GCU Defeats Hawai'i Hilo, Improves to 9-1 at Home

Thursday, January 19

GCU Arena

6:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Hawaii Hilo

Braylon Pickrel posted his second double-double and brought his blocks total to a PacWest-high 30 on the season.

1/19/2012 7:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

The Grand Canyon University men’s basketball team defeated Hawai’i Hilo tonight, 77-64, at Grand Canyon University Arena in Phoenix.

With the win, the Antelopes improved to 9-5 overall, 3-3 in the Pacific West Conference and 9-1 at home. Hawai’i Hilo fell to 7-7 overall, 1-5 in the conference.

The Vulcans came out red hot, shooting 71 percent on 10-for-14 shooting to open a 29-16 lead over the Antelopes just 10 minutes into the game. GCU, however, responded by shutting down Hilo, holding them to 22 percent shooting (11-for-50) the rest of the night and pulling away in the second half for their ninth win of the season.

“I thought the effort from the guys was exceptional,” said head coach Russ Pennell. “The guys played with a lot of energy and even though we fell behind early, we felt what we were doing was working. Hilo just hit an incredible percentage from the field to start the game. But I believe our depth wore them down a bit and we were able to establish our defense.”

The defensive effort was evident on the glass as the ‘Lopes outrebounded the Vulcans 53-36. The plus-17 margin was the highest of the season for GCU.

Braylon Pickrel led the Antelopes, posting his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Pickrel also collected three blocks to give him a PacWest-leading total of 30 blocks on the season.

“Rebounding is a great measuring stick of your effort,” said Pennell. “So much of rebounding is based on effort and when you are able to have the success we had tonight it shows the activity of your team. It was a big key to the game and triggered our fast break. It played a major role in leading us to this victory.”

Down 13 midway through the first half, GCU used a 24-8 run to take a 40-37 lead into the half. Jerome Garrison led the first half comeback, scoring 12 of his game-high 16 points in the opening frame. Steve Morin dropped three 3-pointers in a four minute stretch during the run.

“I thought we played really hard and we were all really focused before the game,” said Garrison. “We had a plan before the game to come out and play 40 tough minutes of basketball. It was kind of a pride thing. We have been working hard since July. When we get down or lose like we have been doing, we get mad because we know all of the work we have put it into this.”

For Garrison it was his sixth double-digit scoring effort in his last 10 games. He is averaging 10.9 points during the 10-game stretch.

“I’m starting to see a lot of things that I previously wasn’t seeing on the court,” added Garrison. “My progression has been from watching film and the coaching staff. Everyday I’m learning something new in practice.”

Kyle Speed dished out a career-high nine assists and didn’t commit a single turnover in running the ‘Lopes offense that had 22 assists to only 12 turnovers.

Grand Canyon will next be in action when they host Hawai’i Pacific on Jan. 24 at GCU Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Following the game the Antelopes will hit the road for five straight, starting with a four-game set in Hawai’i.

“Next week against HPU is a getaway game for us with the next five being on the road,” added Pennell. “So it is a crucial game for us in the chase to get back into the conference race. HPU is a solid team that runs their sets very well. We will need to be good on the defense again and utilize our depth in order to get a victory next Tuesday night.”

GCU 77, UHH 64