Lopes Defeat Hampton 63-51

Monday, November 30

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

5-0

Hampton

2-3

Hampton

Grand Canyon

11/30/2015 9:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Majerle Hampton Postgame Quotes

By: Steven Gonzalez

PHOENIX – Grand Canyon returned from Thanksgiving break to a full house at GCU Arena as the Antelopes hosted Hampton. Against a 2015 NCAA tournament team, the Antelopes forced Hampton to shoot 34 percent from the floor and came away with an impressive 63-51 victory. GCU is now 5-0 this season.

"Well, I think that was a great win for our guys. That's a quality team we beat," head coach Dan Majerle said. "It wasn't pretty by any means but we really grinded it out. I thought in the second half we played extremely hard. I thought Keonta (Vernon) was unbelievable, blocking shots and rebounding, just his energy. I thought Gerard Martin's defense -- great defense. Then Matt (Jackson) stepping in and doing what he did tonight was good. Overall, I'm pleased with the way we played defensively. I thought we were really good. That's a quality win for our group. We were looking forward to this game and it was a test for us and I'm happy to say we passed it."

Both teams struggled offensively to start the game, making just 5-17 shots between the two teams in the first seven minutes of play. The starters for Grand Canyon led the way to start the game, scoring GCU's first nine points as every starter scored to jump out to a 9-6 lead. The Lopes started to make a run midway through the first half, extending their lead to nine points with 6:45 left in the game.

Grandy Glaze was effective on both ends of the court in the first half, scoring six points along with five rebounds as he helped GCU shoot 40.7 percent from the field. This season, Hampton averages 34.3 points in the first half and GCU was able to limit the Pirates to 25 points, shooting 33.3 percent in the first 20 minutes. The Lopes were able to go into halftime with the 28-25 lead.

Joshua Braun was the first Lope to reach double-digits, scoring 13 points as he has recorded 10+ points in every game this season. Also reaching double-figures for GCU was Matt Jackson scoring 10 points with four rebounds and leading the team in scoring was DeWayne Russell with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists. The Lopes were extremely efficient on offense in the second half not committing a single turnover in the final 20 minutes.

This season, Hampton has been a second half team, averaging 42 points in the second half while limiting its opponents to 34.5 points but GCU's defense was able to hold the Pirates to 26 points in the final 20 minutes of play. GCU's offense improved in the second half as the Lopes scored 35 points to defeat the Pirates 63-51.

"We came into the game with a great gameplan from our coaching staff," Gerard Martin said. "They identified who their best players were and what we needed to work on so in the second half we were able to lock them down."

The Antelopes will now face Majerle's alma mater, Central Michigan, on Thursday, Dec. 3 at GCU Arena.