GAME NOTES: The host program Fairfield Stags will try to bounce back on Saturday night against the Sam Houston State Bearkats, as the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard continues.

This round-robin tournament has South Dakota, Wofford, Sam Houston State and host Fairfield all playing each other over the course of the three-day event.

Sam Houston State began its stay in this event with a thrilling triple- overtime bout against South Dakota, a game in which it came out on top of, 93-85. The Bearkats are now 2-1 on the season after beating Austin College in their opener (100-52) and losing a nail-biter at UNLV (59-57).

Since winning its first game of the season on a neutral court versus Central Connecticut, 71-63, Fairfield has dropped back-to-back games to fall to 1-2. The host Stags fell flat in the event's opening matchup on Friday night, losing to Wofford, 54-36.

This marks the first-ever meeting between the programs.

The Bearkats' opening game of this event was close throughout with 16 ties and 17 lead changes, but after playing to ties to conclude both the first and second overtimes, they finally took control of the game in the third extra session by outscoring South Dakota, 14-6. They were plagued on the night by a game-high 23 turnovers, but luckily they shot a solid 45.6 percent from the field and knocked down 25-of-33 from the foul line. Pacing four teammates in double figures was Demarcus Gatlin, who scored 18 off the bench to go with seven rebounds. Marcus Burwell (14 points) and Michael Holyfield (12 points) each collected eight rebounds, while Jamal Williams was also integral off the bench with 13 points.

The extra periods of action helped Sam Houston State improve its scoring offense on the season (83.3 ppg), and it still only allows 65.3 ppg on the other end of the floor. Gatlin pours in 11.6 ppg and collects 7.3 rpg in his bench role. Holyfield is also a nightly double-double threat with 10.7 ppg and 8.7 rpg.

The Stags never had much hope in Friday's tilt, as they scored a mere 12 points in the first half and eventually suffered an 18-point loss. They struggled mightily on the offensive end of the floor, shooting a lowly 23.1 percent from the field (including 2-of-13) while committing 16 turnovers. The only player to finish in double figures was Marcus Gilbert with 10 points. Amadou Sidibe contributed six points and nine rebounds in the setback.

Fairfield's offensive production has been its Achilles' heel in the early going this season, as it's shooting only 36.1 percent from the field through three games for a lowly 55.3 ppg. Gilbert is one of the team's few bright spots with 15.3 ppg, although he's made just 5-of-17 from 3-point range. Coleman Johnson was averaging 14.0 ppg in the first two games of the season prior to a two-point effort against Wofford.

Despite owning the homecourt advantage in this event, Fairfield's crowd didn't give it much of a boost in its opening contest. The Stags should put up a better fight in this one, but Sam Houston State is the more talented squad and should prevail.