Lopes look to go 3-0 as GCU hosts Alcorn State

Thursday, November 19

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Alcorn State

Tickets

Photo by: Darryl Webb

11/19/2015 1:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Charles Hampton

The Grand Canyon men's basketball team looks to go 3-0 for the first time since the 1998-99 season as the Lopes host the Alcorn State Braves on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. MT from Grand Canyon Arena.

It will be the second all-time meeting between the two schools as GCU took down Alcorn State 88-68 on March 14, 1975. The Braves and first-year head coach Montez Robinson enter the game coming off a 122-117 shootout with Tougaloo College (Miss.) as Reginal Johnson and Marquis Vance put up 30 and 28 points respectively. Vance also added 22 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Josh Braun made up for a slow shooting start in the season opener as he was perfect from the field against Black Hills State on Tuesday. Braun was 7-of-7 from the field, including 5-for-5 from three point range. His only miss on the night came from the foul stripe, where he finished 8-for-9. His 27 points were a career-high, besting the 25 points he scored against Texas-Pan American on Jan. 24, 2015. Braun added 3 rebounds, 2 assists and one steal to his statlie for the night against the Yellow Jackets.

"Josh came out and played really well for us," head coach Dan Majerle said. "He can score in so many different ways. He can post up, he gets to the free throw line, and he can make the three. I can call a lot of different plays to get Josh his shots. He's such a nightmare for mismatches. Josh is going to be a big part of what we do offensively."

In his first game at GCU, senior forward Grandy Glaze recorded his second career double-double, scoring 14 points and pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds. The transfer from Saint Louis was 7-for-8 from the field. Emphasizing the need to get more from his team in both rebounding and depth in the offseason, the Lopes continue to show improvement, outrebounding the Yellow Jackes 40-21 and outscoring Black Hills State's bench 38-6. De'Andre Davis followed up his career-best outing vs. Portland State with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting with 5 assists, 2 rebounds and a steal. Redshirt freshman Boubacar Toure added 14 points, 4 rebounds, a block and a steal off the bench.

"Boubacar is a kid that wants to be good and has taken a hard path to get here and he cherishes his time on the floor," Majerle added. "Same thing with De'Andre. De'Andre is a kid who's had a little success and he wants more of it."

Following Thursday night's game, the Lopes will return to action on Monday. Nov. 23 as Grand Canyon hosts Mississippi Valley State at Grand Canyon University Arena.