Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UNLV on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 80
M Basketball
at UNLV
L 78-80
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Monday, December 21
Las Vegas, Nev.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
vs
vs. Houston
Lopes take on 8-1 Cougars in Global Sports Classic
12/20/2015 11:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Coming off one of the biggest wins in school history, the Grand Canyon men's basketball team faces another challenge as they take on the University of Houston in Global Sports Classic on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015 at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nev. Monday night's game, scheduled to tip-off at 6 p.m. MT, will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The winner will square off against the winner of the Marshall-Wyoming that will follow the Lopes and the Cougars on Monday night.
"They're a very good team." Majerle said of the Cougars. "It would be nice for this team to go on and continue and see what we can do against that Houston team. Like I said, they got a taste of this, so hopefully they'll love it and keep winning on the road."
Kelvin Sampson's Cougars have won three games in a rowd since suffering their first loss of the season on the road at Rhode Island on Dec. 8. Houston enter Monday's game on the heels of an impressive 81-65 win against Eastern Illinois on Saturday. Ronnie Johnson led the cougars with a season-high 25 points while Damyean Dotson added 16 points and six rebounds. The 8-1 start is the best nine-game start for the school since the team went 10-1 to start the 2007-08 season. Houston is averaging 85.6 points per game, tops in the American Athletic Conference and 18th best mark in the country.
The Lopes are looking to build off one of the program's signature wins after a stunning 52-45 upset victory over San Diego State University at Viejas Arena on Friday night. Keonta Vernon, making his second consecutive start, recorded his second consecutive double-double scoring 16 points and pulling down 11 boards. DeWayne Russell added 13 points, 6 rebounds 3 assists and 3 steals to help lead the Lopes.
"We just stayed focused on getting stops on defense because we knew if we got stops on defense, the offense was going to come," Vernon added. ".We have a great offense. It's hard for them to stop our offense. Stops led to good offense."
Defense was the name of this game, as the Lopes held the Aztecs to only 31.5 percent shooting from the field for the game, including 15.8 percent from beyond the arc. As Vernon mentioned, the Lopes focused on getting stops, knowing it would lead to more offense. After heading to the locker room locked in a 22-22 tie, the Lopes held the Aztecs to just 25.8 percent shooting in the second half, while they improved to shoot 40.7 percent from the field in the second half.
With the Lopes up two with 1:20 remaining in the game, Russell missed a pullup jumper, but managed to tip the offensive rebound right to Vernon who was fouled going to the basket. He hit 1-of-2 free throws and the Lopes took a three-point lead. After a San Diego missed 3-pointer, Russell grabbed another rebound before being fouled and knocking down both free throw attempts. Vernon put the exclamation point on the victory slamming home a dunk as time expired.
The winner of the matchup against Houston will face the winner of Marshall-Wyoming at 8:30 p.m. (MT) Tuesday night. The loser will face the loser of the Marshall-Wyoming game at 6 p.m. (MT) Tuesday.
"They're a very good team." Majerle said of the Cougars. "It would be nice for this team to go on and continue and see what we can do against that Houston team. Like I said, they got a taste of this, so hopefully they'll love it and keep winning on the road."
Kelvin Sampson's Cougars have won three games in a rowd since suffering their first loss of the season on the road at Rhode Island on Dec. 8. Houston enter Monday's game on the heels of an impressive 81-65 win against Eastern Illinois on Saturday. Ronnie Johnson led the cougars with a season-high 25 points while Damyean Dotson added 16 points and six rebounds. The 8-1 start is the best nine-game start for the school since the team went 10-1 to start the 2007-08 season. Houston is averaging 85.6 points per game, tops in the American Athletic Conference and 18th best mark in the country.
The Lopes are looking to build off one of the program's signature wins after a stunning 52-45 upset victory over San Diego State University at Viejas Arena on Friday night. Keonta Vernon, making his second consecutive start, recorded his second consecutive double-double scoring 16 points and pulling down 11 boards. DeWayne Russell added 13 points, 6 rebounds 3 assists and 3 steals to help lead the Lopes.
"We just stayed focused on getting stops on defense because we knew if we got stops on defense, the offense was going to come," Vernon added. ".We have a great offense. It's hard for them to stop our offense. Stops led to good offense."
Defense was the name of this game, as the Lopes held the Aztecs to only 31.5 percent shooting from the field for the game, including 15.8 percent from beyond the arc. As Vernon mentioned, the Lopes focused on getting stops, knowing it would lead to more offense. After heading to the locker room locked in a 22-22 tie, the Lopes held the Aztecs to just 25.8 percent shooting in the second half, while they improved to shoot 40.7 percent from the field in the second half.
With the Lopes up two with 1:20 remaining in the game, Russell missed a pullup jumper, but managed to tip the offensive rebound right to Vernon who was fouled going to the basket. He hit 1-of-2 free throws and the Lopes took a three-point lead. After a San Diego missed 3-pointer, Russell grabbed another rebound before being fouled and knocking down both free throw attempts. Vernon put the exclamation point on the victory slamming home a dunk as time expired.
The winner of the matchup against Houston will face the winner of Marshall-Wyoming at 8:30 p.m. (MT) Tuesday night. The loser will face the loser of the Marshall-Wyoming game at 6 p.m. (MT) Tuesday.
Players Mentioned
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