Lopes extinguish the Flames 73-69

Saturday, December 10

Phoenix, Ariz.

7:00 P.M.

Grand Canyon

5-4, 0-0

UIC

4-5, 0-0

UIC

Grand Canyon

12/10/2016 9:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Samantha Fell

PHOENIX – The Grand Canyon men's basketball team defeated the University of Illinois – Chicago 73-69 on Saturday night. Senior guard DeWayne Russell again led the team by scoring 18 points and forward Keonta Vernon recorded an impressive double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds. GCU improved its record to 5-4 overall while UIC falls to 4-5 on the season.

"They played really well and did a good job," head coach Dan Marjerle noted about UIC. "Good thing is we found a way to win and we just keep battling which is nice. Keonta (Vernon) had a heck of a game with the 15 rebounds and the 15 points. Kerwin (Smith) came in and gave us some good moments and then Oscar (Frayer) keeps getting better. He's doing a great job."

In the first half, GCU got off to a slow start as the Flames jumped out to a 6-0 lead, forcing Majerle to take a timeout. After the break, freshman Oscar Frayer sank a long jumper to put the Lopes on the board. GCU grabbed its first lead of the night on a Vernon fast break layup to go up 13-12.

A coast-to-coast layup from junior Shaq Carr extended the GCU lead to 24-19 and forced the Flames to take a timeout of their own. The Lopes pushed the lead to 31-23, their largest of the game, before the Flames managed a comeback and knotted the score at 31 all. GCU went on an 11-4 run to end the half, entering the locker room with a 42-35 advantage.

Russell led all scorers at half with 13 points. The Lopes shot 55.2 percent from the field and sank 4-of-7 from behind the arc during the half.

The second half started much like the first as the Flames cut the GCU lead to one with a quick 8-2 run. The Lopes battled back behind the physical play of Vernon. He scored six points in the early minutes of the half and picked up a huge block on defense.

With the score tied at 56-56, the GCU freshmen came alive. Fiifi Aidoo hit a huge three-pointer and then assisted Frayer on a fast-break layup to give the Lopes a quick five points. The duo did not stop there. After the timeout, Aidoo again assisted Frayer for an electrifying dunk that brought the entire arena to its feet. On the next play, Frayer made a steal and had another breakaway dunk to bring the GCU lead to 65-56.

The Flames would not back down and stopped the GCU momentum with a run of their own. UIC scored 12 straight points to take the lead back at 68-65 with three and a half minutes to play.

With the score tied at 69 all, Vernon scored the go-ahead basket and got fouled to put GCU up 72-69 with less than a minute to go. The Lopes got a huge defensive stop then Frayer grabbed an offensive rebound with 15 seconds left to extend the Lopes' possession. The hustle play led to one made free throw by Russell. GCU then forced a turnover by the Flames and came away with the 73-69 victory.

"It was a struggle," Marjerle added. "We had really good runs, but then we let them in. We shot 29 percent in the second half and anytime DeWayne (Russell)'s going 5-for-21 you're going to struggle. But the good thing is we battled and found a way to win the game. Came up with some key stops down the stretch like we did the other night and that's one of the wins that are really ugly."

Next up, Grand Canyon will travel to Tucson to face off with the University of Arizona on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 9 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on ESPNU and aired on 1230 AM KFYI 2.