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
Friday, November 10
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
1-0
67
vs
51
Florida A&M
0-1
1
2
F
Florida A&M
17
34
51
Grand Canyon
35
32
67
Lopes get defensive in opener
11/10/2017 9:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Box ScorePhoto GalleryMajerle Press ConferencePostgame with Josh BraunKeonta Vernon Press ConferenceFiifi Aidoo Press Conference
GCU downs Florida A&M, 67-51
The defensive lineup and defensive effort did not come by whim Friday night.
When the Grand Canyon men's basketball team beat Florida A&M, 67-51, in its season opener at sold-out GCU Arena, the Lopes shut out the Rattlers in each half for five- and six-minute stretches because of what happened in practices for weeks.
There, in GCU's new Basketball Practice Facility, Majerle's deepest team yet set a tone of competition that pushed players defensively. He also spotted a lineup that could unravel opposing offenses before the Havocs' volume level does.
The Lopes broke open Friday's game in the first half with a 13-0 run keyed by the defense of reserve guards Fiifi Aidoo, a sophomore, and Damari Milstead, a freshman, teaming with a frontcourt of Oscar Frayer, Keonta Vernon and Matt Jackson. After holding Florida A&M scoreless for 5:51, GCU led 31-14 and never was threatened again.
The starters nearly matched the defensive work, shutting out the Rattlers for five minutes of the second half. GCU was holding Florida A&M to 25.8 percent shooting from the field over the game's first 28 ½ minutes, when their emphasis for floor communication only could be drowned out by the Havocs.
"All those guys can really defend and get after it for a period of time," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "All those guys are pretty athletic and smart. Gerard and Matt together are extremely smart out there and then, with Fiifi's athleticism and the way Damari gets into guys and Keonta with his size and his strength. Those are guys who can really cause some havoc defensively."
The opener marked the return of senior shooting guard Joshua Braun, who missed the exhibition games due to concussion protocol and just resumed practicing Wednesday. His shooting stroke was unaffected by the layoff when he made his first two 3-point tries and scored all 11 of his points in the Lopes' first 12 points.
Braun nailed a 3 on the game's first play when a familiar play for a Vernon alleyoop drew a double team, leaving Braun open on the arc for a feed from Roberts Blumbergs.
"It opens the floor for everybody to have Josh back," Vernon said.
Aidoo shared the team scoring lead with Braun because of a second-half stretch in which he made three 3-pointers in less the four minutes. Aidoo said he worked on his jump shot over the summer to have a more consistent rise off the floor.
"It felt good," Aidoo said. "I'm going to call myself the microwave now. I heat it up real quick."
The Lopes got more points from their bench (34) than their starters (33) as Majerle went 11 deep with his rotation in the first 14 minutes of the game.
Aidoo scored his 11 points in only 11 minutes of play, making an immediate impact upon entry in the second half when he stole a cross-court pass and made a 3 on the ensuing possession for a 54-32 lead.
"I see glimpses of it every day in practice," Majerle said of Aidoo. "When he's aggressive and looks to score and he's focused, he's about as talented as they come. He's just got to stay focused. In the second half, some of his shots were questionable but I'll take it because when he's focused like that and gets going downhill and starts making shots, he's about as talented as they get."
The victory extends the Lopes winning streak to eight games, which is the longest active Division I winning streak in the nation. They will play again Monday at home against Robert Morris with hopes of improving their ball care (17 turnovers Friday) and free throw shooting (50 percent Friday).
"We felt like we should've blown this game a lot more than we did," Vernon said. "We just have to find it within ourselves to keep pushing and keep going no matter what's going on."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
When the Grand Canyon men's basketball team beat Florida A&M, 67-51, in its season opener at sold-out GCU Arena, the Lopes shut out the Rattlers in each half for five- and six-minute stretches because of what happened in practices for weeks.
There, in GCU's new Basketball Practice Facility, Majerle's deepest team yet set a tone of competition that pushed players defensively. He also spotted a lineup that could unravel opposing offenses before the Havocs' volume level does.
The Lopes broke open Friday's game in the first half with a 13-0 run keyed by the defense of reserve guards Fiifi Aidoo, a sophomore, and Damari Milstead, a freshman, teaming with a frontcourt of Oscar Frayer, Keonta Vernon and Matt Jackson. After holding Florida A&M scoreless for 5:51, GCU led 31-14 and never was threatened again.
The starters nearly matched the defensive work, shutting out the Rattlers for five minutes of the second half. GCU was holding Florida A&M to 25.8 percent shooting from the field over the game's first 28 ½ minutes, when their emphasis for floor communication only could be drowned out by the Havocs.
"All those guys can really defend and get after it for a period of time," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "All those guys are pretty athletic and smart. Gerard and Matt together are extremely smart out there and then, with Fiifi's athleticism and the way Damari gets into guys and Keonta with his size and his strength. Those are guys who can really cause some havoc defensively."
The opener marked the return of senior shooting guard Joshua Braun, who missed the exhibition games due to concussion protocol and just resumed practicing Wednesday. His shooting stroke was unaffected by the layoff when he made his first two 3-point tries and scored all 11 of his points in the Lopes' first 12 points.
Braun nailed a 3 on the game's first play when a familiar play for a Vernon alleyoop drew a double team, leaving Braun open on the arc for a feed from Roberts Blumbergs.
"It opens the floor for everybody to have Josh back," Vernon said.
Aidoo shared the team scoring lead with Braun because of a second-half stretch in which he made three 3-pointers in less the four minutes. Aidoo said he worked on his jump shot over the summer to have a more consistent rise off the floor.
"It felt good," Aidoo said. "I'm going to call myself the microwave now. I heat it up real quick."
The Lopes got more points from their bench (34) than their starters (33) as Majerle went 11 deep with his rotation in the first 14 minutes of the game.
Aidoo scored his 11 points in only 11 minutes of play, making an immediate impact upon entry in the second half when he stole a cross-court pass and made a 3 on the ensuing possession for a 54-32 lead.
"I see glimpses of it every day in practice," Majerle said of Aidoo. "When he's aggressive and looks to score and he's focused, he's about as talented as they come. He's just got to stay focused. In the second half, some of his shots were questionable but I'll take it because when he's focused like that and gets going downhill and starts making shots, he's about as talented as they get."
The victory extends the Lopes winning streak to eight games, which is the longest active Division I winning streak in the nation. They will play again Monday at home against Robert Morris with hopes of improving their ball care (17 turnovers Friday) and free throw shooting (50 percent Friday).
"We felt like we should've blown this game a lot more than we did," Vernon said. "We just have to find it within ourselves to keep pushing and keep going no matter what's going on."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
FAM
GCU
FG%
.388
.441
3FG%
.308
.318
FT%
.643
.500
RB
32
39
TO
22
17
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
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