GCU defeats Marist to claim HOF Tip-Off Springfield Bracket championship

Sunday, November 20

Uncasville, Conn.

4:00 P.M.

Grand Canyon

2-2

Marist College

1-4

GRAND CANYON

MARIST

GCU defeats Marist to claim HOF Tip-Off Springfield Bracket championship

11/20/2016 10:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

By: Charles Hampton

The Grand Canyon men's basketball team claimed the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament championship in the Springfield Bracket with an 84-72 victory over Marist College on Sunday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Ct.

"Overall, it was a very good win," head coach Dan Majerle said. "To start off this road trip 0-2 and to win the last two on the last leg of this trip, it has been really hard, but I'm proud of our guys."

DeWayne Russell and Joshua Braun earned All-Tournament Team honors. The Lopes improved to 2-2 on the season after they went 2-0 in the Springfield Bracket which included Albany, Brown and Marist.

"JB and DeWayne were great," Majerle said. "They deserve it. Those two—the whole team played great, but JB was huge. DeWayne, I've talked about how good he is, and just the competitive fire that he has in our team and the confidence he brings for everybody. It makes me sleep better at night, knowing that DeWayne is out there handling the basketball."

GCU took control of the game from the start, opening up an 8-0 lead within the first three minutes of the game. The Lopes led by as many as 15 in the first half, but took a 13-point lead into the break with Russell pouring in 18 in the half for the second consecutive night, on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point range.

While Russell cooled off a bit in the second half, Braun picked right up where his teammate left off, hitting 4-of-6 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range and adding four free throws to give him 15 points for the half, and a game-high total of 25. Keonta Vernon added a spark in the second half, adding 8 points and 3 rebounds off the bench to give him 13 points and 5 rebounds for the game as the Lopes sealed the 12-point victory.

In his second game back with the team, Russell was outstanding again, scoring 23 points to go along with 7 assists, and 4 rebounds. GCU committed only 5 turnovers, while forcing 11 Marist turnovers which they were able to turn into 10 points. Darion Clark narrowly missed his second double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 9 rebounds, but added 3 steals to lead the team.

The Lopes shot a season-best 54.5 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from 3-point range. The GCU bench outscored Marist 18-4. Brian Parker led the Red Foxes with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and Khallid Hart added 17 points for Marist, who dropped to 1-3 on the season.

GCU returns back to Phoenix to host Coppin State in their home opener on Friday, Nov. 25. Tip-off from Grand Canyon University Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MST.