Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
.png&width=100&type=webp)
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Tuesday, November 8
GCU Arena
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
vs
San Diego Christian (Exhibition)
Brad Carroll
'Lopes Prepare for Final Exhibition
11/8/2011 11:38:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Grand Canyon University men's basketball team will host San Diego Christian tonight at 6 p.m. in the new Grand Canyon University Arena. Below are a few notes heading into tonight's game.
STIFF COMPETITION: GCU is opening the 2011-12 season with three of their first four games coming against D-I opponents. GCU opened their exhibition season in Eugene against the Oregon Ducks on Nov. 2 and played at home against ASU on Nov.5. The Antelopes wrap up their exhibition slate with a home game tonight against San Diego Christian. GCU will officially open their season when it plays at UNLV on Nov. 11. Last season, the Antelopes lost exhibition games at UNLV and Utah State. They lost their season opener on the road against Utah.
SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN: The Hawks enter tonight’s game with one game under their belt. The Hawks lost 84-63 in an exhibition game on Nov. 5 at UC Irvine. San Diego Christian was led by Kevin Dawson who scored 15. Johnnie Delbene added 10 points. The Hawks shot 33.9% (20-for-59) from the floor. SDCC is a NAIA school and member of the Golden State Athletic Conference.
LAST TIME OUT: GCU fell 89-69 to Arizona State in the men’s inaugural game at Grand Canyon University Arena. The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 4,702. The Antelopes trailed 37-31 at the half, despite shooting 28.6% (8-for-28) from the field and 14.3% from the arc (2-for-14). Brad Carroll led all ‘Lopes players with 15 points. Justin Wesolowski added 12 points and seven rebounds.
LOOKING FOR A TURNAROUND: The Antelopes have shot 35.1% through the first two exhibition games this season. They have a 33.3% mark from the 3-point line and have shot 67% at the free-throw line. Last season the Antelopes shot 45.7% from the field, 36.9% from the arc and 68.6% from the line.
LOOKING BACK: GCU went 14-12 last season, finishing fourth in the PacWest. The Antelopes jumped out to an 8-3 conference mark, before falling in five of their last six contests. GCU was second in the conference in scoring defense, holding opponents to 68.1 points per game. They were third in PacWest 3-point percentage with a .369 average (155-for-420). The 155 3- point baskets made ranked third in the conference.
THE BIG “O”: Brad Carroll enters his junior season after averaging 9.2 points per game last year, third-best on the team. Carroll led the team with a .418 shooting percentage (38-for-91) behind the arc. Carroll was clutch from the line, sinking 46 of 51 shots attempted for a .902 average.
SPEED TRAP: Senior Kyle Speed finished the 2010-11 season leading the PacWest in assist/turnover ratio (3.37). He ranked fourth in the nation. Speed was second in the league in steals (1.3), fifth in assists (3.5) and 10th in 3-point field-goal percentage (38.0). He led GCU in scoring at 10.0 per game.
THE FROSH: Freshmen Jerome Garrison and Justin Foreman have both had impressive starts to their GCU careers. Garrison has scored 26 points over the first two games on 8-for-19 shooting. Foreman has 23 points and nine rebounds in his first two contests.
AT THE HELM: Russ Pennell is in his third season with GCU. He has a 30-28 record over his first two seasons, leading the ‘Lopes to a 14-12 record in 2010-11. It was the first winning campaign for the Antelopes since 2006-07. Pennell was the interim head coach at Arizona during the 2008-09 season, after Lute Olson retired, leading the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 and 21-14 record. He was an assistant coach for Rob Evans at Arizona State and Mississippi. Pennell began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State under Eddie Sutton. Pennell has an overall coaching record of 51-42 in three seasons.
THE NEW DIGS: This season marks the debut of Grand Canyon University Arena. GCU Arena is the latest in the campus’ continued growth and will seat 4,602 fans for basketball in a state-of-the-art venue that will also host musical performances, speaking engagements and conferences. Last October the University opened a brand-new 55,000 square foot Recreational Center that features three basketball courts and practice facilities for wrestling and volleyball. The “Rec Center” is decked out with impressive athletic training and strength and conditioning rooms for all GCU athletes.
ABOUT THE PACIFIC WEST CONFERENCE: The Pacific West Conference has 10 members representing the states of Arizona, California, Hawai’i and Utah. The conference sent three teams to the postseason last year. BYU-Hawai’i was the national runner-up, losing in the NCAA Division II Championship game to Bellarmine, 71-68. Dixie State downed conference-foe Chaminade in the first round of the West Region bracket, eventually losing to BYU-Hawai’i in the regional championship.
HOW CAN I FOLLOW? We will have many different options to follow the ‘Lopes this season. Keep checking here for the latest news. Both men’s and women’s basketball can be viewed or heard by going to www.gculopes.com. GCU Alum, Michael Potter, will be handling the play-by-play for the games. Dan Nichols, GCU Assistant AD and basketball head coach at South Mountain CC, will join the broadcast this season as an analyst. ‘Lopes Lead-in will begin 15 minutes prior to tip-off of each game. Live stats are also available at www.gculopes.com. Cox Communications will be airing games on Nov. 25 and Dec. 16.
RUSS PENNELL COACHES SHOW: The “Russ Pennell Coaches Show” will air every Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. during the college basketball season on THE FAN AM 1060. The show will be hosted by Mike Muraco and Dan Manuchi (Roc and Manuch) during their “Calling All Sports” program, weekdays from 3 - 6 p.m. For people outside of the Phoenix market, the show can be heard live at www.kdus.com.
STEP RIGHT UP AND GET YOUR TICKETS: Season and single game tickets 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.
STIFF COMPETITION: GCU is opening the 2011-12 season with three of their first four games coming against D-I opponents. GCU opened their exhibition season in Eugene against the Oregon Ducks on Nov. 2 and played at home against ASU on Nov.5. The Antelopes wrap up their exhibition slate with a home game tonight against San Diego Christian. GCU will officially open their season when it plays at UNLV on Nov. 11. Last season, the Antelopes lost exhibition games at UNLV and Utah State. They lost their season opener on the road against Utah.
SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN: The Hawks enter tonight’s game with one game under their belt. The Hawks lost 84-63 in an exhibition game on Nov. 5 at UC Irvine. San Diego Christian was led by Kevin Dawson who scored 15. Johnnie Delbene added 10 points. The Hawks shot 33.9% (20-for-59) from the floor. SDCC is a NAIA school and member of the Golden State Athletic Conference.
LAST TIME OUT: GCU fell 89-69 to Arizona State in the men’s inaugural game at Grand Canyon University Arena. The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 4,702. The Antelopes trailed 37-31 at the half, despite shooting 28.6% (8-for-28) from the field and 14.3% from the arc (2-for-14). Brad Carroll led all ‘Lopes players with 15 points. Justin Wesolowski added 12 points and seven rebounds.
LOOKING FOR A TURNAROUND: The Antelopes have shot 35.1% through the first two exhibition games this season. They have a 33.3% mark from the 3-point line and have shot 67% at the free-throw line. Last season the Antelopes shot 45.7% from the field, 36.9% from the arc and 68.6% from the line.
LOOKING BACK: GCU went 14-12 last season, finishing fourth in the PacWest. The Antelopes jumped out to an 8-3 conference mark, before falling in five of their last six contests. GCU was second in the conference in scoring defense, holding opponents to 68.1 points per game. They were third in PacWest 3-point percentage with a .369 average (155-for-420). The 155 3- point baskets made ranked third in the conference.
THE BIG “O”: Brad Carroll enters his junior season after averaging 9.2 points per game last year, third-best on the team. Carroll led the team with a .418 shooting percentage (38-for-91) behind the arc. Carroll was clutch from the line, sinking 46 of 51 shots attempted for a .902 average.
SPEED TRAP: Senior Kyle Speed finished the 2010-11 season leading the PacWest in assist/turnover ratio (3.37). He ranked fourth in the nation. Speed was second in the league in steals (1.3), fifth in assists (3.5) and 10th in 3-point field-goal percentage (38.0). He led GCU in scoring at 10.0 per game.
THE FROSH: Freshmen Jerome Garrison and Justin Foreman have both had impressive starts to their GCU careers. Garrison has scored 26 points over the first two games on 8-for-19 shooting. Foreman has 23 points and nine rebounds in his first two contests.
AT THE HELM: Russ Pennell is in his third season with GCU. He has a 30-28 record over his first two seasons, leading the ‘Lopes to a 14-12 record in 2010-11. It was the first winning campaign for the Antelopes since 2006-07. Pennell was the interim head coach at Arizona during the 2008-09 season, after Lute Olson retired, leading the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 and 21-14 record. He was an assistant coach for Rob Evans at Arizona State and Mississippi. Pennell began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State under Eddie Sutton. Pennell has an overall coaching record of 51-42 in three seasons.
THE NEW DIGS: This season marks the debut of Grand Canyon University Arena. GCU Arena is the latest in the campus’ continued growth and will seat 4,602 fans for basketball in a state-of-the-art venue that will also host musical performances, speaking engagements and conferences. Last October the University opened a brand-new 55,000 square foot Recreational Center that features three basketball courts and practice facilities for wrestling and volleyball. The “Rec Center” is decked out with impressive athletic training and strength and conditioning rooms for all GCU athletes.
ABOUT THE PACIFIC WEST CONFERENCE: The Pacific West Conference has 10 members representing the states of Arizona, California, Hawai’i and Utah. The conference sent three teams to the postseason last year. BYU-Hawai’i was the national runner-up, losing in the NCAA Division II Championship game to Bellarmine, 71-68. Dixie State downed conference-foe Chaminade in the first round of the West Region bracket, eventually losing to BYU-Hawai’i in the regional championship.
HOW CAN I FOLLOW? We will have many different options to follow the ‘Lopes this season. Keep checking here for the latest news. Both men’s and women’s basketball can be viewed or heard by going to www.gculopes.com. GCU Alum, Michael Potter, will be handling the play-by-play for the games. Dan Nichols, GCU Assistant AD and basketball head coach at South Mountain CC, will join the broadcast this season as an analyst. ‘Lopes Lead-in will begin 15 minutes prior to tip-off of each game. Live stats are also available at www.gculopes.com. Cox Communications will be airing games on Nov. 25 and Dec. 16.
RUSS PENNELL COACHES SHOW: The “Russ Pennell Coaches Show” will air every Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. during the college basketball season on THE FAN AM 1060. The show will be hosted by Mike Muraco and Dan Manuchi (Roc and Manuch) during their “Calling All Sports” program, weekdays from 3 - 6 p.m. For people outside of the Phoenix market, the show can be heard live at www.kdus.com.
STEP RIGHT UP AND GET YOUR TICKETS: Season and single game tickets 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.
Makaih Williams | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Dusty Stromer | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Kaleb Smith | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Non-Conference Schedule Release | Men's Basketball
Monday, August 04