide his team with a 15-14 lead. Kevin Senghore-Peterson added a layup on the next possession to run the advantage to three points and Fairfield never trailed in the game again. But despite leading the rest of the way, there were still plenty of anxious moments in the game, especially during the second half.

Fairfield continued to build on its lead and enjoyed a four -point edge at 29-25 with four minutes remaining in the first half. After that point, the Stags closed out the period with a 15-4 run that sent the small advantage into a double-digit lead at halftime. Tyler Nelson started that run with back-to-back layups plus two free throws on a third possession, pushing the lead to 35-25. Wassef Methnani netted a three-point field goal and Kasibabu scored off his third layup of the half to keep the momentum in Fairfield's favor and eventually provide the double-figure lead.

In the second half, Gardner-Webb switched somethings up and made some adjustments that seemed to work to its advantage as the Runnin' Bulldogs worked their way back into the game. With the score 46-31, Gardner-Webb used a 12-4 spurt that cut Fairfield's lead in half at 50-43 with 13:34 remaining. From that point in the game, both teams fought back and forth with Fairfield placing its effort on maintaining its edge and Gardner-Webb focusing on eliminating the deficit.

The tug-of-war was tipping toward the Runnin' Bulldogs as the North Carolina-based school pulled within a point at 58-57 following Jaheam Cornwall's three pointer with 6:21 remaining. Nelson stepped up at that point and netted five consecutive points to reestablish comfort with a six-point lead. But the exclamation point on Fairfield's reemergence came when Cruz sent a bounce pass toward the basket which Kasibabu accepted and turned into a crowd-pleasing slam dunk to make it a three-possession game at 65-57 with 3:20 on the clock.

Gardner-Webb managed to come within four points at 65-61, but Fairfield finished out the game with 10-3 run that eliminated any doubt of the outcome. During that run, Ferron Flavors Jr. tacked on his second three-point field goal of the game which turned a four-point lead into a seven-point advantage, a shot that deflated all hope from the opposition.

With the win, the Stags picked up their first road win of the year and evened up their record in this three-game tournament which concludes on Sunday afternoon with Fairfield playing host Wright State at 3:30 p.m.