GCU runs away late, defeats Benedictine 95-71

Tuesday, February 9

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

21-4, 7-2

Benedictine (Ariz.)

12-15, 0-0

Benedictine

Grand Canyon

2/9/2016 9:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Samantha Fell

PHOENIX - The GCU men's basketball team pulled away in the second half to beat the Benedictine Redhawks 95-71 on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at GCU Arena. The Lopes improve to 21-4 on the season.

Keonta Vernon earned his eighth start of the season and made the most of it. Vernon began the game with a thundering dunk and proceeded to score 10 of the first 14 Lopes' points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. Head coach Dan Majerle praised Vernon's play.

"Keonta did a good job offensively," Majerle said. "He's not a guy that I'm worried about his confidence, he's just got to learn how to play really hard without fouling."

The Lopes began the game by going inside, a sharp contrast to Benedictine's style of play. GCU struggled to stop the Redhawks from behind the arc throughout the first half. 21 of the first 23 points Benedictine scored were from behind the three point line. The Redhawks average 7.8 threes per game and they hit 10 in the first half alone. Benedictine shot 58.8% from 3-point range during the half.

Fortunately, GCU had a sharpshooter of their own in Joshua Braun. The sophomore made two 3-pointers and knocked down 5-of-5 attempts from the free throw line to score 15 points at the half. Grandy Glaze continued to be a dominant presence in the post as he added 15 first-half points as well. Vernon ended the half with 13 points and the Lopes entered the locker room with a 54-42 lead.

Back-and-forth play continued into the beginning of the second half. The Lopes could score at will but were unable to stop the hot-shooting Redhawks. Benedictine battled within six points with 11 minutes remaining in the game, down 62-68, before the Lopes began to pull away.

Grand Canyon went on a 22-2 run over the next eight minutes of action. The Lopes capitalized on offensive rebounds and turnovers by the Redhawks to extend their lead to 26 points. De'Andre Davis came up big in the run, scoring 7 total points and grabbing 4 steals.

For the game, GCU shot 54.1% from the floor compared to 42.9% for the Redhawks. The Lopes out-rebounded Benedictine 42-33 and forced Benedictine into 19 turnovers.

The trio of Braun, Glaze, and Vernon combined for 70 points and 30 rebounds for the game. Braun led all scorers with 26 points. He went 9-for-9 from the free throw line and grabbed 9 rebounds. Glaze had 25 points and 15 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Vernon added 19 points and 6 boards.

The Lopes return to WAC conference play this weekend as they travel to Washington for a rematch with Seattle U on Friday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. The Redhawks defeated GCU by two points on Jan. 30 and are currently on a five-game winning streak.

"We're just going to have to get ready and see if we've got a little payback for them," Majerle said. "If we want to stay in the WAC race, we can't lose either at home or on the road. So this will be a good test for us."