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
Tuesday, December 5
Phoenix, Ariz.
9:30 p.m.
Grand Canyon
5-2
60
vs
68
St. John's
8-1
1
2
F
Saint John's (NY)
32
36
68
Grand Canyon
27
33
60
Photo by: Slaven Gujic
Lopes miss shots, chance vs. St. John's
12/6/2017 12:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU's high effort not enough with poor offense
Grand Canyon held its first Midnight Madness in October.
The other one came as Tuesday turned to Wednesday at Talking Stick Resort Arena, where a late tip-off cued a different sort of madness at midnight from GCU head coach Dan Majerle.
Coaching at his old Suns home, Majerle left early Wednesday frustrated with a 68-60 loss late Tuesday to St. John's in which the Lopes offense struggled in every way despite an effort level that kept GCU in the Valley of the Sun Shootout nightcap.
The eight-point margin of defeat is almost remarkable considering the Lopes (5-2) shot 30.3 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from the 3-point range and 54.5 percent on free throws while committing 21 turnovers.
"Our guys fought extremely hard for 40 minutes, kept in the game but we have to figure it out," Majerle said in his return to where he is a Suns Ring of Honor member. "We can't shoot the ball whether it's from the free-throw line, 3-point line, layups. It's not just happening right now. Playing hard is great but you have to play smart and good after a while."
St. John's (8-1) also had offensive struggles in the meeting of two teams that entered Tuesday night ranked in the nation's top 10 for scoring defense. But the Red Storm stayed in command from the time GCU went nearly eight minutes of the first half without making a field goal. If it was not for second-chance baskets, the Lopes' drought would have lasted 11 minutes.
Even when GCU fell behind by 16 points in the second half, the Lopes mustered a rally with defensive pressure and senior point guard Casey Benson's aggression. Benson scored 12 consecutive Lopes points, pulling GCU within seven with 1:52 to go as part of his career-high scoring night of 18.
"Pretty good hustle, OK defense and pretty bad offense," St. John's head coach Chris Mullin said. "We just never got going really offensively. We had a little spurt but they (the Lopes) just kept coming back."
GCU's effort showed up on the offensive glass, where the Lopes grabbed 18 rebounds, and on defense with 11 steals and the Red Storm's 39.6 percent shooting. Senior Keonta Vernon had seven of those offensive rebounds and tied his career rebounding high of 15 but missed all six of his free throw attempts.
Coming off two ice-cold 3-point shooting games, the Lopes played in catch-up mode for the final 36 minutes and nearly took as many shots outside the 3-point arc (32) as inside it (34). Many were far beyond the taped college 3-point line as players gravitated to the painted NBA line.
"I have never seen a college team shoot more airballs than we do," Majerle said. "Maybe we should schedule a team with no fans because in practice we make every shot. I don't know what it is. It is just careless turnovers, guys not protecting the ball, missing wide open shots, missing rims, missing free throws. I have no fault in our guys. We play extremely hard and get after it for 40 minutes but that's not good enough anymore. Our guys are better than that."
St. John's sophomore guard Shamorie Ponds scored 28 points and accounted for half of the Red Storm's 10 steals. Arizona transfer Justin Simon, playing after the Wildcats beat No. 7 Texas A&M in Tuesday's first game, posted 17 points and 11 rebounds.
GCU's usual leading scorer, senior shooting guard Joshua Braun, struggled again from the field (five for 16) and finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals.
"That kid Braun reminds a lot of Dan himself … plays hard," Mullin said.
The Lopes, who return to GCU Arena on Saturday night against Grambling State, will face St. John's again next season in New York.
Tuesday's game was technically a neutral-site meeting but GCU still made it feel like home with the Havocs enveloping the south end of Talking Stick Resort Arena with their raucous ways.
"I've seen some of their games on campus so I was glad we didn't play there," Mullin said. "My respect for Dan and Jerry Colangelo is really why we came out here. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was making sure we weren't playing on campus. They almost beat Louisville. They've got tremendous support and they're on the rise. Dan's doing a great job. Everything Jerry Colangelo touches turns to gold so it's just a matter of time."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
The other one came as Tuesday turned to Wednesday at Talking Stick Resort Arena, where a late tip-off cued a different sort of madness at midnight from GCU head coach Dan Majerle.
Coaching at his old Suns home, Majerle left early Wednesday frustrated with a 68-60 loss late Tuesday to St. John's in which the Lopes offense struggled in every way despite an effort level that kept GCU in the Valley of the Sun Shootout nightcap.
The eight-point margin of defeat is almost remarkable considering the Lopes (5-2) shot 30.3 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from the 3-point range and 54.5 percent on free throws while committing 21 turnovers.
"Our guys fought extremely hard for 40 minutes, kept in the game but we have to figure it out," Majerle said in his return to where he is a Suns Ring of Honor member. "We can't shoot the ball whether it's from the free-throw line, 3-point line, layups. It's not just happening right now. Playing hard is great but you have to play smart and good after a while."
St. John's (8-1) also had offensive struggles in the meeting of two teams that entered Tuesday night ranked in the nation's top 10 for scoring defense. But the Red Storm stayed in command from the time GCU went nearly eight minutes of the first half without making a field goal. If it was not for second-chance baskets, the Lopes' drought would have lasted 11 minutes.
Even when GCU fell behind by 16 points in the second half, the Lopes mustered a rally with defensive pressure and senior point guard Casey Benson's aggression. Benson scored 12 consecutive Lopes points, pulling GCU within seven with 1:52 to go as part of his career-high scoring night of 18.
"Pretty good hustle, OK defense and pretty bad offense," St. John's head coach Chris Mullin said. "We just never got going really offensively. We had a little spurt but they (the Lopes) just kept coming back."
GCU's effort showed up on the offensive glass, where the Lopes grabbed 18 rebounds, and on defense with 11 steals and the Red Storm's 39.6 percent shooting. Senior Keonta Vernon had seven of those offensive rebounds and tied his career rebounding high of 15 but missed all six of his free throw attempts.
Coming off two ice-cold 3-point shooting games, the Lopes played in catch-up mode for the final 36 minutes and nearly took as many shots outside the 3-point arc (32) as inside it (34). Many were far beyond the taped college 3-point line as players gravitated to the painted NBA line.
"I have never seen a college team shoot more airballs than we do," Majerle said. "Maybe we should schedule a team with no fans because in practice we make every shot. I don't know what it is. It is just careless turnovers, guys not protecting the ball, missing wide open shots, missing rims, missing free throws. I have no fault in our guys. We play extremely hard and get after it for 40 minutes but that's not good enough anymore. Our guys are better than that."
St. John's sophomore guard Shamorie Ponds scored 28 points and accounted for half of the Red Storm's 10 steals. Arizona transfer Justin Simon, playing after the Wildcats beat No. 7 Texas A&M in Tuesday's first game, posted 17 points and 11 rebounds.
GCU's usual leading scorer, senior shooting guard Joshua Braun, struggled again from the field (five for 16) and finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals.
"That kid Braun reminds a lot of Dan himself … plays hard," Mullin said.
The Lopes, who return to GCU Arena on Saturday night against Grambling State, will face St. John's again next season in New York.
Tuesday's game was technically a neutral-site meeting but GCU still made it feel like home with the Havocs enveloping the south end of Talking Stick Resort Arena with their raucous ways.
"I've seen some of their games on campus so I was glad we didn't play there," Mullin said. "My respect for Dan and Jerry Colangelo is really why we came out here. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was making sure we weren't playing on campus. They almost beat Louisville. They've got tremendous support and they're on the rise. Dan's doing a great job. Everything Jerry Colangelo touches turns to gold so it's just a matter of time."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
SJU
GCU
FG%
.396
.303
3FG%
.333
.250
FT%
.741
.545
RB
42
46
TO
18
21
STL
10
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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