Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #23 Utah State on January 17, 2026 , Win , 84, to, 74
M Basketball
vs #23 Utah State
W 84-74
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Travis Neely
Senior spotlight: Casey Benson
2/28/2018 8:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Coming to Grand Canyon for his senior season afforded Casey Benson many opportunities that he would not have experienced otherwise.
Playing in his hometown.
Starting every game.
Scoring and assisting more than ever before.
But as he enters his final regular-season home game Saturday at GCU Arena, he can soak up the most unique part of the arrangement – playing with his brother, T.J., as a Lopes assistant coach sitting on one corner of the floor and his father, Tim, as a season-ticket holder sitting on the other corner of the floor.
"It's been special," Benson said. "It's something that I wouldn't trade for anything. The basketball's been awesome but there's a lot of it that's bigger than basketball. Coming home and being with my brother and being with family. It's pretty awesome to be able to share it with them."
Benson, the former Tempe Corona del Sol High School star, returned to the Valley last summer after playing three seasons at Oregon and coming off a Final Four appearance.
He already has logged more minutes in purple than he did in green last season and is averaging career highs for points (9.2) and assists (4.7, second in the Western Athletic Conference) as GCU's starting point guard. He has posted single-game career highs for points (17), assists (10) and rebounds (10) this season.
"Casey was put in a tough position but it's one that he wanted and one that we wanted," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "He was a different player at Oregon and we asked him to come in and do a lot of different things. I think it's taken him a while to figure out what we need. To his credit, he was a lot better in the second half of the season. He was terrific with the assists and turnovers, which we knew he would be, and he's started to look to score more.
"He's a terrific practice player. He's the first one in the gym, last one to leave. He wins a lot of our sprints even though he's not the fastest guy. It just shows you what kind of heart and hustle he has and why he's been successful."
Benson has appeared in every game despite dealing with injuries that he never previously experienced in his career. Feeling healthy again, he is looking forward to trying to help the program reach its first NCAA tournament as the team's only player with Division I conference tournament experience.
Benson may have only spent one school year at GCU but he was tied to the program by his brother, who has coached the Lopes since 2012, and his teammates, whom he joined for pickup games each summer. He also considers Saturday's senior night as a celebration of his four-year collegiate journey, one that led him to playing again with childhood teammate Joshua Braun.
"It'll definitely be emotional but it'll be a great night," Benson said of the 7 p.m. game against Cal State Bakersfield. "You just recollect a lot of different things from the last four years and my whole life. You dream about playing college basketball so when it's coming to an end, it's definitely emotional, but it's a time that I'll look back and be grateful for."
Each day this week, a senior men's basketball player will be spotlighted to lead up to the final home game Saturday against Cal State Bakersfield.
Playing in his hometown.
Starting every game.
Scoring and assisting more than ever before.
But as he enters his final regular-season home game Saturday at GCU Arena, he can soak up the most unique part of the arrangement – playing with his brother, T.J., as a Lopes assistant coach sitting on one corner of the floor and his father, Tim, as a season-ticket holder sitting on the other corner of the floor.
"It's been special," Benson said. "It's something that I wouldn't trade for anything. The basketball's been awesome but there's a lot of it that's bigger than basketball. Coming home and being with my brother and being with family. It's pretty awesome to be able to share it with them."
Benson, the former Tempe Corona del Sol High School star, returned to the Valley last summer after playing three seasons at Oregon and coming off a Final Four appearance.
He already has logged more minutes in purple than he did in green last season and is averaging career highs for points (9.2) and assists (4.7, second in the Western Athletic Conference) as GCU's starting point guard. He has posted single-game career highs for points (17), assists (10) and rebounds (10) this season.
"Casey was put in a tough position but it's one that he wanted and one that we wanted," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "He was a different player at Oregon and we asked him to come in and do a lot of different things. I think it's taken him a while to figure out what we need. To his credit, he was a lot better in the second half of the season. He was terrific with the assists and turnovers, which we knew he would be, and he's started to look to score more.
"He's a terrific practice player. He's the first one in the gym, last one to leave. He wins a lot of our sprints even though he's not the fastest guy. It just shows you what kind of heart and hustle he has and why he's been successful."
Benson has appeared in every game despite dealing with injuries that he never previously experienced in his career. Feeling healthy again, he is looking forward to trying to help the program reach its first NCAA tournament as the team's only player with Division I conference tournament experience.
Benson may have only spent one school year at GCU but he was tied to the program by his brother, who has coached the Lopes since 2012, and his teammates, whom he joined for pickup games each summer. He also considers Saturday's senior night as a celebration of his four-year collegiate journey, one that led him to playing again with childhood teammate Joshua Braun.
"It'll definitely be emotional but it'll be a great night," Benson said of the 7 p.m. game against Cal State Bakersfield. "You just recollect a lot of different things from the last four years and my whole life. You dream about playing college basketball so when it's coming to an end, it's definitely emotional, but it's a time that I'll look back and be grateful for."
Each day this week, a senior men's basketball player will be spotlighted to lead up to the final home game Saturday against Cal State Bakersfield.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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