Canyon to Face Chaminade Tonight

The Grand Canyon University men’s basketball team (10-6, 4-4) returns to the court this evening to face Chaminade (8-6, 6-1) at McCabe Gym in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Tipoff is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. (Arizona time). The game can be heard live at www.GCULopes.com. GCU alum, Michael Potter, will call all of the action.

GAME NOTES
VS. CHAMINADE: GCU trails the all-time series, 12-10. The Antelopes and Silverswords are meeting for the first of their two meetings this season. Chaminade enters the game with an 8-6 overall mark, 6-1 in the league. Three of the Silverswords’ eight losses came at the hands of D-I schools. The Antelopes and Silverswords split a pair of games last season, with GCU winning 66-57 on Jan. 27, 2011 in Phoenix and losing 83-75 on Feb. 28, 2011 in Honolulu. The Silverswords advanced to the national tournament last season.

LAST TIME OUT: Grand Canyon dropped their first game on this four-game Hawaiian trek, 79-75, to BYU-Hawai’i in Laie, Hawai’i on Saturday. Kyle Speed led all scorers with 20 points. Nick Witherill added 14 points. For the second straight game, Barret Robbins led the team on the glass, pulling down six rebounds.

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD: GCU is 10-1 at the new Grand Canyon University Arena. The Antelopes have averaged 2,087 fans per game this season, compared to 1,175 a year ago. The ‘Lopes, however, are 0-5 on the road this season, having dropped their last nine in a row, dating back to the 2010-11 season. GCU is averaging 74.2 points per game at home, compared to 64.8 on the road.

FROM THE FLOOR: GCU is averaging 71.2 points per game this season, fourth in the PacWest Conference. They are shooting 71 percent from the free throw line, best among PacWest schools. GCU has pulled down an average of 36.2 rebounds per game, third-best in the league.

THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE IS MAKING A CHANGE: Grand Canyon leads the PacWest with a 4.4 blocks per game average. The ‘Lopes have 71 blocks in their 16 games. Braylon Pickrel is leading the way with 31 blocks, tops in the league. Pickrel leads the team in rebounds, ninth in the conference, with 6.3 boards per game. His shooting percentage of .583 is second-best in the conference.

SENIOR LEADER: Senior Kyle Speed has scored in double-digits in 13 of his 15 games played this season. Speed led the team in scoring in seven of those games. He scored a season-high 20 points on Saturday at BYU-Hawai’i and his 14.1 points-per-game ranks seventh in the PacWest. Speed leads the team with 41 assists and 26 steals.

BARRET CHIPS IN: Barret Robbins, who has averaged 13.1 minutes per game this season, has played 18 minutes in each of the past two contests. Robbins was GCU’s leading rebounder in both games, pulling down a career-best eight boards on Jan. 24 vs. Hawai’i Hilo and six on Saturday at BYU-Hawai’i.

DIALING IN FROM DOWNTOWN: Nick Witherill has scored 34 points in GCU’s last two games, including 20 on Jan. 24 vs. Hawai’i Hilo. Witherill is 8-for-12 from behind the arc in those games. He leads the ‘Lopes with 24 treys this season.

20/20: Grand Canyon is 9-0 when leading at the half this season. They are 1-5 when trailing at the half and lost their only game in which they were tied after the first 20 minutes.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Grand Canyon has produced a balanced scoring attack this season. Seven Antelope players are averaging 7.0 or more points a game this season. Five different players have been high-point scorers in a game this season. Last season, GCU had four players finish the season with a 7.0 or more points-per-game average.

UP NEXT: Following the game tonight the Antelopes will remain on the island of Oahu for a match-up with Hawai’i Pacific on Feb. 1. The Antelopes dropped all four games last season when they made the trek to the islands. Following the games against Chaminade and HPU, GCU will travel to the Big Island for a game on Feb. 4 with Hawai’i Hilo.

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