The Grand Canyon University men's basketball team will host No. 22 Seattle Pacific tonight at 7:15 p.m. at Grand Canyon University Arena. The 'Lopes will be in action tomorrow night at 7:15 p.m., when they host Fort Lewis at GCU Arena.
VS. SEATTLE PACIFIC: GCU owns a 9-6 lead in the overall series. The Antelopes dropped a pair of games last season to SPU, falling 79-68 on Nov. 27 in Phoenix and 71-52 on Dec. 4 in Seattle. Seattle Pacific enters the game ranked No. 22 in the first NABC poll. They carry a 4-0 mark, having beaten the PacWest Conference’s Dixie State, Hawai’i Pacific and BYU-Hawai’i. During the exhibition slate, the Falcons traveled to Tucson, Ariz. and defeated the University of Arizona.
HOME SWEET HOME: GCU is preparing for its second home game in a stretch of eight straight. GCU will not hit the road again until Jan. 3, when it plays at Dominican.
LAST TIME OUT: Grand Canyon jumped out to an early 17-point lead and held on to defeat The Master’s College 77-70 on Nov. 16 at GCU Arena. Kyle Speed led the ‘Lopes with 15 points, while Justin Wesolowski added nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds. GCU went to the foul line 40 times, making 30 shots.
EARLY RETURNS: The Antelopes have shot 42 percent from the floor to begin the season. They shot 56 percent from the floor in the first half against The Master’s College. GCU is shooting 35 percent from the 3-point line and 73 percent from the foul line. They have turned the ball over 32 times in their first two games and forced 22 turnovers. The ‘Lopes have 12 steals, eight of which came in the game against The Master’s College.
COX 7 IS IN THE HOUSE: This evening’s game will be broadcast by Cox 7 in Phoenix. Kevin Ray will handle the play-by-play duties, while GCU’s Dan Nichols will serve as the analyst for the broadcast. Cox 7 will also be broadcasting the Dec. 16 game against St. Martin’s at 6 p.m. In addition to the college games Cox will be covering, they are scheduled to telecast four high school games from GCU Arena on Jan. 5, 12, 26 and Feb. 2. Each game will begin at 7 p.m.