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
Saturday, November 18
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
3-0
76
vs
51
Little Rock
0-3
1
2
F
Little Rock
23
28
51
Grand Canyon
42
34
76
Braun bursts in lopsided Lopes win
11/18/2017 10:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU holds Little Rock to 27 percent shooting
It took until the fifth minute of Saturday night's game for Grand Canyon senior guard Josh Braun to get loose for a 3-point shot.
Braun used a backscreen for a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer and Little Rock could not have known what a problem it created. Braun just needed that hint of rhythm, tearing off 19 of GCU's first 25 points to send the Lopes to a dominant 76-51 victory at GCU Arena.
Braun made his first eight shots for a 22-point first half that capitalized on another night of stifling defense. Braun's 29 points, the second-highest scoring game of his career, outscored Little Rock's starting lineup. The Lopes held the Trojans to 27.3 percent shooting from the field, dropping their opponent field goal percentage to 33.1 for the season.
Braun made his first five 3-point tries but also scored in the paint off an inbound, dribble drive and a 3-point fake that he turned into a 3-point play.
"It's always fun when you hit the first one and you want to see if the next one goes in," Braun said. "It gives you some confidence early on, especially when you hit the first one. There are some days when the hoop looks as big as the ocean and there are others when it doesn't so you ride it while you can and have fun out there. The guys were finding me in good spots so I appreciate them for that."
Lopes head coach Dan Majerle has stuck with a deeper rotation than anticipated, using 11 players in Saturday's first half. Using those reserves gives GCU's defense more flexibility to switch on screens and deny passing lanes.
Against a tall, athletic team, the Lopes blocked eight shots and came up with seven steals while not allowing Little Rock to score a fastbreak point.
"When we play 10, 11 guys, 12 guys, guys don't have any excuses," Majerle said. "They're not tired. We can rotate them in and they are really starting to be impressive and take pride in their defense."
GCU held Little Rock scoreless for 5:07 of the first half to take a 33-14 lead. The Lopes starters kept the Trojans to one field goal for the first five minutes of the second half and the reserves shut out the Trojans for another five minutes later in the second half.
"It's helpful that we're deep and we've got a lot of guys who want to guard and a lot of guys who want to protect the hoop," Braun said. "That's been big for us. If we can keep that going, we're going to be a tough team to beat."
Braun has made 11 of 19 3-point tries in the Lopes' three wins this season, increasing his point total each game after sitting out GCU's exhibition games.
"He continues to amaze with what he's able to do," Majerle said.
A crowd of 7,394 fans, the sixth-largest crowd in GCU history, saw the Lopes extend their winning streak to 10 games, the longest active Division I win streak in the nation.
Lopes senior point guard Casey Benson followed Monday's career-high scoring game of 17 points with a 10-point game Saturday. The bench contributed offensively too with senior backup point guard Shaq Carr driving the lane for six first-half points and freshman power forward Alessandro Lever posting up in the second half for six points.
GCU opened its lead to as much as 31 points in the second half but turnovers continue to be an issue. After committing 17 and 21 turnovers in the first two wins, the Lopes made 18 turnovers on a night when the offense made 51.1 percent of its shots.
"We've got to do a better job of being strong with the basketball," Majerle said. "Protecting it, not making careless one-handed passes. Driving and kicking and being ready to shooting."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Braun used a backscreen for a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer and Little Rock could not have known what a problem it created. Braun just needed that hint of rhythm, tearing off 19 of GCU's first 25 points to send the Lopes to a dominant 76-51 victory at GCU Arena.
Braun made his first eight shots for a 22-point first half that capitalized on another night of stifling defense. Braun's 29 points, the second-highest scoring game of his career, outscored Little Rock's starting lineup. The Lopes held the Trojans to 27.3 percent shooting from the field, dropping their opponent field goal percentage to 33.1 for the season.
Braun made his first five 3-point tries but also scored in the paint off an inbound, dribble drive and a 3-point fake that he turned into a 3-point play.
"It's always fun when you hit the first one and you want to see if the next one goes in," Braun said. "It gives you some confidence early on, especially when you hit the first one. There are some days when the hoop looks as big as the ocean and there are others when it doesn't so you ride it while you can and have fun out there. The guys were finding me in good spots so I appreciate them for that."
Lopes head coach Dan Majerle has stuck with a deeper rotation than anticipated, using 11 players in Saturday's first half. Using those reserves gives GCU's defense more flexibility to switch on screens and deny passing lanes.
Against a tall, athletic team, the Lopes blocked eight shots and came up with seven steals while not allowing Little Rock to score a fastbreak point.
"When we play 10, 11 guys, 12 guys, guys don't have any excuses," Majerle said. "They're not tired. We can rotate them in and they are really starting to be impressive and take pride in their defense."
GCU held Little Rock scoreless for 5:07 of the first half to take a 33-14 lead. The Lopes starters kept the Trojans to one field goal for the first five minutes of the second half and the reserves shut out the Trojans for another five minutes later in the second half.
"It's helpful that we're deep and we've got a lot of guys who want to guard and a lot of guys who want to protect the hoop," Braun said. "That's been big for us. If we can keep that going, we're going to be a tough team to beat."
Braun has made 11 of 19 3-point tries in the Lopes' three wins this season, increasing his point total each game after sitting out GCU's exhibition games.
"He continues to amaze with what he's able to do," Majerle said.
A crowd of 7,394 fans, the sixth-largest crowd in GCU history, saw the Lopes extend their winning streak to 10 games, the longest active Division I win streak in the nation.
Lopes senior point guard Casey Benson followed Monday's career-high scoring game of 17 points with a 10-point game Saturday. The bench contributed offensively too with senior backup point guard Shaq Carr driving the lane for six first-half points and freshman power forward Alessandro Lever posting up in the second half for six points.
GCU opened its lead to as much as 31 points in the second half but turnovers continue to be an issue. After committing 17 and 21 turnovers in the first two wins, the Lopes made 18 turnovers on a night when the offense made 51.1 percent of its shots.
"We've got to do a better job of being strong with the basketball," Majerle said. "Protecting it, not making careless one-handed passes. Driving and kicking and being ready to shooting."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
LR
GCU
FG%
.273
.511
3FG%
.167
.400
FT%
.692
.714
RB
34
39
TO
16
18
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
29
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
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