Lopes hold off SIUE, improve to 12-2

Monday, December 28

Edwardsville, Ill.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

12-2

SIU-Edwardsville

3-9

Grand Canyon

SIUE

Photo by: Darryl Webb

12/29/2015 12:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Charles Hampton

The Grand Canyon men's basketball team got off to a slow start but a late first half run put them back ahead as they held on for an 86-75 win over the SIUE Cougars at the Vadalabene Center on Monday night. It was the fifth-straight win for the Lopes who improved to 12-2 on the season, their best start since the 2012-13 season.

Joshua Braun led the Lopes with 21 points after hitting 5-of-8 three point attempts and 6-of-10 from the field overall. DeWayne Russell recorded his second double-double of his career, with 11 points and 10 assists. Russell also added 2 steals and 6 rebounds, falling four rebounds short of his first-ever triple-double.

Despite the win, head coach Dan Majerle was disappointed in his team's effort and play on a cold and rainy night in Edwardsville.

"We had a terrible game, probably the worst game we've played all year," Majerle said. "It's great to get out and get a win, but we're better than that. We've got to have higher goals and expectations. It's from DeWayne all the way down to the 13th and 14th guy, it's everybody. It's something we have to work on. It's not acceptable."

The Lopes only made 4 of their first 13 shots from the field and trailed by nine with 11:20 remaining in the first half before Matt Jackson hit a three that sparked a 26-5 run to give GCU a 13-point lead. The Lopes defense stepped up holding the Cougars to only one field goal in the last eight minutes to take a 40-30 advantage into the half.

"We did a great job defensively, for the most part, in the first half," Majerle said of the Lopes' first-half defense. "They shot under 30 percent."

That double-digit lead wouldn't hold for long as the Cougars came out in the second half on a 10-3 run to cut the Lopes' lead to three. Ryan Majerle and Russell each hit shots right after to push the lead back up to eight with just over 13 minutes to play. SIUE pulled within two points with 1:48 remaining in the game after C.J. Carr hit two free throws, but Braun hit another clutch three at the top of the key to push the lead back up to five at 80-75. Grandy Glaze would add a layup plus the foul to extend the lead to eight with 42 seconds to play. Braun sealed the victory with three free throws to give the Lopes the 11-point win.

It was the eighth time this season that Grand Canyon has won by double-digits and the third time they have been out-rebounded by their opponent this season. The Cougars won the battle of the boards with a 38-31 advantage. The 31 rebounds were the second-fewest by the Lopes this season. Both teams scored 30 points in the paint. The Cougars had a 12-7 advantage in second chance points, thanks mostly to their 14 offensive rebounds to only fivefor the Lopes. GCU took advantage of good play off the bench, outscoring SIUE's bench 45-13.

The Lopes will return home to face Bethune-Cookman on Sunday in their final non-conference game before WAC play begins on Jan. 7 against Texas Rio Grande Valley. Majerle is expecting conference opponents to bring their best when taking on the Lopes.

"We're playing well and everybody is going to come in and try to knock us off," Majerle said. "We're the new kids on the block. New Mexico State is obviously the team to beat, but the conference is playing a lot better this year. It's more talented and there are better players. It's going to be a tough road in the conference."