Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Sunday, January 3
Phoenix, Ariz.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
vs
Bethune-Cookman
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Lopes aim for six in a row before starting WAC play
1/2/2016 10:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
In their final game before starting up Western Athletic Conference play, the GCU men's basketball team looks to win their sixth game in a row as they Bethune-Cookman on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016 at Grand Canyon University Arena. It is the second all-time matchup between the two schools as the Lopes took home a 60-50 win over the Wildcats on Dec. 15, 2014 with Joshua Braun leading the way with a team-high 13 points and 8 rebounds.
Bethune-Cookman enters Sunday's game on a six-game losing streak having lost their most recent matchup at Jacksonville 74-70 on Thursday night. In the loss, Jordan Potts scored 26 second-half points including six three-pointers in the final 15 minutes to lead the Wildcats. The redshirt junior is averaging 17.2 points per game and 4.1 assists per game to lead the team while LaRon Smith has averaged 7.8 rebounds per game.
The Lopes are off to their best start since the 2012-13 season and looking to win their sixth game in a row for the second time this sesason. Their last time out, GCU struggled but held on for an 86-75 win over SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill. Bruan led the Lopes with 21 points, including five three pointers, while DeWayne Russell recorded his second-double-double of his career with 11 points and 10 assists. It was the fourth time this season that Russell has reached double-digits in assists.
Grandy Glaze added 17 points and 8 rebounds for the Lopes, who have benefitted inside from a couple of their transfers from a year ago. Glaze is averaging 13.1 points per game while grabbing 6.9 rebounds. He's shooting 61.9 percent from the field which is tops in the WAC. Fellow-transfer Keonta Vernon is shooting 48.9 percent from the field, the sixth-best mark in the conference.
"We've got guys who can penetrate. With Ryan (Majerle) and Josh out there shooting and Gerard (Martin) and other guys that can spread the floor, we've got guys we can throw it into that can score down there. That's good that we have a mix-up because last year we were all perimeter and didn't have any big guys."
The Lopes will start conference play on Thursday, Jan. 7 as they host Texas Rio Grande Valley at GCU Arena. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Bethune-Cookman enters Sunday's game on a six-game losing streak having lost their most recent matchup at Jacksonville 74-70 on Thursday night. In the loss, Jordan Potts scored 26 second-half points including six three-pointers in the final 15 minutes to lead the Wildcats. The redshirt junior is averaging 17.2 points per game and 4.1 assists per game to lead the team while LaRon Smith has averaged 7.8 rebounds per game.
The Lopes are off to their best start since the 2012-13 season and looking to win their sixth game in a row for the second time this sesason. Their last time out, GCU struggled but held on for an 86-75 win over SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill. Bruan led the Lopes with 21 points, including five three pointers, while DeWayne Russell recorded his second-double-double of his career with 11 points and 10 assists. It was the fourth time this season that Russell has reached double-digits in assists.
Grandy Glaze added 17 points and 8 rebounds for the Lopes, who have benefitted inside from a couple of their transfers from a year ago. Glaze is averaging 13.1 points per game while grabbing 6.9 rebounds. He's shooting 61.9 percent from the field which is tops in the WAC. Fellow-transfer Keonta Vernon is shooting 48.9 percent from the field, the sixth-best mark in the conference.
"We've got guys who can penetrate. With Ryan (Majerle) and Josh out there shooting and Gerard (Martin) and other guys that can spread the floor, we've got guys we can throw it into that can score down there. That's good that we have a mix-up because last year we were all perimeter and didn't have any big guys."
The Lopes will start conference play on Thursday, Jan. 7 as they host Texas Rio Grande Valley at GCU Arena. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
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