'Lopes Win Third Straight at Chicago State

Thursday, January 30

Chicago, IL

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

10-10, 5-2

Chicago State

9-12, 4-3

Grand Canyon

Chicago State

Killian Larson had a career-high 20 rebounds en route to his 14th double-double this season

1/30/2014 8:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Fight off furious second half Cougars rally

The Grand Canyon University men's basketball team (10-10, 5-2) staved off a furious second-half rally by the Chicago State Cougars (9-12, 4-3) to hang on for their third straight Western Athletic Conference victory, this time a 76-75 win tonight at Jones Convocation Center in Chicago, Ill. CSU outscored the Antelopes 39-27 in the final 20 minutes, but clutch free throw shooting down the stretch helped cement the win.

Click here for Michael Potter's postgame interview with head coach Dan Majerle.
Click here for Michael Potter's postgame interview with Killian Larson.

Killian Larson led the 'Lopes efforts with 28 points and a career-best 20 rebounds for his 14^th double-double of the season. Jerome Garrison added 17 points. GCU shot 45.1 percent from the field (23-for-51) and limited the Cougars to a 36.8 mark (25-for-68) of their own. It was the ninth time this season that the 'Lopes have held their opposition to 40.0 percent or less from the field.

The teams were even with 32 points in the paint, but the Cougars were able to score 14 points off 16 GCU turnovers while the 'Lopes had 12 second chance points after outrebounding CSU 46-33.

There were seven lead changes and two tie scores in the opening minutes of the first half before GCU went on to lead by as many as 17 points. The 'Lopes opened an early 11-5 lead by virtue of going 4-for-4 over the first three minutes of the game. However, CSU scored the next seven points to turn that deficit into a 12-11 advantage with 15:43 to play in the half.

The teams then traded the lead for the next few minutes before GCU went ahead 20-19 with just under 12 minutes remaining. The 'Lopes hit their first double-digit lead, 36-23, via an 11-0 run spanning over two minutes, and for nearly five minutes late in the half, allowed just two points to the Cougars.

The 'Lopes led 49-36 at the break after shooting a blistering 62.1 percent (18-for-29), marking their most points and highest field goal percentage in the first 20 minutes this season. The Cougars were held to a 34.3 mark (12-for-35). Larson led GCU with 22 first half points, just 10 shy of his career-high. Garrison added nine points, while three others had five.

CSU came out firing to open the second half, using an 8-2 run to close the gap to eight points, 51-43. The Cougars defense held GCU to just 16.7 percent shooting (2-for-12) over the first eight minutes of the second half but were unable to come closer than eight until a 12-4 CSU run made it a single possession game, 61-58, with just over nine minutes to play.

CSU tied the score at 64 following a Nate Duhon three-pointer at the 6:03 mark and took their first lead in nearly 30 minutes when Clarke Rosenberg laid the ball in with 2:54 remaining. The 'Lopes then outscored CSU 7-3 to go ahead 73-71 with under 50 seconds on the clock, forcing the Cougars to foul. Sam Daly made three of four free throws and a last second attempt by CSU from beyond half court missed the mark as the 'Lopes won their third straight game.

GCU continues their two-game road swing with a 6 p.m. (Arizona time) contest at Kansas City on Saturday. The game can be heard live on KPXQ 1360 AM or at www.faithtalk1360.com and will air on ESPN3.

GCU 76, CSU 75