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Fairfield 80, South Dakota 72 (OT)
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Forward Amadou Sidibe scored six of his 14 points in overtime to lead the Fairfield Stags to an 80-72 victory over the South Dakota Coyotes in the final game of the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., on Sunday.
Freshman guard Tyler Nelson had a season-high 24 points, while forward Mike Kirkland added 20 points for the Stags (2-3). Forward Marcus Gilbert added 12 points for Fairfield.
Forward Tyler Larson had 23 points and 12 rebounds for South Dakota (0-6) and guard Brandon Bos finished with 20 points for the Coyotes, who outrebounded Fairfield, 40-33.
With the game tied at 29 at the half, back-to-back 3-pointers by Nelson gave Fairfield a 45-31 with 15:56 left in the second half. The Stags stayed in control and a layup by Kirkland increased the margin to 53-44 with 10:18 remaining.
However, seven straight points by Larson helped South Dakota tie the game at 68 with 40 seconds left and send the game into overtime.
In the extra period, Sidibe scored four points to provide Fairfield with a 74-70 lead with 1:51 remaining. He then added two more free throws in the final 25 seconds to seal the win.
The Coyotes (0-5) have yet to win a game under first-year coach Craig Smith.
