Kansas City
Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon Uses Big First Half, Snaps 'Roos Win Streak, 78-57
1/29/2015 11:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Phoenix, Ariz.) - Grand Canyon took advantage of some defensive and rebounding miscues on Thursday night in the opening half, and coasted to a 78-57 home victory in front of a packed house at GCU Arena, snapping the 'Roos three-game win streak.
“We set a bad tone on the first defensive possession, giving up a couple offensive rebounds, and eventually a three,” Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “Tonight we didn't stick to our plan and didn't execute. We have to quickly turn it around, we play a tough Utah Valley team (Saturday). I have confidence in these guys, we will bounce back and do better with our execution.”
The 'Roos (8-14, 3-2 WAC) never led in the contest, but battled to keep it close in the first nine minutes of the half. Grand Canyon (12-10, 3-2 WAC) used open threes al throughout the opening period to pull away, turning a 16-15 lead with 11 minutes on the clock into a nine-point edge by the 7:36 mark.
With 4:17 to play it was still a manageable 30-21 lead for the home squad, but UMKC went cold offensively, and mentally lapsed on defense the rest of the way. It resulted in the 'Lopes going on a 13-2 run to close the half, and take a 43-23 advantage into the locker room.
GCU hit 7-of-11 from three-point range in the period, while shooting 53 percent overall and taking a 23-12 advantage on the glass. That resulted in a 14-2 advantage in second-chance points, while also turning six UMKC turnovers into 11 points, while UMKC was able to force only three turnovers and score two points off them.
The 'Roos turned it around in the second half, but the margin was too big to overcome. UMKC got the lead down to 15 points from being 28 down (their largest deficit of the season). The 'Roos were unable to get enough stops to keep the 'Lopes from getting over 70 points, making them the first team to score more than 70 on UMKC in the last nine games.
The win was much-needed for GCU, as it was coming off two road losses. Joshua Braun scored 20 and Daniel Alexander added nine for the 'Lopes, while UMKC did a good job on leading scorer DeWayne Russell, holding him to seven.
Martez Harrison led the 'Roos with 13 points, while Reese Holliday put up 12 and Deshon Taylor scored 10. UMKC was out-rebounded 41-25 in the game, including 28 second-chance points for GCU.
The 'Roos will face reigning regular season champion Utah Valley on Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. CT in a nationally televised game on the American Sports Network. In Kansas City, the game will be carried on KMCI 38 The Spot.
