Lopes take on SIUE, looking for fifth-straight win

Fresh off their tournament victory at the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon men's basketball team finishes up a four-game road trip by taking on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars on Monday night at the Vadalabene Center. It will be the second meeting all-time between the two schools with GCU taking the first, 95-86, in Phoenix on Jan. 4, 1992. The Lopes will have one more non-conference game before beginning WAC play on Jan. 7 when they host Texas Rio Grande Valley at Grand Canyon University Arena.

First-year head coach Jon Harris and the Cougars are off to a 3-8 start in his first season at the helm after dropping eight of their last 10 games. Their last time out, SIUE shot just 27.9 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 19 times in falling 70-51 on the road to Southern California. Through 11 games, Burak Eslik leads the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game, while Yemi Makanjuola leads the Cougars with 5.6 rebounds per game.

The Lopes are trying to win their fifth consecutive game following their tournament win with an 85-81 win over the Marshall Thundering Herd at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nev. last Tuesday night. Joshua Braun was named the Tournament MVP and to the All-Tournament Team after leading the Lopes with 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, while also hitting 7-of-8 free throw attempts. Grandy Glaze also made the All-Tournament Team, scoring 10 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in the win.

"Every day is a test for us," head coach Dan Majerle said after the game. "We want to be the best we possibly can. Hopefully we raised a few eyebrows and just the expectation level has gone up now."

Braun scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half, including hitting 3-of-5 from behind the arc. The sophomore from Anthem, Ariz. hit two 3-pointers in the final 73 seconds to give the Lopes the lead after trailing by as many as eight in the second half. De'Andre Davis had a big second half as well, scoring 13 of his 15 points, to help get the Lopes back in the game. Dominic Magee also scored in double-figures, adding 12 points and leading the team with 4 assists.

"When De'Andre puts his head down and gets to the basket, he's pretty good," Majerle added. "Him and Dom have had ups and downs. They just have to stay with the process and come to work every day and get better, especially in practice. When they focus, they're both talented kids. Both him and Dom had their moments of taking the ball to the basket."

The Lopes have had a well-balanced attack from a year ago with seven different players leading the team in scoring in the past 10 games. Keonta Vernon and Grandy Glaze each took home WAC Player of the Week honors in December over the four-game winning streak.

"You can't do it without guys that can really play," Majerle said. "A coach is only as good as his players. Fortunately, I've got some really good players...Our guys are really good and they're starting to build a lot of chemistry. A lot of different guys step up every night and do well."

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Players Mentioned

Joshua Braun

De'Andre Davis

Grandy Glaze

Dominic Magee

Grand Canyon University Athletics