GCU battles, but falls short to Arizona

Wednesday, December 14

Tucson, Ariz.

9:00 P.M.

Grand Canyon

5-5

Arizona

9-2

Grand Canyon

Arizona

12/15/2016 12:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Charles Hampton

Meeting up for the first time since 1980, the Grand Canyon men's basketball fought hard but ultimately fell 64-54 to the No. 19 Arizona Wildcats on Wednesday night at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz.

"We played really hard," head coach Dan Majerle said. "We couldn't make some shots. We really struggled in the first half. We just kept battling. In the second half, we picked it up."

DeWayne Russell led the Lopes in scoring with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the field and added 4 assists, and 3 rebounds, playing all 40 minutes of action. The senior from Peoria, Ariz., entered the game ranked fifth in the country in minutes played, averaging 37.6 per game.

Both teams got out to a slow start as the Lopes hit just two of their first 10 shots, while Arizona hit two of their first six shots at the first media timeout. Gerard Martin drained a 3-pointer to give the Lopes their first and only lead of the game, 9-7. The Wildcats offense woke up after that going on a 10-0 run. Russell stopped the run with a 3-pointer but it was only briefly as Arizona reeled of nine more points in a row, completing a 19-3 run over 4:53 to open up a 14-point lead, 26-12.

Arizona would open a 16-point lead with a layup from Chance Comanche with 5:26 remaining in the half. Fiifi Aidoo answered back with a 3-pointer on the other end of the floor to cut the lead to 32-19.

The GCU defense stepped up at that point, holding Arizona scoreless over the final five minutes of the half. A 3-pointer from Martin and 3-point play from Darion Clark finished out a 9-0 run as GCU entered halftime trailing 32-25.

"We played really hard, down seven at the half," Majerle said. "We played hard. We played good. We're just making too many mistakes."

The undersized Lopes struggled against Arizona's size, being outscored 20-8 in the paint the first half. Arizona shot 48.3 percent from the field in the first half, compared to only 30.3 percent for GCU, but the Lopes forced 12 Wildcat turnovers, while committing 9 of their own.

Four minutes into the second half, Arizona pushed its lead back to double digits following a free throw from Lauri Markkanen. Clark and Russell answered right back with buckets to cut the lead to six. After a pair of free throws from Rawle Alkins, Kerwin Smith and Russell each had layups to cut the Wildcats lead down to four with 10:22 remaining in the game.

The Lopes had the ball with a chance to cut it to two or one, but a turnover at the top of the key flipped momentum back the other way. That would be as close as the Lopes would get as foul trouble came back to bite them throughout the second half.

Despite holding Arizona without a field goal for over six minutes of the second half as well, Arizona managed to get to the free throw line on three consecutive possessions. Kobi Simmons hit six straight free throws and Arizona went back up by 10. A jumper and 3-pointer from Oscar Frayer pulled the Lopes within eight with 1:13 to go, but GCU could not get any closer.

Already bit by the injury-bug this season, the Lopes lost Clark on a mid-court collision that sent the graduate transfer running off the court in pain. He did not return and Majerle was forced to turn to an already thin bench.

GCU dropped to 0-3 on the road this season after being outrebounded 42-29. GCU just could not overcome a poor shooting night against the length or Arizona.

The Lopes shot 35 percent from the field for the game, including 25 percent from 3-point range and only 50 percent shooting from the charity stripe. The Wildcats should 43 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free throw line.

The Lopes return home to GCU Arena on Saturday, Dec. 17, as they take on the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils at 7 p.m. MST. It will be the second all-time meeting between the two schools, with GCU winning 94-60 at home last November.