Men's Hoops Downs Kansas City En Route to Fourth Straight Win

Saturday, February 1

Kansas City, MO

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

11-10, 6-2

Kansas City

7-14, 4-4

Grand Canyon

Kansas City

Blake Davis had 12 points on a career-high four three-pointers in the win over UMKC

Photo by: Darryl Webb

Men's Hoops Downs Kansas City En Route to Fourth Straight Win

2/1/2014 8:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Improve to 6-2 in the WAC entering second half of conference play

Behind a strong second half effort, the Grand Canyon University men's basketball team (11-10, 6-2) won their fourth straight game with a convincing 72-53 victory at Kansas City in a Western Athletic Conference matchup tonight at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The four consecutive wins ties for the longest such streak this season, as they also did so from Nov. 22-Dec. 3.

Click here for Michael Potter's postgame interview with head coach Dan Majerle.
Click here for Michael Potter's postgame interview with Blake Davis.

The 53 points allowed to UMKC marked the second-fewest this season, behind only the 41 points that GCU's defense allowed to Western New Mexico on Nov. 16.

The Antelopes posted their sixth double-digit effort from beyond the three-point line after draining 13 in the game. Jerome Garrison was the high-scorer for GCU with 20 points, while Daniel Alexander (17), Blake Davis (12), and Justin Foreman (10) also scored in double-figures. Davis also drained a career-best four three-pointers, while Garrison matched his career-high from beyond the arc.

The 'Lopes shot 48.1 percent in the game (26-for-54) while also winning the battle of boards, 31-26. UMKC shot 46.7 percent (21-for-45). GCU took advantage of 14 Kangaroos' turnovers, scoring 22 points off those opportunities.

After staking an early 9-6 lead via a trio of three-pointers, the 'Roos scored seven unanswered points to claim the 13-9 advantage with 13 and a half minutes to play. The 'Lopes then used a 16-5 run, aided by four more from beyond the arc, to reclaim the 25-18 lead four minutes later.

GCU built their lead to as many as nine points before UMKC closed the gap to two, 31-29, with 2:02 on the clock. Both teams scored on their final possession of the half as the 'Lopes carried the 33-31 lead into the break.

GCU shot 41.9 percent from the field (13-for-31) over the first 20 minutes, while the 'Roos went 13-for-24 (54.2 percent). Garrison led the squad with 10 first half points, while Alexander added nine. The 'Lopes were able to score 12 points off seven UMKC turnovers, although the home team narrowly outrebounded GCU, 16-14.

The 'Lopes opened the second half on an 8-1 run over the first three minutes to once again build a nine-point lead, 41-32, and saw their first double-digit lead, 46-36, at the 15:28 mark. GCU extended that to as many as 19 over the remainder of the period as they outscored the 'Roos 39-22. GCU shot 56.5 percent (13-for-23) in the game's final 20 minutes and did not allow UMKC to come closer than seven points.

The 'Lopes now return home for a pair of games as they embark on the second half of conference play, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest against WAC-leader Utah Valley on Thursday. The game can be heard live on Cox7 (or www.cox7.com) and KKNT 960 AM (or www.960thepatriot.com).

GCU 72, UMKC 53