Lopes top Aztecs, freshmen set career marks

Wednesday, December 7

Phoenix, Ariz.

7:00 P.M.

Grand Canyon

4-4, 0-0

San Diego State

4-3, 0-0

San Diego State

Grand Canyon

12/7/2016 9:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Jake Hernandez

PHOENIX – The Grand Canyon men's basketball team defeated San Diego State 76-72 on Wednesday night as the Lopes went on a 10-1 run to end the game. GCU freshmen Oscar Frayer (19 points) and Fiifi Aidoo (15) set career-highs for points in a game. DeWayne Russell added 21 points and nine assists.

"I thought DeWayne would probably have to go for 40 again," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said postgame. "Those guys, they work hard every day but they just weren't there yet. You have to talk about Fiifi, you have to talk about Oscar, and then you have to talk about Kerwin (Smith). I mean, Kerwin really came in, he hasn't gotten much playing time, but really did a great job today of stepping in and playing big."

Russell has now recorded 20-plus points in five of his six contests this season. After Russell's career game against Louisville, two freshmen Lopes also set new career marks. Frayer's career-high 19 points included five 3-pointers, joining Joshua Braun as the only Lopes to reach the mark this season. Aidoo doubled his previous career-high of seven points by dropping 15 (6-of-8), including three 3-pointers (3-of-5). Redshirt sophomore Kerwin Smith garnered nine points, a new season high, adding a GCU-leading eight rebounds.

"My teammates trust me," Frayer commended on his performance. "I have great love for my teammates and they trust me to shoot it and I shoot it."

In the first half, the Lopes' offense shined as they shot 46.9 (15-of-32) percent to the Aztec's 34.4 (11-of-32) percent from the field. On Saturday against No. 14 Louisville, three Lopes scored 58 of GCU's 70 points, but it was not the case Wednesday night as five GCU players had at least five points in the first half, led by Russell's nine. For San Diego State, Kell and Allen recorded seven points apiece in the first half. Going into the locker room, the Lopes led 35-27.

After taking the lead into the half, the Lopes led most of the game until San Diego State's Jeremy Hemsley turned up the offense, scoring 25 of his 28 points in the second half. GCU's Russell did not slow to the competition as he garnered 12 points to follow Frayer's 13 second-half points.

"DeWayne -- he just plays hard," Majerle added. "It's going to be hard for him every night because he's going to be keyed in on, and he has to work so hard to get his shot. We need guys to step up and tonight those three guys (Oscar, Aidoo and Smith) were really, really good."

In the comeback victory, the Lopes finished the contest on a 10-1 run, going up 74-72 with less than a minute to go. Coming down to the wire with less than 40 seconds left in the game, the Lopes forced four Aztec turnovers, including a block and three steals to seal the 76-74 victory and move to 3-0 all-time against the Aztecs.

The Lopes' defense also shined in Wednesday's matchup as they forced a total of 11 turnovers, including eight steals with three coming from Frayer.

For the Aztecs, Hemsley led the charge offensively, scoring 28 points (9-of-15). Following Hemsley, sophomore Zylan Cheatham dropped 17 points (4-of-11), including 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. Cheatham led all players on the court with 12 rebounds.

How it happened

SDSU got off to a quick start, scoring the first four points of the game – all from Trey Kell.
At the 10:56 mark, a Keonta Vernon steal and Aidoo layup tied the game at 16-16 after the Aztecs lead the most of the game prior. It was not until Kerwin Smith' layup at the 10:11 mark did the Lopes own their first lead of the game, going up 18-16.
In the second half, the Aztecs came out shooting again, scoring five points in the first two minutes to cut the Lopes lead to 37-32.
12:47 into the second half, GCU went on 9-0 run over 1:31 span, hitting 5-of-5 to take 55-44 lead over SDSU, their largest lead of the game.
Aztecs tied the game 55-55 at the 10:31 mark after being down 11.
SDSU went up five at 4:06 but GCU's Frayer hit back-to-back 3-point shots to give the Lopes a 72-71 lead.
In less 40 seconds to go in the game, the Lopes had a block and three steals, including Aidoo's steal from Hemsley with 10 seconds to go before the game-tying attempt.

End of Game Notes

Russell has scored 20-plus points in five of his six contests this season.
Grand Canyon ended on a 10-1 run.
GCU shot 51.8 percent from the field against 38.7 percent from SDSU.
Grand Canyon's 41 second-half points were the most since the Lopes dropped 41 against Coppin State on Nov. 25 earlier this season.
Frayer joins Braun as the only two Lopes to make five 3-point shots in a single game this season. Braun recorded five against Marist on Nov. 20.

Next up
Next up, Grand Canyon will host the University of Illinois-Chicago on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. MST at GCU Arena. The game will be televised on 3TV and aired on 910 AM FOX Sports Phoenix.