Lopes lead for 35 minutes but fall to CSUB

Saturday, February 4

Phoenix, Ariz.

7:00 P.M.

Grand Canyon

15-9, 4-3WAC

CSU Bakersfield

15-7, 6-1WAC

Bakersfield

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Darryl Webb

2/4/2017 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Charles Hampton

PHOENIX - The Grand Canyon men's basketball saw its 10-game home winning streak at GCU Arena come to an end, as the Lopes fell 65-62 to CSU Bakersfield on Saturday night. The loss dropped the Lopes (15-9, 4-3) three games behind New Mexico State and two games behind CSU Bakersfield (15-7, 6-1) in the Western Athletic Conference standings at the halfway mark of conference play.

"It's hard. The guys down the stretch hadn't been in the game in that situation very often," said head coach Dan Majerle. "Keonta is obviously a big part of what we do and the kid fouls out in 14 minutes. We haven't seen that at all this year, we saw that last year. He fouls out in 14 minutes and it takes away a lot of the things we do."

Joshua Braun had a game-high 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, while also grabbing a season-best 7 rebounds. DeWayne Russell had 12 points and Fiifi Aidoo had 11 to round out the double-figure scoring for GCU.

"We are just learning," Majerle said. "We have young kids that haven't been in that situation. 50/50 balls, rebounds -- we just weren't tough enough. It's something we just have to keep working on."

In a tightly-contested first half, the Lopes jumped out to an early 9-point lead following a Darion Clark dunk and 3-pointer from Braun. The Roadrunners began a full-court press and cut the lead back to three on a number of occasions. CSU Bakersfield did its best to slow down the seventh-best scorer in the country, which opened the passing lanes for Russell, who had six first half assists.

The Lopes took a 35-30 lead into halftime behind 8 points from Braun and Aidoo. Kerwin Smith grabbed 7 first-half rebounds as GCU held a 19-16 edge on the boards. Both teams turned the ball over 12 times in the half, but the Lopes were able score 10 points off the turnovers compared to just 2 points for the 'Runners.

After a quick four points from the Runners to start the second half, Braun answered right back with a 3-pointers at the top of the key. After Oscar Frayer hit a fadeaway jumper, Russell drove baseline and hit a layup while drawing the foul. A made free throw completed the 3-point play and the 8-2 run gave the Lopes a 43-36 lead at the first media timeout of the second half.

CSU Bakersfield pulled within one after Frayer and Keonta Vernon were each called for their fifth personal foul on the same possession with 10 minutes remaining in the game. With the Lopes up 55-52, Russell drilled a jumper at the top of the key to increase the Lopes' lead to five with five minutes to play.

With the game tied at 58, Aidoo drove the lane and dished the ball off to Smith for the slam with 1:46 to play. Dedrick Basile was able to push the ball right back up the court for the Runners. Russell stripped the ball as Basile went up for the shot, but Clark's outlet pass to Russell was picked off and Basile drained a 3-pointer to give CSU Bakersfield its first lead of the game, 61-60.

Following a missed floater from Russell, Matt Smith hit a layup under the basket to give CSU Bakersfield a three-point lead with 45.7 seconds to play. Braun was unable to get a floater to go with 29 seconds remaining and Jaylin Airington was fouled immediately. Airington hit 1-of-2 free throws to extend the lead to four. With seven seconds to play, Braun caught the inbounds pass from Aidoo under the basket and layed it in.

Following a GCU timeout, Airington was fouled again and went to the line for two more free throws. After missing the first attempt, Airington hit the second. Russell took the inbounds and dribbled up court and launched a last-second three attempt for the tie, but it would fall just short.

The Lopes lead for 35:48 of the game while CSU Bakersfield held the lead for just 1:35. Grand Canyon ended the game on a 2-for-9 stretch from the field, while the 'Runners converted on their last three attempts.

A four-game homestand continues for Grand Canyon with UTRGV and New Mexico State set to visit next week. Thursday's game with the Vaqueros is set for 7 p.m. MST on Thursday, airing on Cox 7 Arizona and FOX Sports 910 AM.