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, December 29
GCU Arena
6:00 PM
Grand Canyon
82
vs
69
Northern New Mexico
Joshua Lowery
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Men's Hoops Continues Winning Ways, Defeats Northern New Mexico
12/29/2012 7:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Win 11th straight game and improve to 10-0 at home
The Grand Canyon University men’s basketball team continued their winning ways with an 82-69 victory over Northern New Mexico tonight at GCU Arena. The win was the 11th straight for the Antelopes, who improved to 12-2 overall, while the Eagles fell to 4-14 on the season.
The 11-game win streak is the longest for GCU since winning 11 straight to open the 1988-89 season as the ‘Lopes also improved to 10-0 at home this season. The 82 points also marked a new season-high for the ‘Lopes, as they had previously scored 78 points on two occasions.
GCU posted a 49.1 field goal percentage (28-for-57) in the contest and held the advantage in rebounds, 38-32, including 26 defensive boards. The 'Lopes were aided by 33 points off the bench and were able to score 23 points off 20 Eagles turnovers.
“I thought our effort tonight was very good,” said head coach Russ Pennell. “When you take six days off, your conditioning can be a little suspect, but I thought we played hard. The guys came with good energy, which is the positive side of having days off because their legs were more refreshed. Overall, I was happy with our effort tonight.”
The ‘Lopes were led by Killian Larson, who posted a GCU-career-high 23 points and led the squad with 10 rebounds. Jeff Lowery matched his season-high with 11 points, while Braylon Pickrel added 10 points.
GCU shot 45.7 percent (16-for-35) from the field in the first half and scored 24 points in the paint. The ‘Lopes were able to score 13 points off 12 Northern New Mexico turnovers and saw 16 points come from the bench in the first 20 minutes.
Larson led the ‘Lopes at the half with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Blake Davis added seven points.
The squads were tied at three points apiece before the ‘Lopes used an 11-2 run to build a 14-5 advantage with just under 16 minutes to play in the first. GCU built their first double-double lead at 19-8 with 12:25 on the clock, but were outscored 4-0 by the Eagles over the next three minutes as they pulled within seven points.
GCU extended their lead to 12 points at 24-12 with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half before Northern New Mexico once again made it a five point contest at 24-19 with seven minutes to play. The ‘Lopes outscored the Eagles, 14-5, over the next five minutes to give themselves a first half-high 14-point lead and carried a 38-27 advantage into the locker room.
The two teams went basket for basket to open the second half, both scoring seven points over the first five minutes before the Eagles went on a 4-0 run to pull within eight points at 47-39. Northern New Mexico would pull within six points at 55-49 and 57-51 around the halfway point of the second as they outscored GCU 24-19 in that time.
The ‘Lopes went on to post a 9-2 run of their own to once again build a double-digit advantage at 66-53 and matched their first half-high with a 14-point lead at 69-55 with seven and a half minutes on the clock. GCU went on to lead by as many as 17 points, but the Eagles pulled back within 10 points, 77-67, with 1:45 to play. However, the ‘Lopes used a 5-2 run to close out the game and preserve the victory.
GCU improved their field goal percentage in the second half as they shot 54.5 percent (12-for-22), and drained 18 of their 23 free throw attempts (78.3 percent).
GCU will resume Pacific West Conference play when they travel to Riverside, Calif., to take on California Baptist on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 8:30 p.m. (Arizona time). Fans can follow the action live by visiting www.gculopes.com.
“We understand this stretch we are facing with eight of our next 12 games on the road and we realize how difficult it is going to be,” added Pennell. “We have to try to do things at a higher rate, both on defensive stops and executing on the offensive end. We will work on getting a little bit better every day at practice so we are able to stand up against whatever we face. Most of the time, these games come down to just a few possessions and usually the team that executes the best will win. Our effort the next few days at practice needs to be high for us to find success on this trip.”
GCU 82, NNMC 69
The 11-game win streak is the longest for GCU since winning 11 straight to open the 1988-89 season as the ‘Lopes also improved to 10-0 at home this season. The 82 points also marked a new season-high for the ‘Lopes, as they had previously scored 78 points on two occasions.
GCU posted a 49.1 field goal percentage (28-for-57) in the contest and held the advantage in rebounds, 38-32, including 26 defensive boards. The 'Lopes were aided by 33 points off the bench and were able to score 23 points off 20 Eagles turnovers.
“I thought our effort tonight was very good,” said head coach Russ Pennell. “When you take six days off, your conditioning can be a little suspect, but I thought we played hard. The guys came with good energy, which is the positive side of having days off because their legs were more refreshed. Overall, I was happy with our effort tonight.”
The ‘Lopes were led by Killian Larson, who posted a GCU-career-high 23 points and led the squad with 10 rebounds. Jeff Lowery matched his season-high with 11 points, while Braylon Pickrel added 10 points.
GCU shot 45.7 percent (16-for-35) from the field in the first half and scored 24 points in the paint. The ‘Lopes were able to score 13 points off 12 Northern New Mexico turnovers and saw 16 points come from the bench in the first 20 minutes.
Larson led the ‘Lopes at the half with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Blake Davis added seven points.
The squads were tied at three points apiece before the ‘Lopes used an 11-2 run to build a 14-5 advantage with just under 16 minutes to play in the first. GCU built their first double-double lead at 19-8 with 12:25 on the clock, but were outscored 4-0 by the Eagles over the next three minutes as they pulled within seven points.
GCU extended their lead to 12 points at 24-12 with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half before Northern New Mexico once again made it a five point contest at 24-19 with seven minutes to play. The ‘Lopes outscored the Eagles, 14-5, over the next five minutes to give themselves a first half-high 14-point lead and carried a 38-27 advantage into the locker room.
The two teams went basket for basket to open the second half, both scoring seven points over the first five minutes before the Eagles went on a 4-0 run to pull within eight points at 47-39. Northern New Mexico would pull within six points at 55-49 and 57-51 around the halfway point of the second as they outscored GCU 24-19 in that time.
The ‘Lopes went on to post a 9-2 run of their own to once again build a double-digit advantage at 66-53 and matched their first half-high with a 14-point lead at 69-55 with seven and a half minutes on the clock. GCU went on to lead by as many as 17 points, but the Eagles pulled back within 10 points, 77-67, with 1:45 to play. However, the ‘Lopes used a 5-2 run to close out the game and preserve the victory.
GCU improved their field goal percentage in the second half as they shot 54.5 percent (12-for-22), and drained 18 of their 23 free throw attempts (78.3 percent).
GCU will resume Pacific West Conference play when they travel to Riverside, Calif., to take on California Baptist on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 8:30 p.m. (Arizona time). Fans can follow the action live by visiting www.gculopes.com.
“We understand this stretch we are facing with eight of our next 12 games on the road and we realize how difficult it is going to be,” added Pennell. “We have to try to do things at a higher rate, both on defensive stops and executing on the offensive end. We will work on getting a little bit better every day at practice so we are able to stand up against whatever we face. Most of the time, these games come down to just a few possessions and usually the team that executes the best will win. Our effort the next few days at practice needs to be high for us to find success on this trip.”
GCU 82, NNMC 69
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