Notes: GCU vs. NC Central

Monday, December 11

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

North Carolina Central

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12/10/2017 2:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Grand Canyon Game Notes NC Central Game Notes Media Center

By: Charles Hampton

	vs.
Grand Canyon Lopes (5-2, 0-0 WAC)	Sat. Dec. 9 7 p.m. MST	NC Central Eagles (4-7, 0-0 MEAC)
Grand Canyon Game Notes	Watch Live Listen Live Live Stats	NC Central Game Notes

The Grand Canyon men's basketball team looks to improve to 7-1 at home on the season as they host North Carolina Central on Monday, Dec. 11 at GCU Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MST and will be broadcasted live in the Phoenix area on YurView (Ch. 4 Phoenix / Ch. 7 Tucson) and streamed online at GCU.tv. Out of market broadcast will also be available on ESPN3 (Subject to blackout within Arizona). Barry Buetel will be providing play-by-play with analyst Scott Williams and Kate Longworth on the sideline.

GCU fans can listen live as Michael Potter and Tom Kuyper will be airing on 1580 AM The Fanatic as well as online via The Fanatic website or mobile app. The pregame show will start 15 minutes before tip and conclude with a postgame show featuring comments from head coach Dan Majerle.

GCU QUICK NOTES:

The Lopes are 10-0 all-time against MEAC opponents, including a 2-0 record so far this season.
GCU ranks tied for fifth in the country in scoring defense (59.0 points per game). In the last three seasons, GCU is 25-2 when allowing 61 points or less. The Lopes also rank 8th in 3-point defense, holding opponents to just 26.4 percent from beyond the arc.
The Lopes rank fifth in the country in effective opponent field goal percentage at 41.8 percent. Effective field goal percentage factors in weighted figures for 3-point field goals.
Keonta Vernon went 8-for-8 from the field, scoring 19 points vs. Grambling State. He became the first GCU player to be perfect on 8-plus attempts in the Division I era and fourth all-time.
GCU limited Grambling State to just two 3-pointers, the fifth time the Lopes have held an opponent to two threes in the D1 era.
Dating back to last season, the Lopes have won 20 of their last 22 home games at GCU Arena.
Casey Benson tied a season-high with 8 assists vs. Grambling State and is posting career-high averages for points (11.0), assists (5.1), rebounds (4.1), and steals (1.3) on the season.
GCU leads the WAC in scoring defense (59.0), scoring margin (+13.5), field goal percentage defense (38.1), three-point field goal percentage defense (26.4), assists (16.5), blocks (4.3), turnover margin (+3.25), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1).
Oscar Frayer leads the WAC in steals, averaging 1.9 per game.
GCU ranks sixth in the country in attendance relative to stadium capacity, averaging 100.07 percent of stadium capacity this season. That includes three games where students were on fall break.
After opening the season with eight home games and one neutral site contest in Phoenix, the Lopes will head out for their first road contest of the season against Boise State on Dec. 13.
Alessandro Lever and Fiifi Aidoo made their first starts of the season vs. Grambling State on Saturday. Parker Dale made his collegiate debut in the final two minutes of the contest.