Back-to-back set brings Fordham

Saturday, November 23

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

1 p.m. (Phoenix time)

Grand Canyon

Fordham

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11/23/2019 5:31:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

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GCU faces 3-1 Rams in next Paradise Jam foe

By: Paul Coro

Saturday, Nov. 23 \| 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (2-4)	VS	FORDHAM RAMS (3-1)

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ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – Grand Canyon has little time to lament its 78-74 Paradise Jam-opening loss to Valparaiso on Friday.

The Lopes (2-4) return to the University of the Virgin Islands' Sports and Fitness Center on Saturday to face Fordham at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time).

The Rams (3-1) ranked fourth in the nation for points allowed per game (50.0) before losing to 2019 NCAA tournament team Nevada 74-60 in their Friday first-round game.

"They like to play pack-it-in defense with a lot of motion in their offense," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said of the Atlantic 10 Conference opponent. "We're going to play the way we want to play and we've got to do what we've got to do."

The Lopes enjoyed their best 3-point shooting game Friday, when they were 10 for 22 on 3s but lost 78-74 to Valpo because of 18 GCU turnovers and the Crusaders getting a 26-6 advantage in free throw attempts.

"Why we lost yesterday was two things you don't want to do -- turnovers and fouls," Majerle said. "They beat us by 17 at the foul line.Whether it's the refs or our fault, I don't care. If we had taken care of just those two things, we would've won handily."

Fordham's leading scorer is 6-foot-1 reserve sophomore guard Jalen Cobb, who scored 21 against Nevada on Friday to move his average to 11.7 points per game. The Rams return a pair of 6-9 forwards, Chuba Ohams and Onyi Eyisi, who were helping hold opponents to 38.3% percent shooting until Nevada shot 45% from the field and made 13 of 31 3s on Friday. Fordham only had committed 9.3 turnovers per game in its 3-0 start at home but turned it over 17 times against the Wolf Pack.

GCU senior Carlos Johnson set a season high with 27 points on Friday, hitting 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range.

"We have to have guys play consistently hard," Majerle said. "You're never going to play well for 60 minutes but you have to play consistently hard."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.