'Lopes Fall in Spirited Effort Against Oregon

Wednesday, November 2

Eugene, OR

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Oregon (Exhibition)

Chris Johnson

11/2/2011 9:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

The Grand Canyon University men’s basketball fell to Oregon this evening, 82-75, in an exhibition contest at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.

While nobody in purple will be content with loss, there were many positives during the game that bodes well for the upcoming season.

“I was happy with how we competed this evening,” said head coach Russ Pennell. “Our guys never blinked and showed what we have been seeing in practice - which is that we have the ability to fight and compete hard. That is the first step to being successful.”

After a sluggish opening four minutes, the Antelopes gained the momentum in the game, jumping out to a 12-4 lead on the heels of two three-point baskets by freshman Justin Foreman. GCU continued to apply the pressure and opened their largest lead of the game at 26-17 with 6:29 remaining in the first half.

GCU was tagged with 30 fouls during the game, 18 of which came in the first half. That led the Ducks on a parade to the foul line that saw them take their first lead of the game with 2:30 remaining in the first half and an eventual 39-32 edge at the break. The Ducks would end the game with a 45-29 advantage in free throw attempts.

The ‘Lopes would get as close as four points in the second, being led by another freshman, Jerome Garrison. Garrison, from Mountain Pointe High School, scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half.

“I thought our freshmen were dynamic and gave us a whole new look,” added Pennell. “They didn’t play like freshmen and weren’t scared in this environment.”

GCU was able to play to a draw with the Ducks at 43-43 in the second half, outrebounding them 28-18.

“What I found out tonight is that these guys have matured a lot and are ready to take the next step in Division II,” said Pennell. “We should be a force in our conference and that is what you expect in year three.”

Kyle Speed added 14 points and six rebounds this evening, playing a team-high 34 minutes.

“I’m very excited and encouraged by what we did tonight,” said Speed. “We played well in a lot of stretches. That was what coach wanted to see from us tonight. He challenged us to see how long we could do what we wanted do as far as playing our game. I felt like we were able to do that for most of the game and to do it against a D-I opponent is key for us moving forward this season.”

Next up for Grand Canyon is the much anticipated exhibition game against Arizona State on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. and the men’s inaugural basketball game in the new Grand Canyon University Arena.

“We have the opportunity to be a really good team this year,” said Foreman. “We showed a lot of energy and enthusiasm tonight and we hope to give our fans a great showing this Saturday.”

Limited seats are available for the ASU game. Tickets for that game and all games throughout the season are available for purchase at www.gcuarena.com, by phone at 602.639.8999 or the Grand Canyon University Arena Box Office located at 3300 W. Camelback Road in Phoenix.

Oregon 82 GCU 75