Lopes Fall in Opener to No. 1 Kentucky

Friday, November 14

Lexington, KY

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

0-1

Kentucky

1-0

Grand Canyon

Kentucky

Royce Woolridge

Photo by: Darryl Webb

11/14/2014 7:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

The Grand Canyon University men's basketball team fell in their regular season opener this evening, 85-45, to top-ranked Kentucky at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.

Click here to listen to Dan Majerle's postgame interview with Michael Potter
Click here to listen to Ryan Majerle's postgame interview with Michael Potter

Click here for the Associated Press recap, photos and video

The Antelopes shot just 31.3 percent (15-for-48) from the floor, compared to 48.6 percent (34-for-70) for the Wildcats. The Antelopes were 7-15 from behind the arc.

Royce Woolridge, in his first game with GCU after transferring from Washington State, led the Lopes with 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting. He made all four of his attempts from the 3-point stripe.

Daniel Alexander scored all 10 of his points in the second half and added four rebounds.

Kentucky came out quickly, scoring the first seven points of the contest. Woolridge, who scored the first nine GCU points, hit a three and a free throw to cut the lead to 7-4.

The Wildcats used runs of 9-0, 7-0 and 12-0 to enter the break with a 43-16 lead.

Grand Canyon played much better in the second half and outscored the Cats over the opening 13:11 of the second, 25-23.

An Alexander jumper to start the second half was followed by a Matt Jackson layup, a pair of free throws and a Woolridge three to slice the UK lead to 48-25, just over five minutes into the second half.

Kentucky owned a 51-21 edge on the glass, leading to a 58-16 advantage in the paint. Kentucky, which featured nine McDonald's All-Americans, had four players score in double figures on the night.

Jackson and Ryan Majerle each finished with 5 points, De'Andre Davis added four points.

GCU's new VP of Athletics, Mike Vaught, joined Michael Potter for the halftime show on KXXT 1010 AM. Click here to listen that conversation.

Grand Canyon will now return home where the will play four home games from Nov. 17 – 25. Up first is Montana State on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. The Bobcats open their season tomorrow with a road game at UCLA. The game can be seen live on Cox7 in Phoenix, or viewed on the web at www.gculopes.com. The game can be heard via radio on KXXT 1010 AM or on www.familyvaluesradio1010.com. KXXT 1010 can also be found on the TuneIn Radio app with any smartphone device.