Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, November 26
GCU Arena
7:15 p.m.
Grand Canyon
81
vs
66
Fort Lewis
Witherill had 20 points and 7 assists tonight.
Witherill, 'Lopes Win Third Straight
11/26/2011 8:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Grand Canyon University men’s basketball team won for the second time in as many nights, tonight defeating Fort Lewis 81-66 at Grand Canyon University Arena in Phoenix.
With the win, GCU improved to 3-1. Fort Lewis, a No.2 seed in the NCAA tourney last season, fell to 2-2.
“The exciting part about this weekend is that we beat two NCAA tournament teams from last year and the fact we were able to string back-to-back wins with energy and mental focus,” said head coach Russ Pennell. “That is most rewarding thing for me to see because it shows our maturity as a team.”
Nick Witherill led all scorers with 20 points and a career-high seven assists. He was 5-for-9 from the floor and was 9-for-13 from the foul line.
“Without Brad Carroll out there, I was just trying to make some plays,” said Witherill. “I was trying to make any play I could to help us get a win tonight. This is a big confidence booster for us to win these games the past two nights. Fort Lewis and SPU are both tournament type teams and to win in March we need to prove we can win games like these on back-to-back nights.”
Much like last night’s game with No. 22 Seattle Pacific, the ‘Lopes led throughout, trailing only once at 2-1 just over a minute into the game.
GCU shot 13-for-26 in both the first and second half, for its best shooting night of the young season.
Kyle Speed added 19 points, five rebounds and three assists.Chris Johnson chipped in 13, while Justin Foreman finished with 12.
Leading by eight at the intermission, GCU came out fast, outscoring FLC 9-2 in the opening three minutes to open up a 17-point advantage.
Johnson electrified the crowd two and a half minutes into the second half when he reached high into the air to catch a pass from Speed for a highlight-film alley-oop slam dunk.
The GCU defense was stifling in the game, holding the Skyhawks to 41 percent shooting. Fort Lewis managed only one field goal in the opening eight minutes of the second half as GCU kept a 10-plus point lead throughout the final 20 minutes.
GCU will next be in action when they host PacWest foe Notre Dame de Namur on Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Grand Canyon University Arena.
“Our preparation will be the same, but we know that winning the PacWest Conference gets us into the NCAA Tournament,” said Pennell. “We are fortunate that the schedule breaks in our favor so that we open at home. We have to get better this week, but I like where we are at. I’m glad we have a week to digest this and get ready for Saturday night.”
GCU 81 FLC 66
With the win, GCU improved to 3-1. Fort Lewis, a No.2 seed in the NCAA tourney last season, fell to 2-2.
“The exciting part about this weekend is that we beat two NCAA tournament teams from last year and the fact we were able to string back-to-back wins with energy and mental focus,” said head coach Russ Pennell. “That is most rewarding thing for me to see because it shows our maturity as a team.”
Nick Witherill led all scorers with 20 points and a career-high seven assists. He was 5-for-9 from the floor and was 9-for-13 from the foul line.
“Without Brad Carroll out there, I was just trying to make some plays,” said Witherill. “I was trying to make any play I could to help us get a win tonight. This is a big confidence booster for us to win these games the past two nights. Fort Lewis and SPU are both tournament type teams and to win in March we need to prove we can win games like these on back-to-back nights.”
Much like last night’s game with No. 22 Seattle Pacific, the ‘Lopes led throughout, trailing only once at 2-1 just over a minute into the game.
GCU shot 13-for-26 in both the first and second half, for its best shooting night of the young season.
Kyle Speed added 19 points, five rebounds and three assists.Chris Johnson chipped in 13, while Justin Foreman finished with 12.
Leading by eight at the intermission, GCU came out fast, outscoring FLC 9-2 in the opening three minutes to open up a 17-point advantage.
Johnson electrified the crowd two and a half minutes into the second half when he reached high into the air to catch a pass from Speed for a highlight-film alley-oop slam dunk.
The GCU defense was stifling in the game, holding the Skyhawks to 41 percent shooting. Fort Lewis managed only one field goal in the opening eight minutes of the second half as GCU kept a 10-plus point lead throughout the final 20 minutes.
GCU will next be in action when they host PacWest foe Notre Dame de Namur on Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Grand Canyon University Arena.
“Our preparation will be the same, but we know that winning the PacWest Conference gets us into the NCAA Tournament,” said Pennell. “We are fortunate that the schedule breaks in our favor so that we open at home. We have to get better this week, but I like where we are at. I’m glad we have a week to digest this and get ready for Saturday night.”
GCU 81 FLC 66
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