MEN’S BASKETBALL 2017-18 GAME NOTES

Charles Hampton, Associate AD, Strategic Communications and PR · Office: (602) 639-7738 · Cell: (480) 628-1754· E-mail: [email protected]

GRAND CANYON SEATTLE U SCHEDULE / RESULTS LOPES V REDHAWKS OVERALL RECORD: 17-10 (17-10, 6-5 WAC) S (19-9, 8-3 WAC) WAC: 6-5 | Non-Conference: 11-5 Home: 13-2 | Away: 3-7 | Neutral: 1-1 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2018 | GCU ARENA (7,000) | PHOENIX, ARIZ. NOVEMBER Result/Time (AZ) 10 Florida A&M W, 67-51 SERIES HISTORY GAME 28 13 Robert Morris W, 75-61 18 Little Rock W, 76-51 Grand Canyon vs. Seattle U • Grand Canyon is seeking their fifth consecutive win over Seattle U, • 11th all-time meeting dating back to 2002 who they have a 9-1 record against all-time. 20 Norfolk State W, 85-60 • Overall: 9-1 (Home: 4-1, Away: 5-0, Neutral: 0-0) • The last time they met, Frayer led the Lopes with 18 points, 25 San Diego L, 72-62 • Last time: GCU 73, CSUB 57, 1/6/18 (Seattle, Wash.) including 14 in the second half as GCU pulled away to a 73-57 win. DECEMBER • Streak: Grand Canyon, Won 4 • GCU ranks first in the nation in 3-point defense, allowing opponents 2 UC Riverside W, 68-56 to shoot just 27.0 percent from beyond the arc. They also have 5 St. John’s# (@Talking Stick Arena) L, 68-60 allowed the fewest 3-pointers per game, allowing 4.33 per contest. 9 Grambling State W, 87-53 • GCU ranks 16th in the country in scoring defense (64.4 points 17-10 W/L 19-9 per game). In the last three seasons, GCU is 31-2 when allowing 11 North Carolina Central W, 64-59 61 points or less. 13 at Boise State L, 85-80 PTS • The Lopes’ FG defense ranks 10th in the country at 39.7 percent. 18 Mississippi Valley State W, 71-38 74.5 PER GAME 77.7 • Additionally, the Lopes rank third in the country in effective 21 Longwood W, 86-56 SCORING opponent field goal percentage at 43.2 percent, trailing Michigan 23 at Louisville L, 74-56 +10.1 MARGIN +5.6 State and Cincinnati. Effective field goal percentage factors in weighted figures for 3-point field goals. 27 Morgan State# (@Orleans Arena) W, 100-74 .432 FG% .457 • GCU ranks 26th in the country in turnovers forced, averaging 30 at Illinois L, 62-58 15.63 per game. The Lopes also rank 29th in the country in JANUARY assists per game with 16.5. Casey Benson ranks 84th nationally 6 at Seattle U* W, 73-57 .327 3FG% .377 averaging 4.8 per game. 11 New Mexico State* L, 70-59 • Frayer recorded a career-best 23 points while grabbing 10 .691 FT% .758 rebounds, and 2 assists, while defensively holding leading WAC 13 UTRGV* W, 84-71 scorer, Zach Lofton, to just 4-of-17 shooting vs. NM State. 18 at Chicago State* W, 86-58 38.9 REB 38.2 • On Jan. 22, Alessandro Lever earned his first WAC Player of the 20 at UMKC* W, 86-69 PER GAME Week honors following breakout performances vs. Chicago 23 William Jessup W, 96-80 State and UMKC. AST 27 at Utah Valley* L, 68-56 16.5 PER GAME 14.3 • Benson recorded his second career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds vs. UTRGV, while adding 6 assists and 0 turnovers. FEBRUARY TO 13.7 PER GAME 14.6 • In his last 10 games, Benson has 52 assists to just 14 turnovers. 1 UMKC* W, 79-62 Benson now ranks 48th in the country in assist to turnover ratio. 3 Chicago State* W, 89-55 STL • Last Saturday, the Lopes suffered their third consecutive loss for 6.4 PER GAME 4.8 8 at UTRGV* L, 83-81 the first time since the final month of the 2014-15 season. 10 at New Mexico State* L, 74-70 BLK • On Thursday, it was announced that senior Josh Braun was 17 at CSU Bakersfield* L, 71-58 4.0 PER GAME 3.6 voted to the Academic All-District 8 Men’s Basketball Team for the third consecutive season. 22 Seattle U* 7:00 p.m. LAST GAME’S STARTERS 24 Utah Valley* 7:00 p.m. NO. PLAYER POS. G PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% MARCH 11 Casey Benson G 27 9.5 4.1 4.8 0.7 0.1 37.2 74.8 35.6 3 CSU Bakersfield* 7:00 p.m. 2 Joshua Braun G 27 12.8 3.8 1.5 0.9 0.5 38.8 73.8 36.6 8-10 WAC Tournament# (Las Vegas, Nev.) TBD 4 Oscar Frayer F 26 9.6 5.2 1.2 1.3 0.7 47.5 54.4 35.3 * Denotes WAC games 24 Keonta Vernon F 27 8.7 6.9 1.3 0.7 1.3 49.5 55.2 0.0 # Neutral Site 25 Alessandro Lever C 27 10.0 4.1 1.3 0.2 0.3 48.3 73.8 28.3 GAME INFORMATION WATCH LISTEN LIVE STATS Yurview Arizona 1580 AM The Fanatic Statbroadcast Barry Buetel (play-by-play) Michael Potter (play-by-play) http://www.gcustats.com Tom Kuyper (analyst) Scott Williams (analyst) TWITTER FTP INFORMATION Kate Longworth (sideline) 1580 AM The Fanatic Stream (Stream) The Fanatic App (Download the App) @GCU_MBB URL: https://swft.exavault.com Online Stream @GCU_Lopes Username: GCUMedia GCU.tv / ESPN3 Password Lopes ‹ 1 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

2017-18 GRAND CANYON NUMERIC ROSTER TABLE OF CONTENTS No. Name Pos. HT WT YR Hometown (Previous School) 2017-18 Quick Facts / Rosters ...... 2 0. . Shaq Carr...... G. . . 6-2. 172. . . .Sr.. North Las Vegas, Nev. (College of Southern Idaho) Media Contact Information...... 2 1. . Fiifi Aidoo...... G. . . 6-2. 200. . . .So...... Helsinki, Finland (HBA - Marksy) TV / Radio Roster...... 3 2. . Joshua Braun. G. . . 6-4. 220. . . .R-Sr...... Anthem, Ariz. (Westwind Prep Academy) Game Notes (Team / Player)...... 4 3. . Parker Dale...... G. . . 6-4. 205. . . .Fr. . Sydney, Australia (Scots College) Grand Canyon University Arena ...... 9 4. . Oscar Frayer...... G. . . 6-7. 191. . . .So...... Oakland, Calif. (Moreau Catholic HS) Schedule Notes...... 10 5. . Matt Jackson...... F. . . 6-8. 230. . . .R-Jr...... Melbourne, Australia (Diamond Valley) Broadcast Schedule / Mid-Major Rankings...... 11 10. . Damari Milstead. . . . . G. . . 6-2. 160. . . .Fr. . Hayward, Calif. (Moreau Catholic HS) Head Coach Dan Majerle...... 12 11. . Casey Benson. G. . . 6-3. 185. . . .Sr.. Tempe, Ariz. (Oregon) Grand Canyon Record When...... 12 12. . Roberts Blumbergs . F. . . 6-10. 220. . . .Fr. . Ventspils, Latvia (GBA - Prague) Grand Canyon Season Stats...... 13 13. . Ibrahima Sankare...... G. . . 6-7. 200. . . .R-Fr...... Thiès, Senegal (SEED Academy) The Last Time...... 27 15. . Cheick Sy-Savane. . . . G. . . 6-3. 180. . . .Sr.. New York, N.Y. (Suffolk County CC) 2017-18 Game Recaps...... 29 21. . Kerwin Smith...... F. . . 6-9. 222. . . .R-Jr...... Dallas, Texas (Woodow Wilson HS) Grand Canyon Broadcast Bios...... 56 22. . Nehemiah Allen. . . . G/F. . . 6-5. 170. . . .So...... Lake Oswego, Ore. (Lake Oswego HS) 24. . Keonta Vernon...... F. . . 6-6. 242. . . .Sr.. Tulare, Calif. (College of Southern Idaho) MBB COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS 25. . Alessandro Lever. . . . C. . . 6-10. 230. . . .Fr. . Bolzano, Italy (Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia) 42. . Gerard Martin...... G. . . 6-7. 223. . . .R-Jr.. . . .Manly, Australia (Australian Institute of Sport) Charles Hampton Associate AD, Strategic Communications / PR 2017-18 GRAND CANYON ALPHABETICAL ROSTER Office Phone...... 602-639-7738 No. Name Pos. HT WT YR Hometown (Previous School) Cell Phone. 480-628-1754 1. . Aidoo, Fiifi...... G. . . 6-2. 200. . . .So...... Helsinki, Finland (HBA - Marksy) Email...... [email protected] 22. . Allen, Nehemiah. . . . G/F. . . 6-5. 170. . . .So...... Lake Oswego, Ore. (Lake Oswego HS) 11. . Benson, Casey...... G. . . 6-3. 185. . . .Sr.. Tempe, Ariz. (Oregon) Josh Hauser 12. . Blumbergs, Roberts. F. . . 6-10. 220. . . .Fr. . Ventspils, Latvia (GBA (Prague)) Assistant Director, Athletic Communications 2. . Braun, Joshua...... G. . . 6-4. 220. . . .R-Sr...... Anthem, Ariz. (Westwind Prep Academy) Office Phone...... 602-639-6126 0. . Carr, Shaq...... G. . . 6-2. 172. . . .Sr.. North Las Vegas, Nev. (College of Southern Idaho) Cell Phone. 503-734-8587 3. . Dale, Parker. G. . . 6-4. 205. . . .Fr. . Sydney, Australia (Scots College) Email...... [email protected] 4. . Frayer, Oscar...... G. . . 6-7. 191. . . .So...... Oakland, Calif. (Moreau Catholic HS) 5. . Jackson, Matt. F. . . 6-8. 230. . . .R-Jr...... Melbourne, Australia (Diamond Valley) GCU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS 25. . Lever, Alessandro. . . . C. . . 6-10. 230. . . .Fr. . Bolzano, Italy (Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia) The Grand Canyon Athletics Department is served by a 42. . Martin, Gerard...... G. . . 6-7. 223. . . .R-Jr.. . . .Manly, Australia (Australian Institute of Sport) communications office staff that works diligently to promote 10. . Milstead, Damari. G. . . 6-2. 160. . . .Fr. . Hayward, Calif. (Moreau Catholic HS) the individual and team accomplishments of student-athletes, 13. . Sankare, Ibrahima. G. . . 6-7. 200. . . .R-Fr...... Thiès, Senegal (SEED Academy) coaches and staff. Our staff will fulfill all reasonable requests. 21. . Smith, Kerwin. F. . . 6-9. 222. . . .R-Jr...... Dallas, Texas (Woodow Wilson HS) CREDENTIALS 15. . Sy-Savane, Cheick . G. . . 6-3. 180. . . .Sr.. New York, N.Y. (Suffolk County CC) 24. . Vernon, Keonta. F. . . 6-6. 242. . . .Sr.. Tulare, Calif. (College of Southern Idaho) All members of the office follow the guidelines set forth by the NCAA and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in governing INJURY INFORMATION PROGRAM HISTORY the issuance of credentials. All credential requests should be Grand Canyon University athletics will abide by HIPAA - a First Year of Basketball at GCU...... 1949-50 submitted to the sport contacts. federal privacy act with regard to the release of injury All-Time Record ...... 1,158-724 (.615) INTERVIEW REQUESTS information. GCU athletes will be required to sign a waiver All-Time Division I Record...... 98-56 (.636) When making interview requests through the communications before their injury information is released to the media. All-Time WAC Record...... 46-23 (.667) office, please allow at least 24 hours notice. If the time requested If the athlete chooses to withhold that information, GCU COACHING STAFF with a student-athlete or coach is longer than normal (for officials will be restricted to informing the media members of their playing status only. Head Coach...... Dan Majerle (5th season) photography or videography purposes), more advance notice will Alma Mater ...... Central Michigan help ensure that your request will be handled efficiently. Home GRAND CANYON INFORMATION Grand Canyon Record...... 98-56 (.636) and cell phone numbers for players will not be provided. Please School...... Grand Canyon University WAC Record...... 46-23 (.667) do not contact a player or coach without scheduling the interview Location ...... Phoenix, Ariz. Overall Record...... 98-56 (.636) through the communications office. Founded ...... 1949 Assistant Coach...... Todd Lee (South Dakota) E-MAIL Enrollment...... 19,500 Assistant Coach. . . . . Chris Crevelone (Adams State) President...... Brian Mueller Assistant Coach...... T.J. Benson (Weber State) Releases, game notes and advisories are e-mailed to media that Vice President of Athletics ...... Mike Vaught Director of Basketball Operations. .Luke DallaRiva (San Diego) cover GCU on a regular basis. Media wishing to be added to the Faculty Representative...... Claude Pensis e-mail list for a particular sport should contact the sport contact. Affiliation...... NCAA Division I Special Assistant ...... Brendan Sabean (Gonzaga) Graduate Assistant ...... Johnny Hill (UT-Arlington) ONLINE Nickname...... Lopes Mascot...... Thunder Director of Sports Performance. . . . . Gabe Bourland Updated bios, notes, rosters, schedules, statistics and more will Colors ...... Purple, Black & White Director of Sports Medicine...... Geordie Hackett be available throughout the season for every sport on GCULopes. Conference . . . . .Western Athletic Conference (WAC) MAILING ADDRESS: com. Specific information not readily available on the website may GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY ARENA be available through the communications office. Please contact Grand Canyon University Department of Athletics the sport representative with your request. Opened...... Sept. 1, 2011 Capacity ...... 7,000 3300 West Camelback Road Grand Canyon Record at GCU Arena. . . . . 97-20 (.829) Phoenix, Ariz. 85017

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SHAQ FIIFI JOSHUA PARKER OSCAR MATT 0 CARR 1 AIDOO 2 BRAUN 3 DALE 4 FRAYER 5 JACKSON G • 6-2 • 170 G • 6-2 • 200 G • 6-4 • 205 G • 6-4 • 205 F • 6-6 • 190 F • 6-8 • 230 Senior Sophomore RS Senior Freshman Sophomore RS Junior North Las Vegas, Nev. Helsinki, Finland Anthem, Ariz. Sydney, Australia Oakland, Calif. Melbourne, Australia

DAMARI CASEY ROBERTS IBRAHIMA CHEICK KERWIN 10 MILSTEAD 11 BENSON 12 BLUMBERGS 13 SANKARE 15 SY-SAVANE 21 SMITH G • 6-2 • 160 G • 6-3 • 185 F • 6-10 • 220 G • 6-7 • 200 G • 6-3 • 180 F • 6-9 • 222 Freshman Senior Freshman Freshman Senior RS Junior Hayward, Calif. Tempe, Ariz. Ventspils, Latvia Thiès, Senegal Harlem , N.Y. Dallas, Texas

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Fiifi Aidoo...... FEE-fee ay-DUE Nehemiah Allen ...... NEE-uh-my-uh. . Robert Blumbergs...... BLUM-bergs . Joshua Braun...... brawn . . Alessandro Lever...... LAY-ver Gerard Martin...... jared NEHEMIAH KEONTA ALESSANDRO GERARD Dan Majerle ...... mar-LEE . . 22 ALLEN 24 VERNON 25 LEVER 42 MARTIN Ibrahima Sankare. . . . E-bruh-he-muh sawn-CAR-ay F • 6-5 • 170 F • 6-6 • 242 C • 6-10 • 230 G • 6-6 • 223 Sophomore Senior Freshman RS Junior Keonta Vernon...... KEY-on-tay . Lake Oswego, Ore. Tulare, Calif. Bolzano, Italy Manly, Australia

HEAD COACH ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH ASSISTANT COACH ASSISTANT COACH DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS SPECIAL ASSISTANT DAN MAJERLE TODD LEE CHRIS CREVELONE T.J. BENSON LUKE DALLARIVA BRENDAN SABEAN 5th Season at GCU 5th Season at GCU 5th Season at GCU 6th Season at GCU 4th Season at GCU 3rd Season at GCU (98-56, 46-23)

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HOME SWEET HOME A TOP PERIMETER DEFENSE The Lopes have enjoyed playing their home Majerle’s emphasis on defense has been constant during his tenure leading the program. games at Grand Canyon University Arena. Since Through 20 games this season, his message has successfully translated to on-court results. the arena opened prior to the 2011-12 season, GCU has recorded a 97-20 (.829) record, proving to be As of Feb. 20, Grand Canyon’s scoring defense ranks 16th nationally. GCU is limiting its quite the home-court advantage. opponents to 39.7 percent shooting, a No. 10 mark nationally. The Lopes are tops in the nation in limiting opponents’ success beyond the arc. GCU continued its dominance at home last season, where the Lopes compiled a 15-3 record SCORING DEFENSE 3-POINT DEFENSE at GCU Arena for the 2016-17 season, including wins over San Diego State and New Mexico Rk. School PPG Rk. School 3FG% State. Including the 2015-16 season where GCU went 18-2 at home, the Lopes have won 43 1 Virginia 52 7 1 . Grand Canyon 27.0 home games over the last two-plus seasons, tied for the fourth best total in the country. 2 Cincinnati 57 1 2 . San Diego 28 .6 An intimidating factor for opponents, the large Havocs student section has proven to be one 3 UCF 60 3 3. Kentucky 29 .2 4 Old Dominion 62 4 Penn 29 .6 of the best in the Western Athletic Conference. The Havocs create an imposing backdrop for 5 Texas Tech 62 .5 5 Virginia 29 7 . visiting teams as they fill the arena with energy and enthusiasm. 6 New Mexico St . 63 6 South Ala . 29 .9 “It’s unbelievable,” head coach Dan Majerle said. “We love our crowd, our student section, 7 UNI 63 1 7 . New Mexico St . 30 1. 8 SMU 63 1 8 . Murray St . 30 .3 our overall crowd, our atmosphere here. We have a true home-court advantage and it’s a 9 UNCG 63 9 .3 Sam Houston St . 30 .3 pleasure to play here every night and our guys don’t take it for granted.” 10 Syracuse 63 4 10 . Texas St . 30 4. 11 Michigan 63 11 .5 Green Bay 30 .5 MOST HOME WINS IN NCAA DIVISION I (SINCE 2015-16) 12 Texas St . 63 7. 12 Northern Ky . 30 .5 Rk. Institution Conference Wins 13 Loyola Chicago 63 7. 13 Nevada 30 .6 1 Saint Mary’s (CA) West Coast 49 14 Rutgers 64 1 14 . Northeastern 30 .6 2 Louisville Atlantic Coast 47 15 Purdue 64 15 .3 Valparaiso 30 7 . Southern Methodist American Athletic 47 16 Grand Canyon 64.4 16 Cincinnati 30 .8 4 Oregon Pac-12 46 Purdue Big Ten 46 “We’re going to hang our hats on the defensive end,” senior forward Keonta Vernon said. 6 GRAND CANYON WESTERN ATHLETIC 45 “The plays that Coach Majerle has are unbelievable. We’re going to get a shot if we run them Kentucky Southeastern 45 8 Arizona Pac-12 44 the right way. It comes down to getting stops. Coach Majerle told us we need to worry about Florida Gulf Coast Atlantic Sun 44 being one of the best defenses in the country. That’s a lot of our mindsets and Coach Majerle is Cincinnati American Athletic 44 getting other guys to worry about defense first and the offense will come.” Texas Tech Big 12 44 GCU’s gaudy defensive numbers are second in the WAC as it currently stands. The Lopes’ LEVER HITS GROUND RUNNING IN CONFERENCE defensive prowess has led to a +11.3 scoring margin which is second.

Freshman Alessandro Lever has featured solid play throughout his first season in a GCU HAPPY TO BE BACK HOME uniform. But his level of play took a big step forward during the Lopes’ Midwest swing at Chicago State and UMKC and has continued. GCU’s wild homecourt advantage has been well documented. The team’s on-court success has proven it by the way the Lopes play when they return home from games away from GCU. . LEVER’S FIVE-GAME STRETCH (1/18-2/1) In the first home game following a road or neutral-site contest, GCU is 25-4 since making PPG RPG FG 3PT FT the transition to D-I. They are 21-1 in such games since the 2014-15 season. 21.2 7.4 40-64 (.624) 5-11 (.455) 21-31 (.677) 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 D1 Era Since the beginning of WAC play, very few freshmen across college basketball are producing at the same efficient level as Lever. The 6-10 big man is one of just a handful of freshmen 4-3 6-0 6-0 6-0 3-1 25-4 nationally that are scoring at least 15 points while maintaining a 60.0 percent field goal rate. J.B. FOR THREE FRESHMEN WITH 16.0+ PPG WHILE SHOOTING 55.0+% FG (CONFERENCE), AS OF 1/31 Rk. Player School G FG% PPG Joshua Braun has steadily climbed up the ranks in the GCU record books. After draining 56 1 Marvin Bagley III Duke 10 .571 21.5 3-pointers his freshman season, Braun followed that up with 73 treys as a sophomore and 64 more 2 DeAndre Ayton Arizona 9 .623 19.4 in an injury-plagued junior season last year. 3 Terry Taylor Austin Peay 10 .561 17.0 4 Alessandro Lever Grand Canyon 6 .597 16.0 With his third 3-pointer against Robert Morris on Nov. 13, Braun passed Richard Davis as the school’s all-time leading outside shooter across all divisions of play with 198 career 3-pointers. A NIGHT FOR THE RECORD BOOKS Davis hit 197 career 3-pointers for the Lopes from 2005-07, including a school-record 107 3-pointers during the 2005-06 season. With 59 3-pointers so far this season, Braun’s record A record crowd of 7,521 convened for the latest edition of the Grand Canyon - New Mexico total is up to 252 for his illustrious GCU career. State matchup, a pairing that has turned into quite the rivalry and only continues to heat up. A star-studded crowd featured D-backs fiery reliever Archie Bradley, Suns legend Tom WAC CAREER 3-POINT FIELD GOAL MAKES Chambers, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Jerry Colangelo as well as Dick and Tom Van Arsdale. Rk. Player School Years 3PM 1 Jaycee Carroll Utah State 2004-08 290 Jan. 11’s game with New Mexico State topped the previous GCU Arena record set in last 2 Raymond Dudley Air Force 1986-90 285 year’s regular season finale, a senior night matchup with UMKC on Feb. 25. On that night, 7,503 Clayton Sheidls New Mexico 1995-98 285 fans filled the arena to see the final game in the career of DeWayne Russell. 4 Dominick Young Fresno State 1995-97 279 5 Stephen Woods SMU 1997-00 273 Attendance numbers continue to skyrocket for the fifth-year Division I program. As of Jan. 6 Terrance Roberson Fresno State 1997-00 271 20, Grand Canyon ranks 13th nationally in percent of venue capacity filled (99.9%). GCU is 7 Tony Ross San Diego State 1987-89 270 averaging 6,990 fans, just a tick under GCU Arena’s 7,000-seat capacity. And that’s despite five 8 Coby Karl Boise State 2003-07 266 games with the student body, which accounts for approximately 3,000 fans, out on break. The 9 Rob Robbins New Mexico 1988-91 264 nearest WAC team, New Mexico State, averages 4,735 fans per game, 37.7% of its capacity. 10 Jonathan Gibson NM State 2006-10 259 11 Josh Braun Grand Canyon 2013-18 252 12 Dante Swanson Tulsa 1999-03 248

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LOPES PICKED FIRST IN BOTH PRESEASON POLLS THE LIGHTER SIDE OF BRAUN Following their third consecutive second-place finish, the There is only one case in which less of Josh Braun can lead to good things for Grand Canyon Lopes were picked to finish first in both the coaches’ and media men’s basketball: his weight. WAC Preseason Polls for the 2017-18 season, their first being Braun dropped 25 pounds since the start of last season, going from 230 pounds to 205 pounds eligible for the conference and any NCAA postseason tournaments. through a revised weightlifting program and a change in eating habits. With less Braun brawn, the 2017-18 PRESEASON MEN’S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL 6-foot-4 guard is feeling healthier and more athletic as the Lopes start the 2017-18 season. Rank Team (First-place votes) Points “I was really heavy up top,” Braun said. “A lot of muscle I didn’t need. I looked like a football player. 1. GRAND CANYON (6) 46 2. New Mexico State (1) 40 I slimmed down. I look more like a basketball player. I feel more like a basketball player. I’m quicker 3. CSU Bakersfield 38 and my body feels good.” 4. Utah Valley (1) 36 Braun changed how he lifted weights, went to spin classes twice a week (“Those things will kick 5. Seattle U 25 your butt,” Braun said), stopped eating after 8 p.m., cut back on carbohydrates and added more 6. UTRGV 16 lean meats, vegetables and smoothies. It also meant asking his mother to stop giving him sweets. 7. UMKC 14 8. Chicago State 9 BRAINS AND BRAUN

2017-18 PRESEASON MEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA POLL Joshua Braun was named to the 2016-17 CoSIDA Rank Team (First-place votes) Points first-team Academic All-America Division I men’s 1. GRAND CANYON (14) 189 basketball team by the College Sports Information 2. New Mexico State (7) 181 Directors of American (CoSIDA). 3. Utah Valley (3) 153 4. Seattle U (1) 148 Braun joined Florida’s Canyon Barry as the only 5. Utah Valley (2) 91 repeat first-team selection from 2016-16. He has a 6. UMKC (2) 72 4.0 GPA in his masters of business administration 7. UTRGV 71 program after completing his undergraduate 8. Chicago State 31 degree in business management last spring. In 2015-16, Braun became GCU’s first-ever first team selection in men’s basketball and the first since Kevin Warren earned second team BRAUN EARNS TOP PRESEASON ALL-WAC HONORS honors in 1986. Following a 2016-17 season that saw him average 17.5 points per game, Joshua Braun was named The redshirt junior from Anthem, Ariz., was joined on the first team by Barry, junior A.J. the WAC Preseason Player of the Year by both the coaches and the media for the second consecutive Jacobson of North Dakota State, graduate student Alec Peters of Valparaiso and junior Nigel season. Braun, a two-time All-WAC First Team selection, led the WAC last season in three-pointers Williams-Goss of Gonzaga. The five members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.83. made, was top-10 in free-throw percentage, three-point percentage and minutes played. Grand Canyon now has 29 Academic All-Americans® in school history, including eight in the 2017-18 PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM (COACHES POLL) Division I era, and Braun is the 11th student-athlete to be named to the first team. Additionally, First Team (Player, School) Second Team (Player, School) he becomes just the eighth two-time first team Academic All-American® in WAC history and JOSHUA BRAUN, GRAND CANYON Shon Briggs, CSU Bakersfield the first since UTEP’s Brandon Wolfram in 2001. Eli Chuha, NM State Matej Kavas, Seattle U Nick Dixon, UTRGV Sidy N’Dir, NM State WATCH PARTY (PART III) Damiyne Durham, CSU Bakersfield Isaac Neilson, Utah Valley Fred Sims, Jr., Chicago State Brent Wrapp, CSU Bakersfield Following a 2015-16 season that saw him named to the Lou Henson All-America Team, Joshua Braun was again named to the Lou Henson Preseason Watch List last season, an award Player of the Year: JOSHUA BRAUN, GRAND CANYON given to the nation’s top Division I mid-major player. The third time might be the charm as Braun has been once again, named to the Preseason Watch List. 2017-18 PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM (MEDIA POLL) First Team (Player, School) Second Team (Player, School) Lou Henson coached for 41 years. When he left the game in 2005, he was sixth all-time in JOSHUA BRAUN, GRAND CANYON CASEY BENSON, GRAND CANYON career Division I wins with 779. He is the winningest coach at both Illinois and NM State and is Eli Chuha, NM State Damiyne Durham, CSU Bakersfield one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the Final Four. Nick Dixon, UTRGV Jemerrio Jones, NM State Isaac Neilson, Utah Valley Matej Kavas, Seattle U The recipient of the 2018 Lou Henson Award will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Fred Sims, Jr., Chicago State Brent Wrapp, CSU Bakersfield awards banquet on March 31 , 2018 at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Event in San Antonio, Texas, site of the men’s NCAA Division I Basketball Championship. No other WAC players made Player of the Year: JOSHUA BRAUN, GRAND CANYON it on to the list. SEASON TICKETS GO POOF! VIVA #WACVEGAS Six weeks before the Grand Canyon men’s basketball season started, they had already sold The 2018 WAC Basketball Tournament returns to the out its season tickets for the 2017-18 season, displaying the anticipation for the program’s first Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the eighth year in a row. The season of Division I postseason eligibility after two consecutive 20-win seasons. tournament will be held March 8-10, and will include all eight Well before the Lopes’ season began in early November, 7,205 seats were claimed between men’s and women’s teams. public season tickets and student season tickets. Last season, GCU ranked 23rd nationally for This will be the first season that the Lopes will be able to home attendance capacity (97.3 percent) and averaged 6,817 fans per home game. participate in the conference tournament, following a four- “One thing I don’t worry about is our crowd, but it’s obviously great to have a season-ticket year transition from Division II play prior to the 2013-14 season. sellout,” head coach Dan Majerle said. “The students always come out in force, but to get that GCU got an early sneak peek of the venue when they hosted backing from the season-ticket holders is awesome.” a neutral-site contest against Morgan State on Dec. 27 with the intention of familiarizing GCU Arena will play host to 19 games for the 2017-18 men’s basketball season. Given the themselves with the venue. Without that early look, the Lopes prevented themselves from sold-out season tickets, a GCU home game will be the Valley’s toughest sports ticket. being the only WAC school playing in Orleans Arena for the first time. “We’ve always had crowds and we continue to build them,” Majerle said. “It’s just going ESPN will once again broadcast the WAC men’s tournament championship game on March to add to one of the best atmospheres in all of college basketball. The interest is great, and 10. The men’s championship game will be broadcast by ESPNU at 7 p.m. (PT). hopefully we’ll keep it going and have a terrific year.” ‹ 5 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

CASEY CAME HOME MAJERLE ENTERS AZ SPORTS HALL OF FAME Casey Benson already lived a basketball In an event honoring Arizona sports legends, dream with a hometown Final Four appearance Grand Canyon men’s basketball coach Dan last year, but his storybook finish is still to come. Majerle still stood out on Nov. 1. The 47th Arizona Sports Hall of Fame class included iconic and Early in the 2017-18 season, Benson’s role at pioneering sports figures but no inductee GCU has taken on a new look compared to his approached the popularity of Majerle, from the duties at Oregon. Tasked with looking for his shot red carpet to his induction’s cheers and standing more often, Benson has already set career highs ovation to the post-ceremony photo requests. in points (18 vs. St. John’s on Dec. 5), rebounds (10 vs. San Diego on Nov. 25) and minutes (38 Majerle joined Arizona Cardinals owner at Boise State on Dec. 13). He also had the first Bill Bidwill, Arizona State professor and former sports columnist Paola Boivin, Arizona Coyotes three-game stretch of double-figure scoring in great Shane Doan and ASU wrestling great Anthony Robles as this year’s inductees. Majerle’s his career in mid-November. Phoenix Suns playing career earned the nod and his successful five-year run as GCU coach cemented the honor, putting him in the Hall of Fame with Lopes baseball luminary Tim Salmon. After the Tempe, Ariz., product helped Oregon to the NCAA semifinals at University of “The marriage between Dan Majerle and Grand Canyon has been incredible,” former Suns owner Phoenix Stadium, Benson’s thoughts quickly and GCU key figure Jerry Colangelo said in Majerle’s induction video. “He is gaining more and more turned 9 miles east to the Grand Canyon campus respect around the country for the job he’s done at Grand Canyon and I couldn’t be happier for him.” where he now resides and plays. NEUTRAL-SITE NOTABLES Benson graduated in three years, enabling a transfer with immediate eligibility. His older As GCU Arena has developed a staunch reputation for the homecourt advantage it provides, brother, T.J., is a GCU assistant coach. neutral-site games may be, for now, the way GCU lines up quality competition on its schedule. St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin said as much following his team’s narrow win at Talking “It’s amazing how all the stars aligned,” Casey said. Stick Resort Arena in the Valley of the Sun Showcase on Dec. 5, 2017: “I’ve seen some of their The stars are lining up in the Lopes’ backcourt, where Benson takes over the point alongside games on campus, and I was just glad that we didn’t play there. I have a lot of respect for Dan his former youth recreation league teammate, GCU shooting guard Josh Braun. Benson won [Majerle] and Jerry [Colangelo] ... they’ve done a great job. Everything that Jerry Colangelo three consecutive Arizona state championships at Corona del Sol High School and tallied the touches turns to gold, so it was just a matter of time.” second-most wins in Ducks history (90). The Lopes have made some noise during Majerle’s tenure in neutral-site competition. A The addition of Benson continues a tradition of impact graduate transfers under Majerle, Division I unknown at the time, the Lopes took part in the Global Sports Classic on Dec. 21 and 22, following Grandy Glaze in 2015-16 and Darion Clark in 2016-17. Glaze won the Riley Wallace 2015 in Las Vegas. .In the semifinals, the Lopes erased a nine-point second-half deficit to defeat award, given to the top transfer in Division I college basketball. the Houston Cougars 78-69 behind DeWayne Russell’s 20 points and 6 assists. The following day, the Lopes once again came from behind to win their fourth game in a row. Braun was HANDLE WITH CARE named the tournament MVP after scoring 20 points in the championship game. Casey Benson has always had a solid assist-to-turnover ratio in his career, The Lopes participated in another tournament, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off but that was taken to extremes in 2015-16 when the senior was a sophomore Tournament in Uncasville, Ct., to start the 2016-17 season. After two tough campus games at at Oregon. He had just 24 turnovers in 1,091 minutes played, compared to 117 Duke and Penn State, the Lopes turned things around vs. Albany and Marist in the neutral site assists, to lead the nation with a 4.9-to-1 assist to turnover ratio. At one point games on Nov. 19 and 20 to win the Springfield Bracket championship. Russell and Braun were during the season, Benson’s ATO was 15.5-to-1. both named to the All-Tournament team. Benson left Oregon as the school’s all-time leader in assist-to-turnover Over the past two seasons, the Lopes are now 5-1 in games played at a neutral site. Since ratio and his career mark of 3.30-to-1 ranks him second all-time in Pac-12 Majerle took the reigns of the program in 2013-14, the Lopes are 7-3 on neutral courts. history, trailing only UCLA’s Darren Collison, who recorded a mark of 3.56 Benson FEELING AT HOME ON THE ROAD from 2005-09. Already recognized as college basketball’s biggest party, the GCU Havocs frequently extend NCAA LEADERS, ASSIST-TO-TURNOVER RATIO (2015-16) their antics far beyond the walls of GCU Arena. The Havocs take their show on the road when Rk. Player School G Ast TO Ratio 1 CASEY BENSON OREGON 38 117 24 4.88 possible and transform opposing and neutral-site venues into a decidedly pro-purple party. 2 Trey Pinkney SFA 34 125 28 4.46 Things were no different on Dec. 5 when GCU played in Talking Stick Resort Arena against St. 3 Monté Morris Iowa St. 35 241 57 4.23 4 James Robinson Pittsburgh 33 166 42 3.95 John’s. An excess of 1,500 GCU students made their collective voice heard in front of a national 5 Jabril Durham Arkansas 32 204 57 3.58 TV audience in the BBVA Compass Valley of the Sun Showcase. 6 Tyler Ulis Kentucky 35 246 69 3.57 7 Lourawls Nairn Jr. Michigan St. 29 92 26 3.54 While the Havocs were certainly there for GCU’s matchup with St. John’s, they were in their 8 Josh Brown Temple 33 161 46 3.50 seats early enough to cheer in-state ally, Arizona, to a big win over No. 7 Texas A&M. Arizona 8 Haiishen McIntyre High Point 32 105 30 3.50 players took to Twitter following their win to compliment the Havocs on their antics to force key 10 Eric Garcia Wofford 32 153 47 3.26 missed free throws down the stretch. In a 2016 road contest against No. 19 Arizona in Tucson, Wildcats head coach Sean Miller MIDNIGHT MADNESS: TAKE WHAT’S YOURS noted he witnessed a McKale Center first. .Grand Canyon basketball players got their first win without needing to do much more than “In my eight years, I’ve never seen a student section in McKale filled with the visitors. They wave on Friday, Oct. 6. Midnight Madness was a team victory earned by the GCU campus. The had a whole section. You could hear them cheering. You could just tell they’ve got a great spirit sweat came from students, who started forming a line over 48 hours prior, stretched it more than about what they’re doing, and that’s to Grand Canyon’s credit.” a half-mile by Friday night and dashed for GCU Arena seats. “I always hear the Havocs, they’re my guys, they’re the best.” Majerle said after the narrow “Congratulations, because you’re not just one of the best sections in all of college basketball; loss. “They travel well. We’re lucky to have them.” you are the best,” said Majerle. “Here’s what I say: I promise you every night when we come to A yearly road trip tradition has quickly developed with bus loads of Havocs making the 12- this arena, our guys and the gals will give everything they have to make you guys proud. hour round trip journey to Las Cruces, N.M. for the program’s budding rivalry with WAC foe New “With the reputation you guys have made for yourselves, let’s do this. And then let’s win the Mexico State. .And with a conference tournament finally in play for the Lopes, the Havocs have WAC. And then let’s win the WAC Tournament. And then President (Brian) Mueller will fly you already begun making preparations for a March trip to Las Vegas for the WAC Tournament. all to wherever we’re playing in the NCAA Tournament.” ‹ 6 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GCU VISITS NEVADA FOR RELIEF EXHIBITION INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR GCU added a last-minute road exhibition to its 2017-18 schedule, traveling to Reno, Nev. to Head coach Dan Majerle and his staff have covered the country looking for the best talent to take on Nevada, who is now ranked in the AP Top-25, in a game that raised money for North Bay recruit to play for the Lopes. For the 2017-18 season, they’ve extended into international borders Fire Relief. The NCAA allows teams to play a third exhibition game for charitable purposes. as well. Seven of the 16 players on the roster hail from countries outside of the United States. “GCU is all about outreach and helping doing as much as they can,” Majerle said. “That’s

something we really thrive on as a university. Anything that we can do to help people that need ALESSANDRO LEVER FIIFI AIDOO help is a great opportunity. We’re very happy to do that, and this is an awesome event for us.” Bolzano, Italy Helsinki, Finland Despite missing Joshua Braun, the Lopes led 40-39 until Nevada ended the first-half scoring

with two free throws and continued a 16-0 stretch with the second half’s first 14 points. The ROBERTS BLUMBERGS PARKER DALE Pack would hold the lead until the end, coming away with a 81-72 win. Ventspils, Latvia Sydney, Australia

Sophomore Oscar Frayer led the Lopes in scoring with 15 points on 7-of-18 shooting. IBRAHIMA SANKARE GERARD MARTIN AIDOO REPRESENTS HOMELAND Thiès, Senegal Manly, Australia

Grand Canyon’s players carry more than a GCU flag when they play. MATT JACKSON In August, Lopes sophomore guard Fiifi Aidoo helped his Finnish national Melbourne, Australia team to a seventh-place finish at the World University Games. The GCU sophomore tallied nine points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and LOPES EN ESPAÑA a blocked shot in 21 minutes of Finland’s 79-70 win against Argentina in Taipei. GCU coaches and players were able to get an early jump on the 2017-18 season with the Finland reached the World University Games quarterfinals before losing NCAA allowance for 10 practices on campus before an international trip, which a program 85-84 in double overtime to Serbia. Over eight games, Aidoo, a Ghana native Aidoo can schedule once per four years. The 2017 edition took the Lopes to Barcelona, Spain, where who was raised in Finland from age 5, shot 50.9 percent from the field and the team was scheduled to play three exhibition games as well as partaking in cultural events averaged 9.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 19.6 minutes per game. He throughout the city. scored 17 points in 16 minutes of play in a win against Hong Kong. Last year, Aidoo also played for Finland’s entry in the FIBA U20 European Championship. As a freshman, he averaged 4.6 points As it ended up, the Lopes practiced twice and played only one exhibition game, a 96-58 for the Lopes last season. victory, on the trip (which included two cultural tours of Barcelona) prior to a terrorist attack, which killed 13 people and injured dozens at a crowded Las Ramblas pedestrian boulevard. LOPES SIGN THREE FOR 2017-18 GCU was one of five NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams touring Barcelona for practices GCU announced the addition of and exhibition games at the time of the attack. GCU, Arizona, Clemson, Oregon State and Tulane Roberts Blumbergs, Alessandro Lever, all returned to the U.S. immediately following the attack. and Damari Milstead to their 2017 signing class late last April. “The safety and well-being of our student-athletes and staff are our top priorities,” GCU Vice President of Athletics Mike Vaught said. “With that in mind, the university decided to make the Blumbergs, regarded as the top safest decision possible following the attack on Barcelona.” available center prospect in the 2017 recruiting class by Scout.com, is a 6-10 RUSSELL’S STOCK RISING forward from Ventspils, Latvia, and Blumbergs Lever Milstead played under Julian Betko at Get Better Academy (GBA) in Prague, Czech Republic. Blumbergs Following his 2016-17 season that saw him lead the WAC had a strong showing in the FIBA U18 European Championships in Samsun, Turkey, where he in scoring and assists, GCU Alumnus DeWayne Russell was averaged 16.5 points and 9.8 rebounds, while also converting 10-for-22 from behind the three- initially signed as an injury replacement with SLUC Nancy point line and was rated as the top performer in terms of player efficiency in the tournament. Basket, a professional club in France. His stay became much more than temporary last week as his contract was Lever, a 6-10 big man from Bolzano, Italy, also drew attention at the U18 European extended through the end of the season. Championships. In six games with the Italian team, Lever averaged 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in the tournament, including 25 points against eventual champion France in the semifinals. Through 19 games played on the regular season slate, Lever will also represent Italy in July at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Cairo, Egypt. Russell ranks fourth in the Ligue Nationale de Basket Pro B League with 6.5 assists per game to go along with 14.9 During the fall signing period, the Lopes signed decorated point guard Damari Milstead out points and 3.0 rebounds. of Moreau Catholic HS in Hayward, Calif. Milstead, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Metro Player of the Year, led the Mariners to a 100-21 record in four seasons. He amassed 2,353 points, 577 “He has already erased a number of his mistakes and is assists, 434 rebounds and 375 steals, winning two Northern California championships. During progressing quickly and well,” head coach Grego Beugnot his senior campaign, Milstead averaged 25.8 points, 5.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals. said during a press conference. “He will have more pressure on his shoulders, but we will be there to help and support COLANGELO MUSEUM OPENS ON CAMPUS him. He already has the characteristics of a leader. DeWayne wanted to keep growing with us... it’s done now.” About 2,200 square feet of GCU contains the life work of a Phoenix icon, who emerged from humble Chicago roots to change the sports and civic landscape for Arizona and beyond. The “That’s exactly what you want to do overseas – be able to perform, show how you play and Jerry Colangelo Museum is a tribute and a treasury. It is a celebration and a destination. then other teams get to look at you,” GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. “That’s how you build your resume. I’m real happy for him. I have no doubt that Dewayne will be extremely successful For no admission cost, the public can visit a collection of Colangelo’s championship rings, over there. With how much he loves playing basketball, how good he is and how hard he works, gold medals, awards and trophies amid a display of his life through memorable photos. he’ll become an instant favorite over there.” “I am humbled by what they chose to do and how they did it,” Colangelo said. “This is world class. Everything (GCU President) Brian (Mueller) has done here is first class.” The Jerry Colangelo Museum, located between GCU Arena and the main campus entrance, was a two-year project to honor a leader known for the rise of the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks and the restoration of USA Basketball before becoming affiliated with GCU in 2009. ‹ 7 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

FINKE INKS NLI TO JOIN LOPES 2017-18 GCU SUPERLATIVES GCU’s recruiting efforts took a step into the STATISTICAL CATEGORY GRAND CANYON HIGH national spotlight on Nov. 16, 2017, when four- Points 100 Morgan State (12/27/17) star Illinois shooting guard Tim Finke signed Field Goals Made 34 2x, last vs . William Jessup (1/23/18) his letter of intent with the Lopes. ESPN.com Field Goal Attempts 79 at Boise State, 2OT (12/13/17) regarded Finke as Illinois’ No. 2 high school Field Goal Percentage .654 (34-52) William Jessup (1/23/18) player and No. 27 shooting guard in the nation. 3 PT Field Goals Made 14 Norfolk State (11/20/17) 3 PT Field Goals Attempted 36 UC Riverside (12/02/17) “I always wanted to be a part of something 3 PT Field Goal Percentage .538 (14-26) Norfolk State (11/20/17) special,” Finke wrote in a Nov. 14 Instagram Free Throws Made 30 at UTRGV (2/8/18) post announcing his commitment. “I found it here. To God be the glory. I’m home.” Free Throws Attempts 37 2x, last at CSU Bakersfield (2/17/18) Free Throw Percentage .826 (19-23) Morgan State (12/27/17) According to 247Sports.com, Finke received offers from 22 programs including the likes of Rebounds 49 Mississippi Valley State (12/18/17) Oregon, Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Indiana. Assists 29 William Jessup (1/23/18) Steals 12 UC Riverside (12/02/17) Lopes assistant TJ Benson made five trips to visit Finke in Illinois. Feeling good about where Blocked Shots 8 3x, last UMKC (2/1/18) he was leaving things on the final visit, Benson told Finke, “I have a feeling you know what you Turnovers 21 Robert Morris (11/13/17) want to do. You just need to make sure everybody is on board with it.” Fouls 29 at Boise State, 2OT (12/13/17) Benson had barely traveled a mile before he got word that Majerle had received a phone call from Finke with a commitment. “You just made my night,” Majerle quipped. STATISTICAL CATEGORY GRAND CANYON LOW Points 56 2x, last at Utah Valley (1/27/18) As a junior in 2016-17, Finke averaged 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists for Champaign Field Goals Made 16 at CSU Bakersfield (2/17/18) Central High School. His older brother, Michael, is a junior starting power forward for the Field Goal Attempts 43 Robert Morris (11/13/17) University of Illinois. Field Goal Percentage .303 (20-66) vs St . John’s (12/05/17) 3 PT Field Goals Made 3 at Illinois (12/30/17) Finke didn’t mince his words when he communicated his excitement to Lopes Insider Paul 3 PT Field Goals Attempted 15 at Utah Valley (1/27/18) Coro in an interview on GCULopes.com: “I felt like if any school in the country walked in and said, 3 PT Field Goal Percentage 111. (4-36) UC Riverside (12/02/17) ‘I want you,’ I wouldn’t even care. I want to go to Grand Canyon. I don’t even care if anybody else Free Throws Made 6 at Louisville (12/23/17) walked in here.” Free Throws Attempts 12 at Louisville (12/23/17) Free Throw Percentage .500 (6-12) at Louisville (12/23/17) LOPES DEFINING DEPTH Rebounds 25 New Mexico State (1/11/18) Increased depth for GCU in 2017-18 has given Majerle the option to develop a deeper rotation. Assists 8 at CSU Bakersfield (2/17/18) At times this season, Majerle has gone five or six players deep on the bench, something which Steals 2 2x, last at Utah Valley (1/27/18) Blocked Shots 1 4x, last at CSU Bakersfield (2/17/18) he rarely had the ability to do in previous seasons. In GCU’s win over Grambling State on Dec. 9, Turnovers 6 North Carolina Central (12/11/17) the Lopes used 16 players which was the most used in a single game in the Division I era. Fouls 15 3x, last vs . UMKC (2/1/18) Entering the year, Majerle had planned on tightening up the rotation to seven or eight players. Instead, he’s chosen to take advantage of depth on the bench with players like Gerard STATISTICAL CATEGORY OPPONENT HIGH Martin, Matt Jackson, Alessandro Lever and Shaq Carr. Points 85 at Boise State, 2OT (12/13/17) Field Goals Made 30 William Jessup (1/23/18) Despite the new potential of looking deeper down the bench, Majerle’s philosophy on playing Field Goal Attempts 70 Morgan State (12/27/17) time has stayed the same. Field Goal Percentage 492. (29-59) San Diego (11/25/17) 3 PT Field Goals Made 7 2x, last vs . William Jessup (1/23/18) “If they’re not going to give an effort then they’re not going to play,” Majerle said. “I’ll play five 3 PT Field Goals Attempted 24 2x, last at UMKC (1/20/18) guys if I have to. I told them, ‘You guys are digging for your own playing time.’ I’ll go with a six-, 3 PT Field Goal Percentage .500 (2-4) Mississippi Valley State (12/18/17) seven-man rotation, whoever is playing hard.” Free Throws Made 29 UTRGV (1/13/18) His sentiments have proven true thus far. Depending on the flow of the game, he’ll stick with Free Throws Attempts 37 at Boise State, 2OT (12/13/17) Free Throw Percentage .929 (13-14) William Jessup (1/23/18) the unit that’s giving him the effort and producing the results. Rebounds 50 New Mexico State (1/11/18) SCHEDULE TOUGHENS Assists 19 William Jessup (1/23/18) Steals 13 Robert Morris (11/13/17) Grand Canyon’s schedule certainly ramped up to end the 2017 calendar year. The Lopes made Blocked Shots 6 at Louisville (12/23/17) their first venture out of Phoenix on Dec. 13 for a matchup with Boise State. GCU also has had Turnovers 24 2x, last vs Chicago State (2/3/18) road dates with Illinois and Louisville, as well as a neutral-site game against Morgan State who Fouls 31 at UTRGV (2/8/18) has faced a tough schedule to date. STATISTICAL CATEGORY OPPONENT LOW NOTABLE RPIs (2017-18 OPPONENTS, TOP 150) Points 38 Mississippi Valley State (12/18/17) GAMES THROUGH FEB. 20 Field Goals Made 14 Mississippi Valley State (12/18/17) Opponent RPI Record Game Date Field Goal Attempts 46 North Carolina Central (12/11/17) Nevada 10 23-5 (Exhib) . Oct . 22, L 81-72 Field Goal Percentage .273 (15-55) Little Rock (11/18/17) New Mexico State 46 22-5 Jan . 11, L 70-59; Feb . 10, L 74-70 3 PT Field Goals Made 2 Grambling State (12/09/17) Boise State 50 21-6 Dec . 13, L 85-80 (2OT) 3 PT Field Goals Attempted 4 Mississippi Valley State (12/18/17) Louisville 51 18-9 Dec . 23, L 74-56 3 PT Field Goal Percentage 150. at CSU Bakersfield (2/17/18) St . John’s (NY) 70 14-13 Dec . 5, L 68-60 Utah Valley 83 19-8 Jan . 27, L 68-56; Feb . 24, home Free Throws Made 6 UMKC (2/1/18) Free Throws Attempts 12 UMKC (2/1/18) Free Throw Percentage .500 (6-12) UMKC (2/1/18) Rebounds 22 at UMKC (1/20/18) Assists 4 Little Rock (11/18/17) Steals 2 3x, last UMKC (2/1/18) Blocked Shots 0 2x, last at UMKC (1/20/18) Turnovers 7 at Utah Valley (1/27/18) Fouls 15 at Louisville (12/23/17) ‹ 8 › GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY ARENA

Grand Canyon University Arena has provided the Lopes a definitive home-court advantage THE HAVOCS since opening its doors before the 2011-12 basketball season. With a seating capacity of 7,000 and a prime location on campus, the venue is regularly packed to the rafters with students and The Havocs are some of the most dedicated and fans, providing an electric atmosphere ripe for success. rowdy fans in all of collegiate sports. Over 3,000 stu- dents strong, they turn GCU athletic venues into some During the past seven seasons, the GCU men’s team has been dominant in the arena, post- of the rowdiest and hostile environments in all of college ing an overall record of 97-20, including a pair of 15-1 seasons before starting the transition sports. They use their unified group to help the com- to Division I. The Lopes’ record playing a regular complement of Division I guests has been munity and volunteer with various non-profits and charitable organizations.Havocs strive to impressive as well, as GCU owns a 67-18 mark since 2013-14. The success on the court helped create a spirited community and sense of camaraderie for all students. GCU to a pair of postseason tournament appearances in its first two years transitioning to the NCAA’s highest level. Known for their constant energy, support and pride, the Havocs support and encourage all GCU athletic teams, promote school spirit and build Lope pride and tradition – while upholding An intimidating factor for opponents, the large Havocs student section has proven to be one of the best in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The Havocs create an imposing back- the four pillars and values of GCU. With positive sportsmanship and respect in mind, Havocs drop for visiting teams as they fill the bleachers with energy and enthusiasm. create an energetic environment for our fans and an intimidating atmosphere for opponents. With a push from the Havocs, a packed house is becoming a regular occurrence and has led to an incredible rise in attendance for the men’s team in the first four years since the GCU Are- WHAT THEY’RE SAYING na opened. Home attendance has more than doubled since the arrival of the arena, with a per- game average of nearly 5,500 fans coming through the doors last year. Among that mark were “In college basketball, in my 40-plus years, three contests with raucous crowds of more than 7,000 fans while another upstart crowd of more than 6,500 witnessed the top highlight reel moment in the arena to date: a 68-65 upset this was the toughest crowd I’ve ever faced. of New Mexico on Dec. 23, 2014. Awesome... You’ve got something special ” Student-athletes love the atmosphere while also enjoying first-class amenities. The facil- here. Really special.” Rick Pitino ities on the GCU campus are among the best in the conference and feature everything stu- dent-athletes need to be successful right at their fingertips. From an on-site medical facility to the strength and conditioning area and locker room with a players’ lounge and study area, the “GCU Arena has become one of college Lopes have all the comforts of home just a short walk from student housing. basketball’s rowdiest environments.” The facility originally broke ground in the summer of 2010 and was completed before the New York Times start of the following basketball season. It is owned and operated by the university. “ “The Havocs are the biggest party in college 7,521 Jan. 11, 2018 vs. New Mexico State basketball.” SB Nation 7,502 Feb. 25, 2017 vs. UMKC 7,493 Dec. 3, 2016 vs. Louisville ” “Thunder Dan has that place rocking.” 7,479 Feb. 11, 2017 vs. New Mexico State Jeff Goodman, ESPN.com 7,413 Jan. 9, 2016 vs. New Mexico State 7,412 Dec. 30, 2014 vs. Harvard “ “The best basketball environment in the 7,397 Nov. 25, 2017 vs. San Diego valley is at GCU. Cameron Cox, KPNX-TV 7,394 Nov. 18, 2017 vs. Little Rock 7,376 Feb. 24, 2017 vs. Chicago State

AT GCU ARENA AT ” “I can’t remember a more electric pregame

TOP 10 CROWDS 10 TOP 7,320 Jan. 21, 2017 vs. Seattle U “atmosphere.” Vince Marotta, AZ Sports 98.7 FM ‹ 9 › GRAND CANYON SCHEDULE NOTES

WHERE ARE THE LOPES?

SEATTLE U Seattle, Wash.

BOISE STATE Boise, Idaho

CHICAGO STATE

Chicago, Ill. UTAH VALLEY Orem, Utah I ILLINOIS Champaign, Ill.

WAC TOURNAMENT LOUISVILLE

Las Vegas, Nev. MORGAN STATE Louisville, Ky. Las Vegas, Nev.

KANSAS CITY

HOME GAMES Kansas City, Mo. CSU BAKERSFIELD Phoenix, Ariz. Bakersfield, Calif.

NM STATE

ST. JOHN’S Las Cruces, N.M. Talking Stick Resort Arena This sign denotes an official Lopes on the Road game For more information, visit GCULopes.com/LopesOnTheRoad UTRGV Edinburg, Texas

OVERALL BY MONTH BY STATE 2017-18 SCHEDULE: BY THE NUMBERS Total Games 30 November 5 Arizona 19 Non-Conference 16 December 10 California 1 Conference 14 January 7 New Mexico 1 Approximate number of miles set to be traveled this season 17,055 Exhibition 2 February 7 Idaho 1 March 1 Illinois 2 Percentage of schedule played at home at GCU Arena BY CONFERENCE 60.0 Western Athletic 14 BY LOCATION Kentucky 1 Missouri 1 Games available via television broadcast* Atlantic Coast 1 Home 18 30 Big East 1 Away 10 Nevada `1 Neutral 2 Texas 1 NCAA Division I Final Fours appeared in by 2017-18 opponents Big Ten 1 19 Mid-Eastern Athletic 4 Utah 1 BY DAY Washington 1 Mountain West 1 Opponents that participated in NCAA Tournament in 2017 Friday 1 3 Northeast 1 Saturday 15 Sun Belt 1 Sunday 0 2016-17 winning percentage of 2017-18 opponents .477 Southwestern Athletic 2 Tuesday 2 *tentatively (broadcast schedule subject to change) Big South 1 Wednesday 2 Big West 1 Thursday 6 LOPES ON THE ROAD RETURNS West Coast 1 Monday 4 Introduced to Grand Canyon fans two WAC conference tournament this season in quest of an NCAA 2017-18 LOPES ON THE ROAD SCHEDULE: years ago, Lopes on the Road is back with birth in their first year of elgibility. Date Sport Opponent Location more events in more cities than ever be- With one of the best home-court advantages in the nation Oct. 8, 2017 Soccer (M) San Jose State San Jose, Calif. fore. and a 49-16 overall record over the past two seasons. head Oct. 22, 2017 Soccer (M) Air Force Colorado Springs, Colo. As part of a successful first two years, coach Dan Majerle and the men’s basketball team hope to have Dec. 10, 2017 Basketball (W) Washington Seattle, Wash. many GCU alumni, students, faculty and fans had the chance a sea of purple support on the road when the Lopes travel to Dec. 13, 2017 Basketball (M) Boise State Boise, Idaho to cheer on the Lopes at multiple men’s basketball games. The play four WAC opponents. Attendees will have the chance to Dec. 14, 2017 Basketball (W) Northern Arizona Flagstaff, Ariz. events featured pregame tailgates and reception, allowing op- catch games against Boise State (Dec.13), Morgan State (Dec. Dec. 27, 2017 Basketball (M) Morgan State Las Vegas, Nev. portunities for attendees to meet and mingle with fellow Lopes. 27) and conference rivals Seattle U (Jan. 6), Chicago State (Jan. Jan. 6, 2018 Basketball (M) Seattle U Seattle, Wash. 18), UMKC (Jan. 20) and New Mexico State (Feb. 10). This year, Lopes on the Road will showcase four sports, with Jan. 18, 2018 Basketball (M) Chicago State Chicago, Ill. the addition of women’s basketball and men’s soccer, in 11 cities Each registered attendee receives a complimentary ticket, Jan. 20, 2018 Basketball (M) UMKC Kansas City, Mo. across the nation. This extraordinary opportunity features two concessions stand voucher and free GCU swag at check-in. To Feb. 10, 2018 Basketball (M) New Mexico State Las Cruces, N.M. games in California and multiple trips to the Orleans Arena in register, visit GCULopes.com/LopesOnTheRoad. Las Vegas, where the Lopes will be competing in their first-ever Mar. 15-18, 2018 Baseball Cal State Fullerton Fullerton, Calif.

‹ 10 › BROADCAST SCHEDULE / MID-MAJOR RANKINGS

BROADCAST NOTES COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25 Lopes fans will have the opportunity to follow their team every game of the 2017-18 season as The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll is made up of GCU men’s basketball game will be able to listen to all 30 games on 1580 AM The Fanatic or teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlan- the Fanatic App and watch all 30 games on a variety of networks including all home games on tic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Inde- YurView (Ch. 4 Phoenix, Ch. 7 Tucson). pendents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Date Opponent Time Radio TV Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic. Nov. 10 vs. Florida A&M 7:00 p.m. The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 is now in its 19th season of existence. Nov. 13 vs. Robert Morris 7:00 p.m. Rk. Team Record Pts. Prev. Conference 1. Gonzaga (31) 25-4 775 1 West Coast Nov. 18 vs. Little Rock 7:00 p.m. 2. Louisiana 23-4 710 5 Sun Belt 3. South Dakota 24-6 697 6 Summit Nov. 20 vs. Norfolk State 7:00 p.m. 4. Saint Mary’s 25-4 639 3 West Coast 5. ETSU 23-5 636 4 Southern Nov. 25 vs. San Diego 7:00 p.m. 6. South Dakota State 23-6 599 7 Summit 7. Loyola Chicago 23-5 598 8 Missouri Valley Dec. 2 vs. UC Riverside 7:00 p.m. 8. New Mexico State 22-5 587 2 Western Athletic 9. Charleston 22-6 485 10 Colonial Dec. 5 vs. St. John's 9:30 p.m. 10. Murray State 22-5 475 15 Ohio Valley 11. Vermont 22-6 462 9 America East 12. Buffalo 20-7 421 14 Mid-American Dec. 9 vs. Grambling 7:00 p.m. 13. Belmont 22-7 417 16 Ohio Valley 14. UC Santa Barbara 20-6 348 11 Big West Dec. 11 vs. North Carolina Central 7:00 p.m. 15. BYU 21-8 317 13 West Coast 16. Montana 20-7 277 12 Big Sky Dec. 13 at Boise State 7:00 p.m. 17. UNC Greensboro 21-7 256 17 Southern 18. Stephen F. Austin 22-5 214 20 Southland Dec. 18 vs. Mississippi Valley State 7:00 p.m. 19. Bucknell 20-9 195 23 Patriot 20. Wright State 20-8 129 NR Horizon 21. Northern Kentucky 19-8 112 19 Horizon Dec. 21 vs. Longwood 6:00 p.m. 22. Penn 19-7 102 25 Ivy League 23. Toledo 19-8 92 21 Mid-American Dec. 23 at Louisville 11:00 a.m. 24. Utah Valley 19-8 73 NR Western Athletic 25. Rider 21-7 69 NR Metro Atlantic Dec. 27 vs. Morgan State 7:00 p.m. UPDATED: February 19, 2018

Dec. 30 at Illinois 3:00 p.m. OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Furman 54, FGCU 50, Northeastern 48, Georgia State 44, Weber State 30, Southern Illinois 19, Lipscomb 16, Wofford 15, Idaho 13, Lamar 13, Nichols State 11, Har- Jan. 6 at Seattle 8:00 p.m. vard 10, UMBC 10, UNC Asheville 9, Ball State 8, Evansville 7, Albany 5, Seattle 5, UC Davis 5, Wag- ner 5, Grand Canyon 4, UT Arlingtion 3, North Carolina A&T 2, Grambling State 1, Southeastern Jan. 11 vs. New Mexico State 7:00 p.m. Louisiana 1, UL Monroe 1, Winthrop 1. Jan. 13 vs. UT Rio Grande Valley 7:00 p.m. VOTING PANEL: Casey Alexander (Lipscomb), Roman Banks (Southern), Randy Bennett (St. Jan. 18 at Chicago State 6:05 p.m. Mary’s), Will Brown (Albany), Jamion Christian (Mount St. Mary’s), Jon Coffman (Fort Wayne), Jim Engles (Columbia), James Fox (Appalachian State), Derrin Hansen (Omaha), Steve Hawkins Jan. 20 at UMKC 6:00 p.m. (Western Michigan), Jason Hooten (Sam Houston State), Brian Jones (North Dakota), James Jones (Yale), Mike Jones (Radford), Robert Jones (Norfolk State), Greg Kampe (Oakland), Jan. 23 vs. William Jessup 7:00 p.m. Danny Kaspar (Texas State), Tod Kowalczyk (Toledo), Greg Lansing (Indiana State), Jim Les (UC Davis), Dan Majerle (Grand Canyon), Bob Marlin (Louisiana), Ritchie McKay (Liberty), Rob Jan. 27 at Utah Valley 7:00 p.m. O’Driscoll (Drexel), Jimmy Patsos (Siena), Kyle Perry (USC Upstate), G.G. Smith (Loyola), Damon Stoudamire (Pacific), Jay Spoonhour (Eastern Illinois), Willis Wilson (Texas A&M Corpus Chris- Feb. 1 vs. UMKC 7:00 p.m. ti), Mike Young (Wofford). Feb. 3 vs. Chicago State 7:00 p.m. * Liberty University head coach Ritchie McKay is the chairman of the Top 25 voting panel for the Feb. 8 at UT Rio Grande Valley 7:00 p.m. 2017-18 season.

Feb. 10 at New Mexico State 7:00 p.m.

Feb. 17 at CSU Bakersfield 8:00 p.m.

Feb. 22 vs. Seattle 7:00 p.m.

Feb. 24 vs. Utah Valley 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 3 vs. CSU Bakersfield 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 8-10 WAC Tournament TBD

‹ 11 › HEAD COACH / GCU RECORD WHEN...

HEAD COACH DAN MAJERLE GCU RECORD WHEN...

Former NBA All-Star, Olympian and World Team member Dan Majerle 2017- Majerle enters his fifth season in 2017-18 after he took over the Grand Canyon 2018 Era Grand Canyon University Arena 13-2 67-18 men’s basketball program on March 18, 2013 when he was named the 13th Home 14-2 68-19 head coach in school history. Road 3-7 24-32 It’s been quite an impressive run in the Valley for the former Phoenix Neutral Site 0-1 7-3 Overtime games 0-1 0-2 Suns star. In four short years, he has amassed 81 wins and three postseason berths on the sideline. Leading at the half 17-4 81-20 Majerle has certainly made his mark, guiding the Lopes back-to-back Behind at the half 0-5 12-35 20+ win seasons over the last two years and four top three finishes in the Tied at the half 0-1 6-1

Western Athletic Conference since 2013-14. Three of the last four years Scoring 0-59 points 0-5 2-20 under Majerle, the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament picked Scoring 60-69 points 3-1 18-21 the Lopes to play in the postseason. Majerle has also attracted many high Scoring 70-79 points 5-1 35-10 profile opponents during his tenure including, Kentucky, Duke, Arizona Scoring 80-89 points 7-2 32-4 and a home-and-home series with Louisville. Scoring 90-99 points 1-0 10-0 Scoring 100-plus points 1-0 1-1 Behind Majerle’s presence and a rising team, GCU averaged 6,817 fans over 18 home games in 2016-17. The average attendance has increased Game decided by 1-5 points 1-4 22-8 every season as a Division I program with the peak coming last season. Game decided by 6-9 points 0-1 18-7 Game decided by 10-15 points 4-4 24-12 The increase was noticeable right away as the average in 2013-14 was Game decided by 16 points or more 12-1 34-15 4,373; an increase in average attendance from the previous season of THE MAJERLE FILE 1,030 fans per game, the 24th-highest increase in the NCAA that year. In GCU out-rebounds the opponent 12-5 67-14 2016-17 GCU ranked in the Top-10 in attendance among schools with less GCU is out-rebounded by the opponent 4-5 25-37 HEAD COACH than 10,000 arena capacity. In addition to ranking 23rd in the NCAA for Same number of rebounds 1-0 7-4

Fifth Season at Grand Canyon average attendance capacity with 97.39%. Alma Mater: Central Michigan, ‘88 Recording 50-plus rebounds 0-0 3-0 Majerle completed his first year at GCU in 2013-14 by being named a Recording 40-plus rebounds 9-3 26-4 Coaching Overall Conference finalist for the Joe B. Hall award, which is given to the most outstanding Recording 35-39 rebounds 4-4 27-12 Record W L W L Recording 30-34 rebounds 4-2 26-15 first-year Division I head coach. Being nominated for such an honor Recording 25-29 rebounds 0-1 13-13 2017-18 - GCU 17 10 6 5 came after guiding the team to a 15-15 overall record in its first year of 2016-17 - GCU 22 9 11 3 Recording 20-24 rebounds 0-0 1-10 2015-16 - GCU 27 7 11 3 reclassification to Division I. The Lopes, originally tabbed to finish eighth Recording less than 20 rebounds 0-0 2-2 2014-15 - GCU 17 15 8 6 in the Western Athletic Conference, used a 10-6 conference mark to claim third place among the nine teams. GCU also received a bid to the GCU with better shooting percentage 15-1 81-8 2013-14 - GCU 15 15 10 6 GCU with worse shooting percentage 2-9 17-48 Career Totals 98 56 46 23 CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament, its first at the Division I level. Same shooting percentage 0-0 0-0 Before starting his tenure at Grand Canyon, Majerle spent five years as GCU shooting .500-plus FG pct. 7-0 33-4 COACHING LEDGER GCU shooting .450-.499 FG pct. 4-0 29-5 2013-18...... Grand Canyon (Head Coach) an assistant coach with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns from 2008-13. He is one of the most popular figures in Suns history, having also played eight seasons GCU shooting .400-.449 FG pct. 4-1 24-15 2008-13...... Phoenix Suns (Assistant Coach) GCU shooting less than .400 FG pct. 2-9 12-32 with the team from 1988 to 1995 and 2001-02. In all, Majerle played 14 seasons in the NBA and averaged 11.4 points over 955 career games. He made three All-Star appearances GCU with fewer TOs than opponent 9-3 59-17 and also was named to the 1990-91 and 1992-93 NBA All-Defensive second team. He led the league in 3-pointers made (192) in GCU with more TOs than opponent 7-5 31-34 GCU with same number of TOs 0-1 7-4 1993-94. Majerle, the 14th overall selection in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Suns, was runner-up by one vote to the Indiana Pacers’ Detlef GCU with fewer fouls than opponent 11-5 72-17 Schrempf for the league’s Sixth Man Award in 1990-91 with averages of 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He averaged a GCU with more fouls than opponent 2-3 17-32 Same number of fouls 4-2 9-5 career-best 17.3 points during the 1991-92 season, the same year that he was selected for his first NBA All-Star Game. Majerle made his second consecutive trip to the All-Star Game in 1992-93 and finished tied for the league lead in 3-point field Record coming off a win 9-8 62-35 goals with 167. He set a Suns record with eight 3-pointers made on Jan. 30, 1993, and did it once more in Game 5 of the Western Record coming after a loss 7-1 33-18 Conference finals against the Seattle SuperSonics. In November 4-1 18-11 Following the 1993-94 season, Majerle was named one of the members of Dream Team II, the U.S. basketball squad that won gold In December 6-4 26-18 at the 1994 World Championship of Basketball in Ontario, Canada. This was Majerle’s second time representing his country, the first In January 4-2 26-10 coming with the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won the bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he In February 2-3 20-12 In March 0-0 7-5 played under iconic basketball coach John Thompson. That same year, he was named the Olympic Athlete of the Year. He was chosen as a starter for his third All-Star Game in 1994-95 as he averaged 17.4 points in the first half of the season, becoming vs. AP Poll ranked teams 0-0 0-5 the first reserve to be voted an All-Star starter since fan balloting began in 1975. Majerle, originally from Traverse City, Mich., played college basketball at Central Michigan, where he averaged more than 20 points in three of his four seasons and was an All-Mid-American Conference selection each year of his career. During his senior season, he averaged 23.7 points and 10.8 rebounds while hitting 52.2 percent from the field. He completed his career at CMU ranked second all-time in scoring, steals and field-goal percentage. In 2003, Majerle’s outstanding playing career was recognized by the Phoenix Sun when they placed him in the prestigious Ring of Honor. Each year since then, the Suns organization has handed out the Dan Majerle Hustle Award, given to the player who most personifies the same hustle and determination displayed by Majerle in his playing career.

‹ 12 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

2017-18 Grand Canyon Basketball Grand Canyon Combined Team Statistics (as of Feb 18, 2018) All Games

RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL All Games 17-10 13-2 3-7 1-1 Conference 6-5 3-1 3-4 0-0 Non-conference 11-5 10-1 0-3 1-1

Total 3-Point F-Throw Rebounds ## Player gp-gs min avg fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf dq a to blk stl pts avg 02 Joshua Braun 27-27 806 29.9 104-268 .388 59-161 .366 79-107 .738 39 64 103 3.8 53 2 41 45 14 25 346 12.8 25 Alessandro Lever 27-20 499 18.5 97-201 .483 15-53 .283 62-84 .738 29 81 110 4.1 72 2 35 46 9 6 271 10.0 11 Casey Benson 27-27 776 28.7 74-199 .372 32-90 .356 77-103 .748 22 90 112 4.1 52 1 130 51 3 18 257 9.5 04 Oscar Frayer 26-21 666 25.6 94-198 .475 30-85 .353 31-57 .544 45 89 134 5.2 64 1 31 40 17 33 249 9.6 24 Keonta Vernon 27-27 626 23.2 94-190 .495 0-3 .000 48-87 .552 60 127 187 6.9 89 7 35 30 35 18 236 8.7 12 Roberts Blumbergs 27-7 409 15.1 52-139 .374 16-71 .225 40-53 .755 28 61 89 3.3 40 1 25 31 7 11 160 5.9 01 Fiifi Aidoo 27-4 365 13.5 44-108 .407 18-61 .295 14-19 .737 14 22 36 1.3 38 0 32 20 6 15 120 4.4 42 Gerard Martin 27-0 440 16.3 32-82 .390 16-55 .291 11-25 .440 16 57 73 2.7 48 2 32 17 5 16 91 3.4 10 Damari Milstead 19-0 168 8.8 22-43 .512 7-12 .583 32-38 .842 3 14 17 0.9 11 0 16 20 1 7 83 4.4 00 Shaq Carr 18-2 286 15.9 27-53 .509 3-8 .375 22-24 .917 7 24 31 1.7 27 0 48 33 4 5 79 4.4 05 Matt Jackson 25-0 282 11.3 28-71 .394 9-32 .281 10-16 .625 14 46 60 2.4 29 0 17 21 2 12 75 3.0 21 Kerwin Smith 15-0 66 4.4 8-13 .615 0-0 .000 3-7 .429 7 11 18 1.2 14 0 3 7 4 1 19 1.3 13 Ibrahima Sankare 9-0 34 3.8 4-8 .500 0-0 .000 5-7 .714 2 6 8 0.9 4 0 1 3 1 5 13 1.4 15 Cheick Sy-Savane 5-0 12 2.4 3-8 .375 3-4 .750 0-0 .000 1 0 1 0.2 2 0 0 0 0 0 9 1.8 22 Nehemiah Allen 5-0 11 2.2 1-2 .500 0-1 .000 1-2 .500 0 0 0 0.0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.6 03 Parker Dale 3-0 4 1.3 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 1 0 1 0.3 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.3 TM TEAM 40 30 70 6 Grand Canyon 27 5450 684-1584 .432 208-636 .327 436-631 .691 328 722 1050 38.9 547 15 446 371 108 172 2012 74.5 Opponents 27 5450 601-1515 .397 117-434 .270 419-590 .710 290 699 989 36.6 597 13 269 422 62 169 1738 64.4

Team Statistics GCU OPP Date Opponent Score Att. SCORING 2012 1738 11/10/17 FLORIDA A&M W 67-51 7202 # 11/13/17 ROBERT MORRIS W 75-61 6833 Points per game 74.5 64.4 11/18/17 LITTLE ROCK W 76-51 7394 Scoring margin +10.1 - 11/20/17 NORFOLK STATE W 85-60 6889 FIELD GOALS-ATT 684-1584 601-1515 11/25/17 UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO L 62-72 7397 W Field goal pct .432 .397 12/02/17 UC RIVERSIDE 68-56 6844 12/05/17 vs Saint John's (NY) L 60-68 8907 3 POINT FG-ATT 208-636 117-434 12/09/17 GRAMBLING STATE W 87-53 6829 3-point FG pct .327 .270 12/11/17 NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY W 64-59 6276 Lo2 3-pt FG made per game 7.7 4.3 12/13/17 at Boise State 80-85 4628 12/18/17 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE W 71-38 6464 FREE THROW-ATT 436-631 419-590 12/21/17 LONGWOOD W 86-56 7006 Free throw pct .691 .710 12/23/17 at Louisville L 56-74 16841 W F-Throws made per game 16.1 15.5 12/27/17 vs Morgan State 100-74 1544 12/30/17 at Illinois L 58-62 13762 REBOUNDS 1050 989 * 01/06/18 at Seattle University W 73-57 2156 Rebounds per game 38.9 36.6 * 01/11/18 NEW MEXICO STATE L 59-70 7521 W Rebounding margin +2.3 - * 01/13/18 UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY 84-71 7222 * 01/18/18 at Chicago State W 86-58 463 ASSISTS 446 269 * 01/20/18 at UMKC W 86-69 1440 Assists per game 16.5 10.0 01/23/18 WILLIAM JESSUP W 96-80 6952 L TURNOVERS 371 422 * 01/27/18 at Utah Valley 56-68 4881 * 02/01/18 UMKC W 79-62 7005 Turnovers per game 13.7 15.6 * 02/03/18 CHICAGO STATE W 89-55 7244 Turnover margin +1.9 - * 02/08/18 at UT Rio Grande Valley L 81-83 1038 * 02/10/18 at New Mexico State L 70-74 12989 Assist/turnover ratio 1.2 0.6 * 02/17/18 at CSU Bakersfield L 58-71 3002 STEALS 172 169 * Conference game Steals per game 6.4 6.3 BLOCKS 108 62 Score by periods 1st 2nd OT OT2 Total Blocks per game 4.0 2.3 Grand Canyon 991 1004 6 11 2012 Attendance 105078 71651 Home game-Avg/Game 15-7005 10-6120 Opponents 778 938 6 16 1738 Neutral site-Avg/game 2-5226

‹ 13 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

2017-18 Grand Canyon Basketball Grand Canyon Combined Team Statistics (as of Feb 18, 2018) Conference

RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL All Games 6-5 3-1 3-4 0-0 Conference 6-5 3-1 3-4 0-0 Non-conference 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Total 3-Point F-Throw Rebounds ## Player gp-gs min avg fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf dq a to blk stl pts avg 25 Alessandro Lever 11-11 233 21.2 53-98 .541 9-27 .333 37-48 .771 14 38 52 4.7 35 1 17 22 5 3 152 13.8 02 Joshua Braun 11-11 318 28.9 32-90 .356 17-51 .333 39-49 .796 15 25 40 3.6 26 2 15 15 6 11 120 10.9 04 Oscar Frayer 11-11 316 28.7 43-91 .473 16-39 .410 14-25 .560 25 48 73 6.6 26 0 13 20 7 14 116 10.5 24 Keonta Vernon 11-11 261 23.7 42-96 .438 0-1 .000 22-41 .537 21 52 73 6.6 40 2 18 16 10 6 106 9.6 11 Casey Benson 11-11 316 28.7 26-68 .382 14-32 .438 32-42 .762 9 36 45 4.1 18 0 45 15 1 2 98 8.9 12 Roberts Blumbergs 11-0 140 12.7 23-52 .442 5-21 .238 15-23 .652 12 22 34 3.1 17 0 10 9 0 2 66 6.0 01 Fiifi Aidoo 11-0 134 12.2 16-41 .390 6-21 .286 2-3 .667 4 2 6 0.5 17 0 7 9 2 7 40 3.6 10 Damari Milstead 9-0 99 11.0 11-27 .407 3-8 .375 15-17 .882 3 8 11 1.2 5 0 8 13 1 6 40 4.4 05 Matt Jackson 10-0 112 11.2 12-27 .444 1-7 .143 9-14 .643 6 18 24 2.4 14 0 8 6 1 4 34 3.4 42 Gerard Martin 11-0 173 15.7 9-32 .281 2-20 .100 6-14 .429 6 26 32 2.9 21 1 15 7 2 5 26 2.4 00 Shaq Carr 4-0 71 17.8 4-9 .444 0-0 .000 6-7 .857 1 5 6 1.5 5 0 10 8 0 0 14 3.5 13 Ibrahima Sankare 4-0 19 4.8 2-5 .400 0-0 .000 3-3 1.000 2 3 5 1.3 2 0 1 2 0 3 7 1.8 22 Nehemiah Allen 1-0 1 1.0 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.0 03 Parker Dale 1-0 1 1.0 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 1 0 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.0 21 Kerwin Smith 3-0 5 1.7 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 2 2 0.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 15 Cheick Sy-Savane 1-0 1 1.0 0-2 .000 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 TM TEAM 13 14 27 3 Grand Canyon 11 2200 273-638 .428 73-228 .320 202-290 .697 132 299 431 39.2 228 5 167 145 35 63 821 74.6 Opponents 11 2200 250-625 .400 52-191 .272 186-254 .732 116 294 410 37.3 264 8 108 158 19 57 738 67.1

Team Statistics GCU OPP Date Opponent Score Att. SCORING 821 738 * 01/06/18 at Seattle University W 73-57 2156 * 01/11/18 NEW MEXICO STATE L 59-70 7521 Points per game 74.6 67.1 * 01/13/18 UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY W 84-71 7222 Scoring margin +7.5 - * 01/18/18 at Chicago State W 86-58 463 FIELD GOALS-ATT 273-638 250-625 * 01/20/18 at UMKC W 86-69 1440 L Field goal pct .428 .400 * 01/27/18 at Utah Valley 56-68 4881 * 02/01/18 UMKC W 79-62 7005 3 POINT FG-ATT 73-228 52-191 * 02/03/18 CHICAGO STATE W 89-55 7244 3-point FG pct .320 .272 * 02/08/18 at UT Rio Grande Valley L 81-83 1038 L 3-pt FG made per game 6.6 4.7 * 02/10/18 at New Mexico State 70-74 12989 * 02/17/18 at CSU Bakersfield L 58-71 3002 FREE THROW-ATT 202-290 186-254 * Conference game Free throw pct .697 .732 F-Throws made per game 18.4 16.9 Score by periods 1st 2nd Total REBOUNDS 431 410 Grand Canyon 390 431 821 Rebounds per game 39.2 37.3 Rebounding margin +1.9 - Opponents 341 397 738 ASSISTS 167 108 Assists per game 15.2 9.8 TURNOVERS 145 158 Turnovers per game 13.2 14.4 Turnover margin +1.2 - Assist/turnover ratio 1.2 0.7 STEALS 63 57 Steals per game 5.7 5.2 BLOCKS 35 19 Blocks per game 3.2 1.7 Attendance 28992 25969 Home game-Avg/Game 4-7248 7-3710 Neutral site-Avg/game 0-0

‹ 14 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

2017-18 Grand Canyon Basketball Grand Canyon Combined Team Statistics (as of Feb 19, 2018)

RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL All Games 2-3 2-0 0-3 0-0 Conference 2-3 2-0 0-3 0-0 Non-conference 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Total 3-Point F-Throw Rebounds ## Player gp-gs min avg fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf dq a to blk stl pts avg 04 Oscar Frayer 5-5 147 29.4 21-39 .538 10-21 .476 12-18 .667 7 25 32 6.4 12 0 8 8 4 7 64 12.8 24 Keonta Vernon 5-5 117 23.4 22-43 .512 0-1 .000 15-30 .500 5 18 23 4.6 19 2 6 6 3 4 59 11.8 25 Alessandro Lever 5-5 92 18.4 16-36 .444 4-13 .308 20-22 .909 7 14 21 4.2 17 1 9 9 2 0 56 11.2 11 Casey Benson 5-5 141 28.2 14-31 .452 9-17 .529 12-17 .706 5 23 28 5.6 8 0 20 7 1 2 49 9.8 02 Joshua Braun 5-5 147 29.4 11-44 .250 7-29 .241 13-15 .867 5 11 16 3.2 8 0 6 5 5 4 42 8.4 10 Damari Milstead 5-0 66 13.2 9-21 .429 3-6 .500 7-9 .778 1 7 8 1.6 3 0 6 7 1 2 28 5.6 05 Matt Jackson 5-0 61 12.2 9-15 .600 1-3 .333 8-11 .727 6 8 14 2.8 9 0 2 3 1 0 27 5.4 12 Roberts Blumbergs 5-0 80 16.0 8-27 .296 1-11 .091 2-5 .400 4 11 15 3.0 7 0 5 4 0 1 19 3.8 42 Gerard Martin 5-0 78 15.6 4-11 .364 1-6 .167 5-12 .417 3 9 12 2.4 7 0 10 4 2 2 14 2.8 01 Fiifi Aidoo 5-0 46 9.2 3-13 .231 2-6 .333 2-2 1.000 0 1 1 0.2 9 0 2 4 1 2 10 2.0 13 Ibrahima Sankare 3-0 18 6.0 2-5 .400 0-0 .000 3-3 1.000 2 3 5 1.7 2 0 1 1 0 3 7 2.3 22 Nehemiah Allen 1-0 1 1.0 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.0 03 Parker Dale 1-0 1 1.0 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 1 0 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.0 15 Cheick Sy-Savane 1-0 1 1.0 0-2 .000 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 21 Kerwin Smith 1-0 4 4.0 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 1 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 TM TEAM 7 4 11 Grand Canyon 5 1000 119-287 .415 38-114 .333 101-148 .682 53 135 188 37.6 103 3 75 58 20 27 377 75.4 Opponents 5 1000 120-293 .410 21-90 .233 84-116 .724 57 146 203 40.6 127 6 51 71 8 27 345 69.0

Team Statistics GCU OPP Date Opponent Score Att. SCORING 377 345 * 02/01/18 UMKC W 79-62 7005 W Points per game 75.4 69.0 * 02/03/18 CHICAGO STATE 89-55 7244 * 02/08/18 at UT Rio Grande Valley L 81-83 1038 Scoring margin +6.4 - * 02/10/18 at New Mexico State L 70-74 12989 FIELD GOALS-ATT 119-287 120-293 * 02/17/18 at CSU Bakersfield L 58-71 3002 Field goal pct .415 .410 * Conference game 3 POINT FG-ATT 38-114 21-90 Score by periods 1st 2nd Total 3-point FG pct .333 .233 3-pt FG made per game 7.6 4.2 Grand Canyon 172 205 377 FREE THROW-ATT 101-148 84-116 Opponents 163 182 345 Free throw pct .682 .724 F-Throws made per game 20.2 16.8 REBOUNDS 188 203 Rebounds per game 37.6 40.6 Rebounding margin -3.0 - ASSISTS 75 51 Assists per game 15.0 10.2 TURNOVERS 58 71 Turnovers per game 11.6 14.2 Turnover margin +2.6 - Assist/turnover ratio 1.3 0.7 STEALS 27 27 Steals per game 5.4 5.4 BLOCKS 20 8 Blocks per game 4.0 1.6 Attendance 14249 17029 Home game-Avg/Game 2-7125 3-5676 Neutral site-Avg/game 0-0

‹ 15 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

2017-18 Grand Canyon Basketball Team Game-by-Game (as of Feb 22, 2018) All Games

Team Statistics

Total 3-Point F-Throw Rebounds Opponent Date Score fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf a to blk stl pts avg FLORIDA A&M 11/10/17 67-51 W 26-59 .441 7-22 .318 8-16 .500 15 24 39 39.0 15 12 17 4 9 67 67.0 ROBERT MORRIS 11/13/17 75-61 W 21-43 .488 7-16 .438 26-36 .722 8 29 37 38.0 21 13 21 6 5 75 71.0 LITTLE ROCK 11/18/17 76-51 W 24-47 .511 8-20 .400 20-28 .714 6 33 39 38.3 24 20 18 8 7 76 72.7 NORFOLK STATE 11/20/17 85-60 W 27-55 .491 14-26 .538 17-23 .739 8 25 33 37.0 18 21 11 3 6 85 75.8 SAN DIEGO 11/25/17 62-72 L 21-57 .368 4-23 .174 16-24 .667 13 24 37 37.0 18 14 15 3 4 62 73.0 UC RIVERSIDE 12/02/17 68-56 W 24-69 .348 4-36 .111 16-23 .696 16 24 40 37.5 23 20 8 5 12 68 72.2 vs Saint John's (NY) 12/05/17 60-68 L 20-66 .303 8-32 .250 12-22 .545 18 28 46 38.7 22 9 21 2 11 60 70.4 GRAMBLING STATE 12/09/17 87-53 W 32-58 .552 11-27 .407 12-19 .632 10 23 33 38.0 19 23 12 3 9 87 72.5 N.C. CENTRAL 12/11/17 64-59 W 22-59 .373 7-26 .269 13-16 .813 13 20 33 37.4 16 16 6 1 2 64 71.6 at Boise State 12/13/17 80-85 Lo2 28-79 .354 9-32 .281 15-19 .789 14 32 46 38.3 29 16 14 3 6 80 72.4 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 12/18/17 71-38 W 22-54 .407 11-27 .407 16-24 .667 16 33 49 39.3 19 14 12 8 5 71 72.3 LONGWOOD 12/21/17 86-56 W 31-63 .492 13-34 .382 11-16 .688 16 26 42 39.5 16 22 11 7 8 86 73.4 at Louisville 12/23/17 56-74 L 22-55 .400 6-19 .316 6-12 .500 12 23 35 39.2 20 13 19 3 7 56 72.1 vs Morgan State 12/27/17 100-74 W 34-66 .515 13-29 .448 19-23 .826 12 33 45 39.6 28 24 15 6 5 100 74.1 at Illinois 12/30/17 58-62 L 23-64 .359 3-20 .150 9-14 .643 13 20 33 39.1 16 13 14 4 8 58 73.0 at SeattleU 01/06/18 73-57 W 24-54 .444 6-16 .375 19-26 .731 6 32 38 39.1 18 12 12 1 7 73 73.0 NEW MEXICO STATE 01/11/18 59-70 L 22-64 .344 5-24 .208 10-13 .769 7 18 25 38.2 17 13 7 4 8 59 72.2 UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY 01/13/18 84-71 W 25-55 .455 7-21 .333 27-34 .794 15 30 45 38.6 28 16 18 5 6 84 72.8 at Chicago State 01/18/18 86-58 W 33-64 .516 7-20 .350 13-20 .650 16 28 44 38.9 20 20 17 1 8 86 73.5 at UMKC 01/20/18 86-69 W 28-55 .509 6-18 .333 24-36 .667 17 30 47 39.3 17 15 17 2 5 86 74.2 WILLIAM JESSUP 01/23/18 96-80 W 34-52 .654 10-19 .526 18-26 .692 6 26 32 39.0 15 29 12 7 5 96 75.2 at Utah Valley 01/27/18 56-68 L 22-59 .373 4-15 .267 8-13 .615 18 26 44 39.2 25 16 16 2 2 56 74.3 UMKC 02/01/18 79-62 W 28-54 .519 6-18 .333 17-24 .708 13 32 45 39.4 15 16 14 8 4 79 74.5 CHICAGO STATE 02/03/18 89-55 W 30-67 .448 11-27 .407 18-27 .667 15 25 40 39.5 18 19 11 5 8 89 75.1 at UT Rio Grande Valley 02/08/18 81-83 L 22-61 .361 7-21 .333 30-37 .811 10 26 36 39.3 21 18 7 3 4 81 75.4 at New Mexico State 02/10/18 70-74 L 23-61 .377 9-26 .346 15-23 .652 9 28 37 39.2 26 14 13 3 5 70 75.2 at CSU Bakersfield 02/17/18 58-71 L 16-44 .364 5-22 .227 21-37 .568 6 24 30 38.9 23 8 13 1 6 58 74.5 Grand Canyon 2012 684-1584 .432 208-636 .327 436-631 .691 328 722 1050 38.9 547 446 371 108 172 2012 74.5 Opponents 1738 601-1515 .397 117-434 .270 419-590 .710 290 699 989 36.6 597 269 422 62 169 1738 64.4

Games played: 27 Rebounds Per Game: 38.9 Points per Game: 74.5 Assists Per Game: 16.5 FG Percent: 43.2 Turnovers Per Game: 13.7 3FG Percent: 32.7 Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.2 FT Percent: 69.1 Steals Per Game: 6.4 Blocks Per Game: 4.0

‹ 16 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

2017-18 Grand Canyon Basketball Opponent Game-by-Game (as of Feb 22, 2018) All Games

Opponent Statistics

Total 3-Point F-Throw Rebounds Opponent Date Score fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf a to blk stl pts avg FLORIDA A&M 11/10/17 67-51 W 19-49 .388 4-13 .308 9-14 .643 8 24 32 32.0 19 8 22 5 8 51 51.0 ROBERT MORRIS 11/13/17 75-61 W 21-62 .339 4-20 .200 15-22 .682 16 23 39 35.5 29 9 19 3 13 61 56.0 LITTLE ROCK 11/18/17 76-51 W 15-55 .273 3-18 .167 18-26 .692 12 22 34 35.0 25 4 16 2 8 51 54.3 NORFOLK STATE 11/20/17 85-60 W 21-50 .420 4-12 .333 14-21 .667 6 24 30 33.8 19 14 17 2 3 60 55.8 SAN DIEGO 11/25/17 62-72 L 29-59 .492 5-17 .294 9-14 .643 10 26 36 34.2 23 14 12 5 6 72 59.0 UC RIVERSIDE 12/02/17 68-56 W 19-50 .380 4-11 .364 14-19 .737 10 35 45 36.0 23 12 24 1 2 56 58.5 vs Saint John's (NY) 12/05/17 60-68 L 21-53 .396 6-18 .333 20-27 .741 8 34 42 36.9 22 8 18 3 10 68 59.9 GRAMBLING STATE 12/09/17 87-53 W 19-53 .358 2-12 .167 13-19 .684 13 21 34 36.5 19 9 21 2 10 53 59.0 N.C. CENTRAL 12/11/17 64-59 W 22-46 .478 3-8 .375 12-16 .750 8 25 33 36.1 16 11 13 0 3 59 59.0 at Boise State 12/13/17 80-85 Lo2 28-59 .475 5-24 .208 24-37 .649 7 38 45 37.0 20 10 18 3 3 85 61.6 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE12/18/17 71-38 W 14-51 .275 2-4 .500 8-15 .533 9 21 30 36.4 23 4 14 4 5 38 59.5 LONGWOOD 12/21/17 86-56 W 21-50 .420 3-15 .200 11-18 .611 7 19 26 35.5 20 5 16 1 7 56 59.2 at Louisville 12/23/17 56-74 L 26-59 .441 4-19 .211 18-27 .667 15 26 41 35.9 15 14 12 6 10 74 60.3 vs Morgan State 12/27/17 100-74 W 21-70 .300 4-13 .308 28-36 .778 19 21 40 36.2 19 11 13 1 10 74 61.3 at Illinois 12/30/17 58-62 L 25-57 .439 5-19 .263 7-11 .636 15 29 44 36.7 18 9 20 4 6 62 61.3 at SeattleU 01/06/18 73-57 W 22-61 .361 5-20 .250 8-14 .571 13 31 44 37.2 25 6 16 1 2 57 61.1 NEW MEXICO STATE 01/11/18 59-70 L 26-56 .464 5-15 .333 13-19 .684 14 36 50 37.9 17 11 18 1 3 70 61.6 UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY01/13/18 84-71 W 19-57 .333 4-15 .267 29-36 .806 10 21 31 37.6 28 8 10 2 5 71 62.1 at Chicago State 01/18/18 86-58 W 19-55 .345 4-16 .250 16-21 .762 11 21 32 37.3 22 12 22 4 8 58 61.9 at UMKC 01/20/18 86-69 W 24-56 .429 7-24 .292 14-18 .778 5 17 22 36.5 29 6 14 0 5 69 62.3 WILLIAM JESSUP 01/23/18 96-80 W 30-67 .448 7-20 .350 13-14 .929 11 17 28 36.1 23 19 9 1 8 80 63.1 at Utah Valley 01/27/18 56-68 L 20-47 .426 6-11 .545 22-30 .733 6 22 28 35.7 16 14 7 3 7 68 63.3 UMKC 02/01/18 79-62 W 25-58 .431 6-23 .261 6-12 .500 6 18 24 35.2 24 8 11 2 6 62 63.3 CHICAGO STATE 02/03/18 89-55 W 17-49 .347 3-18 .167 18-21 .857 9 27 36 35.3 24 7 24 2 6 55 62.9 at UT Rio Grande Valley 02/08/18 81-83 L 28-61 .459 7-16 .438 20-29 .690 11 33 44 35.6 31 17 11 1 4 83 63.7 at New Mexico State 02/10/18 70-74 L 25-69 .362 2-13 .154 22-33 .667 22 35 57 36.4 20 4 13 1 5 74 64.1 at CSU Bakersfield 02/17/18 58-71 L 25-56 .446 3-20 .150 18-21 .857 9 33 42 36.6 28 15 12 2 6 71 64.4 Opponents 1738 601-1515 .397 117-434 .270 419-590 .710 290 699 989 36.6 597 269 422 62 169 1738 64.4 Grand Canyon 2012 684-1584 .432 208-636 .327 436-631 .691 328 722 1050 38.9 547 446 371 108 172 2012 74.5

Games played: 27 Assists Per Game: 10.0 Points per Game: 64.4 Turnovers Per Game: 15.6 FG Percent: 39.7 Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.2 3FG Percent: 27.0 Steals Per Game: 6.3 FT Percent: 71.0 Blocks per Game: 2.3 Rebounds Per Game: 36.6

‹ 17 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

2017-18 Grand Canyon Basketball Grand Canyon Game-by-Game Highs (as of Jan 25, 2018) All Games

Opponent Date Score Points Rebounds Assists Steals Blocked Shots FLORIDA A&M 11/10/17 67-51 (11)Fiifi Aidoo (9)Keonta Vernon (4)Joshua Braun (2)Oscar Frayer (2)Keonta Vernon (11)Joshua Braun (4)Casey Benson (2)Keonta Vernon (2)Roberts Blumbergs ROBERT MORRIS 11/13/17 75-61 (20)Joshua Braun (9)Oscar Frayer (5)Casey Benson (2)Gerard Martin (2)Joshua Braun (2)Oscar Frayer (2)Keonta Vernon (2)Oscar Frayer LITTLE ROCK 11/18/17 76-51 (29)Joshua Braun (6)Oscar Frayer (3)Fiifi Aidoo (2)Oscar Frayer (2)Gerard Martin (6)Keonta Vernon (3)Shaq Carr (2)Matt Jackson (2)Keonta Vernon (3)Keonta Vernon (3)Oscar Frayer (3)Joshua Braun NORFOLK STATE 11/20/17 85-60 (19)Oscar Frayer (8)Keonta Vernon (8)Casey Benson (2)Casey Benson (1)Joshua Braun (8)Roberts Blumbergs (2)Oscar Frayer (1)Kerwin Smith (1)Keonta Vernon SAN DIEGO 11/25/17 62-72 (20)Joshua Braun (10)Casey Benson (6)Casey Benson (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Fiifi Aidoo (1)Keonta Vernon (1)Alessandro Lever (1)Kerwin Smith (1)Roberts Blumbergs (1)Roberts Blumbergs UC RIVERSIDE 12/02/17 68-56 (14)Roberts Blumbergs (7)Roberts Blumbergs (7)Casey Benson (4)Casey Benson (4)Keonta Vernon (7)Keonta Vernon (7)Joshua Braun vs Saint John's (NY) 12/05/17 60-68 (18)Casey Benson (15)Keonta Vernon (3)Fiifi Aidoo (3)Joshua Braun (1)Keonta Vernon (3)Oscar Frayer (1)Casey Benson GRAMBLING STATE 12/09/17 87-53 (19)Keonta Vernon (6)Gerard Martin (8)Casey Benson (3)Roberts Blumbergs (1)Joshua Braun (6)Keonta Vernon (1)Matt Jackson (1)Roberts Blumbergs N.C. CENTRAL 12/11/17 64-59 (20)Joshua Braun (7)Joshua Braun (7)Casey Benson (1)Fiifi Aidoo (1)Keonta Vernon (7)Casey Benson (1)Shaq Carr at Boise State 12/13/17 80-85 (16)Casey Benson (12)Keonta Vernon (5)Shaq Carr (2)Joshua Braun (2)Keonta Vernon (2)Gerard Martin MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 12/18/17 71-38 (16)Joshua Braun (6)Joshua Braun (6)Casey Benson (2)Keonta Vernon (4)Keonta Vernon (6)Alessandro Lever LONGWOOD 12/21/17 86-56 (14)Fiifi Aidoo (10)Alessandro Lever (5)Casey Benson (2)Shaq Carr (2)Alessandro Lever (5)Shaq Carr (2)Casey Benson (2)Shaq Carr (2)Kerwin Smith at Louisville 12/23/17 56-74 (14)Oscar Frayer (9)Keonta Vernon (7)Casey Benson (2)Joshua Braun (2)Keonta Vernon (2)Casey Benson vs Morgan State 12/27/17 100-74 (18)Joshua Braun (9)Alessandro Lever (6)Shaq Carr (3)Joshua Braun (2)Shaq Carr (2)Roberts Blumbergs at Illinois 12/30/17 58-62 (14)Keonta Vernon (5)Joshua Braun (3)Shaq Carr (2)Gerard Martin (2)Keonta Vernon (5)Alessandro Lever (3)Joshua Braun (2)Oscar Frayer (5)Keonta Vernon at SeattleU 01/06/18 73-57 (18)Oscar Frayer (7)Gerard Martin (3)Shaq Carr (1)Fiifi Aidoo (1)Keonta Vernon (7)Oscar Frayer (3)Keonta Vernon (1)Matt Jackson (1)Keonta Vernon (1)Joshua Braun (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Alessandro Lever (1)Roberts Blumbergs NEW MEXICO STATE 01/11/18 59-70 (15)Joshua Braun (12)Keonta Vernon (2)Keonta Vernon (3)Oscar Frayer (2)Keonta Vernon (2)Matt Jackson (2)Oscar Frayer (2)Casey Benson (2)Joshua Braun UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY 01/13/18 84-71 (25)Roberts Blumbergs (15)Keonta Vernon (3)Shaq Carr (2)Joshua Braun (2)Keonta Vernon (3)Joshua Braun at Chicago State 01/18/18 86-58 (28)Alessandro Lever (8)Alessandro Lever (6)Casey Benson (2)Fiifi Aidoo (1)Keonta Vernon (2)Matt Jackson (2)Joshua Braun (2)Damari Milstead at UMKC 01/20/18 86-69 (24)Alessandro Lever (10)Alessandro Lever (9)Casey Benson (1)Gerard Martin (1)Keonta Vernon (1)Keonta Vernon (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Joshua Braun

‹ 18 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

Opponent Date Score Points Rebounds Assists Steals Blocked Shots (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Damari Milstead WILLIAM JESSUP 01/23/18 96-80 (25)Alessandro Lever (8)Keonta Vernon (10)Casey Benson (1)Fiifi Aidoo (4)Oscar Frayer (8)Roberts Blumbergs (1)Matt Jackson (1)Joshua Braun (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Alessandro Lever at Utah Valley 01/27/18 56-68 (22)Alessandro Lever (9)Oscar Frayer (5)Casey Benson (1)Joshua Braun (1)Fiifi Aidoo (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Alessandro Lever UMKC 02/01/18 79-62 (18)Keonta Vernon (13)Oscar Frayer (4)Gerard Martin (2)Casey Benson (3)Joshua Braun (4)Casey Benson CHICAGO STATE 02/03/18 89-55 (14)Joshua Braun (8)Keonta Vernon (6)Casey Benson (2)Damari Milstead (1)Gerard Martin (1)Keonta Vernon (1)Joshua Braun (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Alessandro Lever at UT Rio Grande Valley 02/08/18 81-83 (22)Alessandro Lever (10)Casey Benson (6)Casey Benson (4)Oscar Frayer (1)Joshua Braun (1)Keonta Vernon (1)Casey Benson at New Mexico State 02/10/18 70-74 (23)Oscar Frayer (10)Oscar Frayer (3)Keonta Vernon (2)Joshua Braun (1)Fiifi Aidoo (3)Roberts Blumbergs (1)Oscar Frayer (3)Casey Benson (1)Alessandro Lever at CSU Bakersfield 02/17/18 58-71 (11)Oscar Frayer (6)Alessandro Lever (2)Damari Milstead (1)Fiifi Aidoo (1)Matt Jackson (2)Alessandro Lever (1)Keonta Vernon (1)Gerard Martin (1)Joshua Braun (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Ibrahima Sankare

‹ 19 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

2017-18 Grand Canyon Basketball Category Leaders (as of Feb 22, 2018) All Games

Points G Pts Pts/G Scoring Average G Pts Avg/G Joshua Braun 27 346 12.8 Joshua Braun 27 346 12.8 Alessandro Lever 27 271 10.0 Alessandro Lever 27 271 10.0 Casey Benson 27 257 9.5 Oscar Frayer 26 249 9.6 Oscar Frayer 26 249 9.6 Casey Benson 27 257 9.5 Keonta Vernon 27 236 8.7 Keonta Vernon 27 236 8.7 Roberts Blumbergs 27 160 5.9 Roberts Blumbergs 27 160 5.9 Fiifi Aidoo 27 120 4.4 Damari Milstead 19 83 4.4 Gerard Martin 27 91 3.4 Fiifi Aidoo 27 120 4.4

FG Percentage FG Att Pct Field Goal Attempts G Att Att/G Kerwin Smith 8 13 .615 Joshua Braun 27 268 9.9 Damari Milstead 22 43 .512 Alessandro Lever 27 201 7.4 Shaq Carr 27 53 .509 Casey Benson 27 199 7.4 Ibrahima Sankare 4 8 .500 Oscar Frayer 26 198 7.6 Nehemiah Allen 1 2 .500 Keonta Vernon 27 190 7.0 Keonta Vernon 94 190 .495 Roberts Blumbergs 27 139 5.1 Alessandro Lever 97 201 .483 Fiifi Aidoo 27 108 4.0 Oscar Frayer 94 198 .475 Gerard Martin 27 82 3.0

3-Point Percentage 3FG Att Pct Field Goals Made G Made Made/G Cheick Sy-Savane 3 4 .750 Joshua Braun 27 104 3.9 Damari Milstead 7 12 .583 Alessandro Lever 27 97 3.6 Shaq Carr 3 8 .375 Keonta Vernon 27 94 3.5 Joshua Braun 59 161 .366 Oscar Frayer 26 94 3.6 Casey Benson 32 90 .356 Casey Benson 27 74 2.7 Oscar Frayer 30 85 .353 Roberts Blumbergs 27 52 1.9 Fiifi Aidoo 18 61 .295 Fiifi Aidoo 27 44 1.6 Gerard Martin 16 55 .291 Gerard Martin 27 32 1.2

Free Throw Percentage FG Att Pct 3-Point FG Attempts G Att Att/G Shaq Carr 22 24 .917 Joshua Braun 27 161 6.0 Damari Milstead 32 38 .842 Casey Benson 27 90 3.3 Roberts Blumbergs 40 53 .755 Oscar Frayer 26 85 3.3 Casey Benson 77 103 .748 Roberts Blumbergs 27 71 2.6 Joshua Braun 79 107 .738 Fiifi Aidoo 27 61 2.3 Alessandro Lever 62 84 .738 Gerard Martin 27 55 2.0 Fiifi Aidoo 14 19 .737 Alessandro Lever 27 53 2.0 Ibrahima Sankare 5 7 .714 Matt Jackson 25 32 1.3

Free Throw Attempts G Att Att/G 3-Point FG Made G Made Made/G Joshua Braun 27 107 4.0 Joshua Braun 27 59 2.2 Casey Benson 27 103 3.8 Casey Benson 27 32 1.2 Keonta Vernon 27 87 3.2 Oscar Frayer 26 30 1.2 Alessandro Lever 27 84 3.1 Oscar Frayer 26 57 2.2 Rebounds G Reb Reb/G Roberts Blumbergs 27 53 2.0 Keonta Vernon 27 187 6.9 Damari Milstead 19 38 2.0 Oscar Frayer 26 134 5.2 Gerard Martin 27 25 0.9 Casey Benson 27 112 4.1 Alessandro Lever 27 110 4.1 Joshua Braun 27 103 3.8 Roberts Blumbergs 27 89 3.3 Gerard Martin 27 73 2.7 Matt Jackson 25 60 2.4

‹ 20 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

Rebounds Average G Reb Avg/G Offensive Rebounds G NO. Avg/G Keonta Vernon 27 187 6.9 Keonta Vernon 27 60 2.2 Oscar Frayer 26 134 5.2 Oscar Frayer 26 45 1.7 Casey Benson 27 112 4.1 Joshua Braun 27 39 1.4 Alessandro Lever 27 110 4.1 Alessandro Lever 27 29 1.1 Joshua Braun 27 103 3.8 Roberts Blumbergs 27 28 1.0 Roberts Blumbergs 27 89 3.3 Casey Benson 27 22 0.8 Gerard Martin 27 73 2.7 Gerard Martin 27 16 0.6 Matt Jackson 25 60 2.4 Matt Jackson 25 14 0.6

Fouls G NO. Per/G Defensive Rebounds G NO. Avg/G Keonta Vernon 27 89 3.3 Keonta Vernon 27 127 4.7 Alessandro Lever 27 72 2.7 Casey Benson 27 90 3.3 Oscar Frayer 26 64 2.5 Oscar Frayer 26 89 3.4 Joshua Braun 27 53 2.0 Alessandro Lever 27 81 3.0 Casey Benson 27 52 1.9 Joshua Braun 27 64 2.4 Gerard Martin 27 48 1.8 Roberts Blumbergs 27 61 2.3 Roberts Blumbergs 27 40 1.5 Gerard Martin 27 57 2.1 Matt Jackson 25 46 1.8 Foulouts G NO. Keonta Vernon 27 6 Assists G NO. Ast/G Joshua Braun 27 2 Casey Benson 27 130 4.8 Gerard Martin 27 2 Shaq Carr 18 48 2.7 Alessandro Lever 27 2 Joshua Braun 27 41 1.5 Roberts Blumbergs 27 1 Keonta Vernon 27 35 1.3 Casey Benson 27 1 Alessandro Lever 27 35 1.3 Oscar Frayer 26 1 Fiifi Aidoo 27 32 1.2 Gerard Martin 27 32 1.2 Blocked Shots G NO. Blk/G Oscar Frayer 26 31 1.2 Keonta Vernon 27 35 1.3 Oscar Frayer 26 17 0.7 Steals G NO. Stl/G Joshua Braun 27 14 0.5 Oscar Frayer 26 33 1.3 Joshua Braun 27 25 0.9 Minutes G NO. Min/G Keonta Vernon 27 18 0.7 Joshua Braun 27 806 29.9 Casey Benson 27 18 0.7 Casey Benson 27 776 28.7 Gerard Martin 27 16 0.6 Oscar Frayer 26 666 25.6 Fiifi Aidoo 27 15 0.6 Keonta Vernon 27 626 23.2 Matt Jackson 25 12 0.5 Alessandro Lever 27 499 18.5 Roberts Blumbergs 27 11 0.4 Gerard Martin 27 440 16.3 Roberts Blumbergs 27 409 15.1 Turnovers G NO. To/G Fiifi Aidoo 27 365 13.5 Casey Benson 27 51 1.9 Alessandro Lever 27 46 1.7 Joshua Braun 27 45 1.7 Oscar Frayer 26 40 1.5 Shaq Carr 18 33 1.8 Roberts Blumbergs 27 31 1.1 Keonta Vernon 27 30 1.1 Matt Jackson 25 21 0.8

‹ 21 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

Individual Season Records (as of Feb 22, 2018)

Points 3-Point field goals made 1. 593 - Russell, DeWayne (28 games) - 2016-17 1. 73 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 2. 564 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 2. 64 - Braun, Joshua (22 games) - 2016-17 3. 516 - Larson, Killian (30 games) - 2013-14 3. 58 - Alexander, Daniel (22 games) - 2013-14 4. 495 - Garrison, Jerome (30 games) - 2013-14 4. 56 - Braun, Joshua (32 games) - 2014-15 5. 461 - Glaze, Grandy (33 games) - 2015-16 5. 55 - Braun, Joshua (26 games) - 2017-18 6. 384 - Braun, Joshua (22 games) - 2016-17 6. 52 - Garrison, Jerome (30 games) - 2013-14 7. 379 - Braun, Joshua (32 games) - 2014-15 52 - Russell, DeWayne (28 games) - 2016-17 8. 338 - Woolridge, Royce (32 games) - 2014-15 8. 46 - Majerle, Ryan (32 games) - 2014-15 10. 326 - Russell, DeWayne (23 games) - 2014-15 10. 42 - Majerle, Ryan (34 games) - 2015-16

Scoring average (min. 1 games) 3-Point field goals attempted 1. 21.2 - Russell, DeWayne (28 games) - 2016-17 1. 186 - Braun, Joshua - (34 games) - 2015-16 2. 17.5 - Braun, Joshua (22 games) - 2016-17 2. 154 - Braun, Joshua - (22 games) - 2016-17 3. 17.2 - Larson, Killian (30 games) - 2013-14 3. 153 - Braun, Joshua - (26 games) - 2017-18 4. 16.9 - Walker, Demetrius (9 games) - 2013-14 4. 147 - Braun, Joshua - (32 games) - 2014-15 5. 16.6 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 5. 142 - Alexander, Daniel - (22 games) - 2013-14 6. 16.5 - Garrison, Jerome (30 games) - 2013-14 6. 131 - Russell, DeWayne - (28 games) - 2016-17 7. 14.2 - Russell, DeWayne (23 games) - 2014-15 7. 130 - Garrison, Jerome - (30 games) - 2013-14 8. 14.0 - Glaze, Grandy (33 games) - 2015-16 8. 127 - Davis, Blake - (30 games) - 2013-14 10. 12.5 - Braun, Joshua (26 games) - 2017-18 10. 116 - Martin, Gerard - (31 games) - 2016-17

Field goals made 3-Point field goal percentages (min. 10 made) 1. 198 - Glaze, Grandy (33 games) - 2015-16 1. .417 - Russell, DeWayne (15-36) - 2015-16 2. 197 - Russell, DeWayne (28 games) - 2016-17 2. .416 - Braun, Joshua (64-154) - 2016-17 3. 180 - Larson, Killian (30 games) - 2013-14 3. .408 - Alexander, Daniel (58-142) - 2013-14 4. 144 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 4. .402 - Martin, Gerard (33-82) - 2015-16 5. 134 - Braun, Joshua (32 games) - 2014-15 5. .400 - Garrison, Jerome (52-130) - 2013-14 6. 128 - Garrison, Jerome (30 games) - 2013-14 .400 - Majerle, Ryan (42-105) - 2015-16 7. 119 - Vernon, Keonta (31 games) - 2016-17 7. .397 - Russell, DeWayne (52-131) - 2016-17 8. 116 - Russell, DeWayne (34 games) - 2015-16 8. .392 - Braun, Joshua (73-186) - 2015-16 10. 109 - Braun, Joshua (22 games) - 2016-17 10. .380 - Majerle, Ryan (46-121) - 2014-15

Field goals attempted Free throws made 1. 492 - Russell, DeWayne (28 games) - 2016-17 1. 203 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 2. 333 - Larson, Killian (30 games) - 2013-14 2. 187 - Garrison, Jerome (30 games) - 2013-14 3. 332 - Glaze, Grandy (33 games) - 2015-16 3. 155 - Larson, Killian (30 games) - 2013-14 4. 329 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 4. 147 - Russell, DeWayne (28 games) - 2016-17 5. 306 - Garrison, Jerome (30 games) - 2013-14 5. 106 - Russell, DeWayne (23 games) - 2014-15 6. 291 - Braun, Joshua (32 games) - 2014-15 6. 102 - Braun, Joshua (22 games) - 2016-17 7. 281 - Russell, DeWayne (34 games) - 2015-16 7. 98 - Woolridge, Royce (32 games) - 2014-15 8. 257 - Braun, Joshua (26 games) - 2017-18 8. 83 - Russell, DeWayne (34 games) - 2015-16 10. 245 - Braun, Joshua (22 games) - 2016-17 10. 74 - Benson, Casey (26 games) - 2017-18

Field goals percentage (min. 10 made) Free throws attempted 1. .671 - Smith, Kerwin (55-82) - 2016-17 1. 236 - Garrison, Jerome (30 games) - 2013-14 2. .596 - Glaze, Grandy (198-332) - 2015-16 2. 234 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 3. .564 - Vernon, Keonta (119-211) - 2016-17 3. 210 - Larson, Killian (30 games) - 2013-14 4. .550 - Zuilhof, Jake (11-20) - 2013-14 4. 194 - Russell, DeWayne (28 games) - 2016-17 5. .541 - Larson, Killian (180-333) - 2013-14 5. 140 - Russell, DeWayne (23 games) - 2014-15 6. .522 - Clark, Darion (60-115) - 2016-17 6. 132 - Woolridge, Royce (32 games) - 2014-15 7. .520 - Davis, De'Andre (64-123) - 2014-15 7. 127 - Braun, Joshua (22 games) - 2016-17 8. .517 - Jaksic, Miroslav (15-29) - 2014-15 8. 121 - Russell, DeWayne (34 games) - 2015-16 10. .500 - Ljeskovic, Uros (23-46) - 2015-16 10. 101 - Braun, Joshua (26 games) - 2017-18

‹ 22 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

Individual Season Records (as of Feb 22, 2018)

Free throw percentages (min. 10 made) Offensive rebounds 1. .917 - Carr, Shaq (22-24) - 2017-18 1. 115 - Larson, Killian (115o-233d) - 2013-14 2. .891 - Alexander, Daniel (41-46) - 2014-15 2. 77 - Vernon, Keonta (77o-110d) - 2015-16 3. .886 - Alexander, Daniel (31-35) - 2013-14 3. 76 - Glaze, Grandy (76o-214d) - 2015-16 4. .868 - Braun, Joshua (203-234) - 2015-16 4. 75 - Vernon, Keonta (75o-142d) - 2016-17 5. .830 - Carr, Shaq (39-47) - 2016-17 5. 60 - Vernon, Keonta (60o-119d) - 2017-18 6. .818 - Davis, Blake (36-44) - 2013-14 6. 56 - Braun, Joshua (56o-121d) - 2015-16 7. .817 - Walker, Demetrius (49-60) - 2013-14 7. 44 - Frayer, Oscar (44o-87d) - 2017-18 8. .816 - Majerle, Ryan (31-38) - 2014-15 8. 42 - Frayer, Oscar (42o-97d) - 2016-17 10. .810 - Majerle, Ryan (17-21) - 2015-16 10. 39 - Clark, Darion (39o-93d) - 2016-17

Rebounds Offensive rebound avg (min. 1 games) 1. 348 - Larson, Killian (115o-233d) - 2013-14 1. 3.8 - Larson, Killian (30 games) - 2013-14 2. 290 - Glaze, Grandy (76o-214d) - 2015-16 2. 2.4 - Vernon, Keonta (31 games) - 2016-17 3. 217 - Vernon, Keonta (75o-142d) - 2016-17 3. 2.3 - Vernon, Keonta (26 games) - 2017-18 4. 187 - Vernon, Keonta (77o-110d) - 2015-16 4. 2.3 - Glaze, Grandy (33 games) - 2015-16 5. 179 - Vernon, Keonta (60o-119d) - 2017-18 5. 2.3 - Vernon, Keonta (34 games) - 2015-16 6. 177 - Braun, Joshua (56o-121d) - 2015-16 6. 2.0 - Clark, Darion (20 games) - 2016-17 7. 157 - Braun, Joshua (38o-119d) - 2014-15 7. 1.8 - Frayer, Oscar (25 games) - 2017-18 8. 141 - Alexander, Daniel (28o-113d) - 2014-15 8. 1.6 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 10. 132 - Clark, Darion (39o-93d) - 2016-17 10. 1.4 - Frayer, Oscar (31 games) - 2016-17

Rebounding average (min. 1 games) Assists 1. 11.6 - Larson, Killian (30 games) - 2013-14 1. 182 - Russell, DeWayne - 2015-16 2. 8.8 - Glaze, Grandy (33 games) - 2015-16 2. 151 - Russell, DeWayne - 2016-17 3. 7.0 - Vernon, Keonta (31 games) - 2016-17 3. 120 - Benson, Casey - 2017-18 4. 6.9 - Vernon, Keonta (26 games) - 2017-18 4. 90 - Russell, DeWayne - 2014-15 5. 6.6 - Clark, Darion (20 games) - 2016-17 5. 86 - Martin, Gerard - 2015-16 6. 5.6 - Alexander, Daniel (22 games) - 2013-14 6. 78 - Martin, Gerard - 2016-17 7. 5.6 - Walker, Demetrius (9 games) - 2013-14 7. 73 - Carr, Shaq - 2016-17 8. 5.5 - Vernon, Keonta (34 games) - 2015-16 8. 72 - Woolridge, Royce - 2014-15 10. 5.2 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 64 - Garrison, Jerome - 2013-14

Defensive rebounds Assists average (min. 1 games) 1. 233 - Larson, Killian (115o-233d) - 2013-14 1. 5.4 - Russell, DeWayne (28 games) - 2016-17 2. 214 - Glaze, Grandy (76o-214d) - 2015-16 2. 5.4 - Russell, DeWayne (34 games) - 2015-16 3. 142 - Vernon, Keonta (75o-142d) - 2016-17 3. 4.6 - Benson, Casey (26 games) - 2017-18 4. 121 - Braun, Joshua (56o-121d) - 2015-16 4. 4.2 - Daly, Sam (13 games) - 2013-14 5. 119 - Braun, Joshua (38o-119d) - 2014-15 5. 3.9 - Russell, DeWayne (23 games) - 2014-15 119 - Vernon, Keonta (60o-119d) - 2017-18 6. 2.9 - Alexander, Daniel (22 games) - 2013-14 7. 113 - Alexander, Daniel (28o-113d) - 2014-15 7. 2.7 - Carr, Shaq (18 games) - 2017-18 8. 112 - Alexander, Daniel (12o-112d) - 2013-14 8. 2.5 - Martin, Gerard (34 games) - 2015-16 10. 105 - Martin, Gerard (22o-105d) - 2016-17 10. 2.5 - Lowery, Jeff (4 games) - 2013-14

Defensive rebound avg (min. 1 games) Blocked shots 1. 7.8 - Larson, Killian (30 games) - 2013-14 1. 34 - Alexander, Daniel - 2013-14 2. 6.5 - Glaze, Grandy (33 games) - 2015-16 2. 33 - Vernon, Keonta - 2017-18 3. 5.4 - Walker, Demetrius (9 games) - 2013-14 3. 26 - Braun, Joshua - 2014-15 4. 5.1 - Alexander, Daniel (22 games) - 2013-14 4. 24 - Frayer, Oscar - 2016-17 5. 4.7 - Clark, Darion (20 games) - 2016-17 24 - Alexander, Daniel - 2014-15 6. 4.6 - Vernon, Keonta (31 games) - 2016-17 6. 23 - Braun, Joshua - 2015-16 7. 4.6 - Vernon, Keonta (26 games) - 2017-18 7. 19 - Davis, Blake - 2013-14 8. 3.9 - Alexander, Daniel (29 games) - 2014-15 8. 17 - Vernon, Keonta - 2015-16 10. 3.6 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 15 - Vernon, Keonta - 2016-17

‹ 23 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

Individual Season Records (as of Feb 22, 2018)

Blocked shots average (min. 1 games) Minutes 1. 1.5 - Alexander, Daniel (22 games) - 2013-14 1. 1134 - Garrison, Jerome - 2013-14 2. 1.3 - Vernon, Keonta (26 games) - 2017-18 2. 1072 - Russell, DeWayne - 2016-17 3. 0.8 - Alexander, Daniel (29 games) - 2014-15 3. 1054 - Russell, DeWayne - 2015-16 4. 0.8 - Braun, Joshua (32 games) - 2014-15 4. 1045 - Braun, Joshua - 2015-16 5. 0.8 - Frayer, Oscar (31 games) - 2016-17 5. 980 - Larson, Killian - 2013-14 6. 0.7 - Braun, Joshua (34 games) - 2015-16 6. 906 - Martin, Gerard - 2016-17 7. 0.6 - Davis, Blake (30 games) - 2013-14 7. 895 - Davis, Blake - 2013-14 8. 0.6 - Okafor, Tobe (5 games) - 2014-15 8. 872 - Glaze, Grandy - 2015-16 10. 0.5 - Frayer, Oscar (25 games) - 2017-18 10. 848 - Garrison, Jerome - 2014-15

Steals Minutes average (min. 1 games) 1. 46 - Russell, DeWayne - 2015-16 1. 38.3 - Russell, DeWayne (28 games) - 2016-17 2. 42 - Martin, Gerard - 2016-17 2. 37.8 - Garrison, Jerome (30 games) - 2013-14 3. 41 - Russell, DeWayne - 2016-17 3. 33.6 - Braun, Joshua (22 games) - 2016-17 4. 35 - Vernon, Keonta - 2016-17 4. 33.4 - Russell, DeWayne (23 games) - 2014-15 5. 34 - Martin, Gerard - 2015-16 5. 33.0 - Alexander, Daniel (22 games) - 2013-14 6. 33 - Frayer, Oscar - 2016-17 6. 32.7 - Larson, Killian (30 games) - 2013-14 7. 32 - Russell, DeWayne - 2014-15 7. 31.0 - Russell, DeWayne (34 games) - 2015-16 32 - Frayer, Oscar - 2017-18 8. 30.9 - Walker, Demetrius (9 games) - 2013-14 10. 27 - Braun, Joshua - 2014-15 10. 29.8 - Braun, Joshua (26 games) - 2017-18

Steals average (min. 1 games) Games played 1. 1.5 - Russell, DeWayne (28 games) - 2016-17 1. 34 - Vernon, Keonta - 2015-16 2. 1.4 - Russell, DeWayne (23 games) - 2014-15 34 - Martin, Gerard - 2015-16 3. 1.4 - Martin, Gerard (31 games) - 2016-17 34 - Russell, DeWayne - 2015-16 4. 1.4 - Russell, DeWayne (34 games) - 2015-16 34 - Majerle, Ryan - 2015-16 5. 1.3 - Frayer, Oscar (25 games) - 2017-18 34 - Braun, Joshua - 2015-16 6. 1.1 - Vernon, Keonta (31 games) - 2016-17 6. 33 - Glaze, Grandy - 2015-16 7. 1.1 - Frayer, Oscar (31 games) - 2016-17 33 - Jackson, Matt - 2015-16 8. 1.0 - Martin, Gerard (34 games) - 2015-16 8. 32 - Smith, Kerwin - 2014-15 1.0 - Walker, Demetrius (9 games) - 2013-14 32 - Majerle, Ryan - 2014-15 32 - Garrison, Jerome - 2014-15 Games started 1. 33 - Russell, DeWayne - 2015-16 33 - Braun, Joshua - 2015-16 33 - Martin, Gerard - 2015-16 4. 32 - Garrison, Jerome - 2014-15 5. 30 - Larson, Killian - 2013-14 30 - Woolridge, Royce - 2014-15 30 - Garrison, Jerome - 2013-14 8. 29 - Glaze, Grandy - 2015-16 28 - Russell, DeWayne - 2016-17

‹ 24 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

Team Season Records (as of Feb 22, 2018)

Most Points Scoring Average 1. 2581 (34 games) - 2015-16 1. 75.912 (34 games) - 2015-16 2. 2282 (31 games) - 2016-17 2. 74.519 (27 games) - 2017-18 3. 2198 (32 games) - 2014-15 3. 73.613 (31 games) - 2016-17 4. 2163 (30 games) - 2013-14 4. 72.100 (30 games) - 2013-14 5. 2012 (27 games) - 2017-18 5. 68.688 (32 games) - 2014-15

Field Goals Attempted Field Goals Made 1. 1978 (34 games) - 2015-16 1. 896 (34 games) - 2015-16 2. 1812 (31 games) - 2016-17 2. 790 (31 games) - 2016-17 3. 1683 (32 games) - 2014-15 3. 759 (32 games) - 2014-15 4. 1584 (27 games) - 2017-18 4. 684 (27 games) - 2017-18 5. 1549 (30 games) - 2013-14 5. 671 (30 games) - 2013-14

3-Point Field Goals Made Field Goals Percentage 1. 210 (34 games) - 2015-16 1. .453 (896 - 1978) - 2015-16 2. 208 (27 games) - 2017-18 2. .451 (759 - 1683) - 2014-15 3. 206 (30 games) - 2013-14 3. .436 (790 - 1812) - 2016-17 4. 205 (31 games) - 2016-17 4. .433 (671 - 1549) - 2013-14 5. 198 (32 games) - 2014-15 5. .432 (684 - 1584) - 2017-18

3-Point Field Goal Percentages 3-Point Field Goals Attempted 1. .361 (210 - 582) - 2015-16 1. 636 (27 games) - 2017-18 2. .350 (206 - 588) - 2013-14 2. 619 (31 games) - 2016-17 3. .333 (198 - 594) - 2014-15 3. 594 (32 games) - 2014-15 4. .331 (205 - 619) - 2016-17 4. 588 (30 games) - 2013-14 5. .327 (208 - 636) - 2017-18 5. 582 (34 games) - 2015-16

Free Throws Attempted Free Throws Made 1. 835 (34 games) - 2015-16 1. 615 (30 games) - 2013-14 2. 831 (30 games) - 2013-14 2. 579 (34 games) - 2015-16 3. 747 (31 games) - 2016-17 3. 497 (31 games) - 2016-17 4. 674 (32 games) - 2014-15 4. 482 (32 games) - 2014-15 5. 631 (27 games) - 2017-18 5. 436 (27 games) - 2017-18

Most Assists Free Throw Percentages 1. 504 (34 games) - 2015-16 1. .740 (615 - 831) - 2013-14 2. 446 (27 games) - 2017-18 2. .715 (482 - 674) - 2014-15 3. 423 (31 games) - 2016-17 3. .693 (579 - 835) - 2015-16 4. 388 (32 games) - 2014-15 4. .691 (436 - 631) - 2017-18 5. 386 (30 games) - 2013-14 5. .665 (497 - 747) - 2016-17

Average Assists Most Steals 1. 16.519 (27 games) - 2017-18 1. 233 (31 games) - 2016-17 2. 14.824 (34 games) - 2015-16 2. 209 (34 games) - 2015-16 3. 13.645 (31 games) - 2016-17 3. 172 (27 games) - 2017-18 4. 12.867 (30 games) - 2013-14 4. 171 (32 games) - 2014-15 5. 12.125 (32 games) - 2014-15 5. 121 (30 games) - 2013-14

Most Blocked Shots Average Steals 1. 108 (27 games) - 2017-18 1. 7.516 (31 games) - 2016-17 2. 99 (32 games) - 2014-15 2. 6.370 (27 games) - 2017-18 3. 90 (34 games) - 2015-16 3. 6.147 (34 games) - 2015-16 4. 83 (30 games) - 2013-14 4. 5.344 (32 games) - 2014-15 5. 79 (31 games) - 2016-17 5. 4.033 (30 games) - 2013-14

‹ 25 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

Average Blocks Most Rebounds 1. 4.000 (27 games) - 2017-18 1. 1301 (34 games) 2015-16 2. 3.094 (32 games) - 2014-15 2. 1168 (31 games) 2016-17 3. 2.767 (30 games) - 2013-14 3. 1064 (30 games) 2013-14 4. 2.647 (34 games) - 2015-16 4. 1050 (27 games) 2017-18 5. 2.548 (31 games) - 2016-17 5. 1015 (32 games) 2014-15

Games Played Average Rebounds 1. 34 (34 games) - 2015-16 1. 38.889 (27 Games) - 2017-18 2. 32 (32 games) - 2014-15 2. 38.265 (34 Games) - 2015-16 3. 31 (31 games) - 2016-17 3. 37.677 (31 Games) - 2016-17 4. 30 (30 games) - 2013-14 4. 35.467 (30 Games) - 2013-14 5. 27 (27 games) - 2017-18 5. 31.719 (32 Games) - 2014-15

Offensive Rebounds Offensive Rebound Average 1. 399 (34 games) - 2015-16 1. 12.148 (27 games) - 2017-18 2. 336 (31 games) - 2016-17 2. 11.735 (34 games) - 2015-16 3. 328 (27 games) - 2017-18 3. 10.839 (31 games) - 2016-17 4. 289 (30 games) - 2013-14 4. 9.633 (30 games) - 2013-14 5. 281 (32 games) - 2014-15 5. 8.781 (32 games) - 2014-15

Defensive Rebounds Defensive Rebound Average 1. 902 (34 games) - 2015-16 1. 26.839 (31 games) - 2016-17 2. 832 (31 games) - 2016-17 2. 26.741 (27 games) - 2017-18 3. 775 (30 games) - 2013-14 3. 26.529 (34 games) - 2015-16 4. 734 (32 games) - 2014-15 4. 25.833 (30 games) - 2013-14 5. 722 (27 games) - 2017-18 5. 22.938 (32 games) - 2014-15

Minutes Average Minutes 1. 6824 (34 games) - 2015-16 1. 201.852 (27 games) - 2017-18 2. 6402 (32 games) - 2014-15 2. 201.613 (31 games) - 2016-17 3. 6250 (31 games) - 2016-17 3. 200.833 (30 games) - 2013-14 4. 6025 (30 games) - 2013-14 4. 200.706 (34 games) - 2015-16 5. 5450 (27 games) - 2017-18 5. 200.063 (32 games) - 2014-15

‹ 26 › THE LAST TIME...

INDIVIDUAL Scored 25 Points...... Alessandro Lever, 25, 1/23/18, vs William Jessup Attempted 10 3-pointers in a game...... Joshua Braun (11) 2/10/18, at New Mexico State Scored 30 Points...... DeWayne Russell, 31, 2/11/17, vs. New Mexico St. Attempted 12 3-pointers in a game...... Joshua Braun (19) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago St. Scored 35 Points...... DeWayne Russell, 42, 12/3/16, vs. Louisville Made a 3-pointer in 10 straight games...... Josh Braun (21), 1/7/17 – 11/25/17 Scored 40 Points...... DeWayne Russell, 42, 12/3/16, vs. Louisville Made a 3-pointer in 15 straight games...... Josh Braun (21), 1/7/17 – 11/25/17 Made a 3-pointer in 20 straight games...... Josh Braun (21), 1/7/17 – 11/25/17 Two players had 20 points. .Alessandro Levers (25) and Josh Braun (22), 1/23/18, vs William Jessup Two players had 25 points . . . . Grandy Glaze (29) and Dominic Magee (29), 12/13/15 vs. Omaha Made 10 free throws in a game...... Alessandro Lever (14), 2/8/18, at UTRGV Three players had 20 points ...... Never happened Made 15 free throws in a game...... Josh Braun (17), 1/16/16 vs. Utah Valley Made 16 free throws in a game...... Josh Braun (17), 1/16/16 vs. Utah Valley Scored 20 points in two straight games...... Alessandro Lever (3), 1/18/18 - 1/23/18 Made 17 free throws in a game...... Josh Braun (17), 1/16/16 vs. Utah Valley Scored 20 points in three straight games...... Alessandro Lever (3), 1/18/18 - 1/23/18 Attempted 15 free throws in a game...... Alessandro Lever (16), 2/8/18, at UTRGV Scored 20 points in four straight games...... Alessandro Lever(4), 1/18/18 - 1/27/18 Attempted 18 free throws in a game...... Josh Braun (19), 1/16/16 vs. Utah Valley Scored 20 points in five straight games...... Never happened Attempted 19 free throws in a game...... Josh Braun (19), 1/16/16 vs. Utah Valley Scored 30 points in two straight games...... Never happened Attempted 20 free throws in a game...... Jerome Garrison (20), 1/23/14 vs. Idaho

Scored double figures in 10 straight games...... DeWayne Russell (33), 3/1/16 - 3/4/17 12 rebounds...... Keonta Vernon (12), 1/11/18 vs New Mexico State Scored double figures in 15 straight games...... DeWayne Russell (33), 3/1/16 - 3/4/17 13 rebounds...... Oscar Frayer(13), 2/1/18 vs UMKC Scored double figures in 20 straight games ...... DeWayne Russell (33), 3/1/16 - 3/4/17 14 rebounds ...... Keonta Vernon (15), 1/13/18 vs UTRGV 15 rebounds ...... Keonta Vernon (15), 1/13/18 vs UTRGV Five players scored in double figures...... vs Morgan State, 12/27/17 16 rebounds ...... Killian Larson (20), 2/22/14 at Idaho Six players scored in double figures...... Never happened 20 rebounds...... Killian Larson (20), 2/22/14 at Idaho Four players scored 15 or more points...... Never happened 10+ rebounds in two straight games...... Keonta Vernon (2), 1/11/18 – 1/13/18 Double-double...... Oscar Frayer, 2/10/18, 23 pts, 10reb, at New Mexico State 10+ rebounds in three straight games...... Grandy Glaze (3), 3/14/16 – 3/23/16 Double-double with points / assists . . . Casey Benson, 1/23/18, 12 pts, 10asts, vs William Jessup 10+ rebounds in four straight games...... Grandy Glaze (4), 2/6/16 – 2/18/16 Double-double in two straight games ...... Keonta Vernon, 1/11/18 - 1/13/18 Two players had 10 rebounds...... Vernon (15) & Frayer (12), 1/28/17 at Chicago St. Double-double in three straight games...... Grandy Glaze (4), 2/6/16 – 2/18/16 Three players had 10 rebounds ...... Never happened Double-double in four straight games...... Grandy Glaze (4), 2/6/16 – 2/18/16 Two players with double-double. . Vernon (24p/15r) & Frayer (12p/12r), 1/28/17 at Chicago State 6 assists...... Casey Benson (6), 2/8/18, at UTRGV Triple-double ...... Never happened 7 assists ...... Casey Benson (7), 12/13/17, at Louisville 8 assists...... Casey Benson (8), 12/9/17, vs. Grambling St. 20 points, 10 rebounds...... Oscar Frayer, 2/10/18, 23 pts, 10reb, at New Mexico State 9 assists...... Casey Benson (9), 1/20/18, at UMKC 20 points, 10 assists...... DeWayne Russell, 21pts, 11 ast, 1/7/17 vs. Utah Valley 10 assists...... Casey Benson (10), 1/23/18, vs. William Jessup 11 assists...... DeWayne Russell (11), 1/7/17, vs. Utah Valley Made 10 FG in a game...... Alessandro Lever (10), 1/23/18 vs William Jessup 12 assists ...... DeWayne Russell (12), 12/13/15 vs. Nebraska-Omaha Made 12 FG in a game...... DeWayne Russell (14), 12/3/16, vs. Louisville Made 15 FG in a game...... Never happened 4 blocks...... Oscar Frayer (4), 1/23/18 vs William Jessup 5 blocks...... Daniel Alexander (5), 2/8/14 vs. CSU Bakersfield Attempted 15 FG in a game...... Alessandro Level (16) 1/23/18, vs William Jessup 6 blocks ...... Never happened Attempted 17 FG in a game...... Alessandro Lever (17) 1/27/18, at Utah Valley Attempted 20 FG in a game...... Joshua Braun (21) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago St. 4 steals...... Oscar Frayer (4), 2/8/18 at UTRGV 5 steals...... Gerard Martin (5), 12/31/16, at UC Riverside Made five 3-pointers in a game...... Casey Benson (5) 2/8/18, at UTRGV 6 steals...... Gerard Martin (7), 11/28/16, vs. SIUE Made six 3-pointers in a game ...... Joshua Braun (9) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago St. Made seven 3-pointers in a game ...... Joshua Braun (9) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago St. Played every minute...... DeWayne Russell / Josh Braun (40), 3/4/17 at CSU Bakersfield Made eight 3-pointers in a game...... Joshua Braun (9) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago St. Fouled out...... Josh Braun 1/18/18 at Chicago State Made nine 3-pointers in a game...... Joshua Braun (9) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago St. Two players fouled out...... Keonta Vernon & Alessandro Lever, 12/23/17, at Louisville

‹ 27 › THE LAST TIME...

TEAM Scored 90+ points ...... vs. William Jessup (96), 1/23/18 Won game by 30 points or more...... vs. Longwood (30), 12/21/17 Scored 90+ points (WAC)...... at Chicago State (90), 1/21/16 Won game by 35 points or more...... vs. UAPB (40), 12/22/16 Scored 100+ points ...... vs. Morgan State (100), 12/23/17 Won game by 40 points or more...... vs. UAPB (40), 12/22/16 Scored 100+ points (WAC)...... Never happened Won game by 45 points or more...... vs. Western New Mexico (50), 11/16/13 Scored 110+ points...... Never happened Won game by 50 points or more ...... vs. Western New Mexico (50), 11/16/13 Scored 110+ points (WAC)...... Never happened Lost game by 30 points or more...... at Duke (35), 11/12/16 Lost game by 40 points or more...... at Louisville (48), 12/5/15 Scored less than 50 points...... at Kentucky (45), 11/14/14 Scored less than 50 points (WAC)...... Never happened Won game decided by one point...... at Texas-Pan American (W 79-78, OT), 3/8/14 Lost game decided by one point...... vs. Chicago State (L 56-55), 1/31/15 Allowed 90+ points...... vs. Nebraska-Omaha (108), 12/13/15 Two consecutive games decided by one point...... Never happened Allowed 90+ points (WAC)...... Never happened Two consecutive games decided by five points or less...... 2 games, 2/8/18 - 2/10/18 Allowed 100+ points...... vs. Nebraska-Omaha (108), 12/13/15 Three consecutive games decided by five points or less...... 3 games, 1/31/15 – 2/7/15 Allowed 100+ points (WAC)...... Never happened Came back from 15-point deficit ...... vs Seattle (15), 2/16/17 Shot 60% from the field ...... vs. William Jessup (65.4%), 1/23/18 Came back from 18-point deficit...... at UTRGV (19), 2/6/16 Shot 65% from the field...... vs. William Jessup (65.4%), 1/23/18 Came back from 20-point deficit...... vs. CSU Bakersfield (20), 2/8/14 Shot 70% from the field...... Never happened Shot less than 30% from the field...... at CSU Bakersfield (28.8%), 3/4/17 Pulled down 45 rebounds...... vs UMKC (45), 2/1/18 Pulled down 50 rebounds...... vs. Bethesda (50), 1/31/17 Allowed 60% shooting...... Never happened Pulled down 55 rebounds...... Never happened Allowed 65% shooting...... Never happened Allowed 30% or less shooting...... vs Morgan State (30.0%), 12/23/17 Out-rebounded opponent by 15+…...... at Utah Valley (+16), 1/27/18 Allowed 25% or less shooting...... vs. Coppin St. (24.5%), 11/25/16 Out-rebounded opponent by 20+ ...... vs UMKC (+21), 2/1/18 Out-rebounded opponent by 25+...... at UMKC (+25), 1/20/18 Shot 90% or better from free throw line (min. 10 attempts). . vs. Northern Arizona (100%, 11-for-11), 3/28/15 Shot 100% from free throw line (min. 10 attempts)...... vs. Northern Arizona (100%, 11-for-11), 3/28/15 Won an overtime game...... at Chicago State (2OT), 1/28/17 Shot 50% or less from free throw line (min. 10 attempts). . at Louisville (50%, 6-for-12), 12/23/17 Lost an overtime game...... at Boise State (2OT), 12/13/17 Won an overtime game (WAC)...... at Chicago State (2OT), 1/28/17 Attempted 40 free throws...... vs. Nebraska-Omaha (40), 12/13/15 Lost an overtime game (WAC) ...... Never happened Attempted five or less free throws...... vs. Jackson State (5), 3/17/16 Played two overtimes...... at Boise State (2OT), 12/13/17 Made 30 free throws...... vs. Nebraska-Omaha (31), 12/13/15 Played consecutive overtime games...... Never happened

Made 10 3-pointers...... vs. Chicago State (11), 2/3/18 Committed 20+ turnovers...... at Louisville (21), 12/23/17 Made 12 3-pointers...... vs. Morgan State (13), 12/27/17 Committed less than 10 turnovers...... at UTRGV (7), 2/8/18 Made 15 3-pointers...... Never happened Committed less than 8 turnovers...... at UTRGV (7), 2/8/18 Made 16 3-pointers...... Never happened Committed less than 5 turnovers...... vs. New Mexico State (4), 1/9/16 Made 17 3-pointers...... Never happened Scored 40+ in a half...... at New Mexico State (40, 1st), 2/10/18 Scored 90+ points in consecutive games...... Never happened Scored 45+ in a half...... at UTRGV (45, 2nd), 2/8/18 Scored 90+ points in three consecutive games...... Never happened Scored 50+ in a half...... vs Chicago State (53, 2nd), 2/3/18 Scored 100+ points in consecutive games...... Never happened

‹ 28 › 2017-18 GAME RECAPS

GAME 1: GCU 67, FLORIDA A&M 51 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: November 10, 2017 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz. (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “Not bad for the first game. I thought the first half was very good Florida A&M 51 (0-1) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds defensively, everybody went in and played hard and did a good job. Second half not so much, ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 00 Desmond Williams * 6-16 0-1 3-4 1 7 8 1 15 1 2 1 2 37 they shot 27 percent in the first half and 48 percent in the second half, we actually got beat in 04 Elijah Mayes * 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 1 17 the second half 34-32. I was a little concerned about the turnovers and our free throws, we’ve 20 Brendon Myles * 1-2 0-0 0-1 0 2 2 2 2 0 3 0 1 13 22 Marcus Barham * 4-10 2-5 0-0 1 3 4 1 10 1 7 0 2 31 got to be able to shoot better free throws, but a win is a win. That’s a team that had a hard travel 34 Isaiah Martin * 2-5 0-0 0-0 1 6 7 3 4 0 0 4 0 32 01 Nick Severado 0-0 0-0 3-4 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 6 coming here from Florida, I think half of them made it today. So I’ll take a win that’s fine, but 02 Kamron Reaves 3-4 1-2 0-0 1 2 3 4 7 4 7 0 0 23 03 Craig Bowman 1-2 0-1 0-1 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 7 we’ve got a lot of work to do.” 05 Nasir Core 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 1 10 11 Javonni Harrell 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 (on the different lineups locking down Florida A&M) “Yeah I’ve got a lineup with Fiifi (Aidoo), 21 Justin Ravenel 1-4 1-3 1-2 0 2 2 1 4 0 0 0 0 20 23 Bryce Moragne 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ Gerard (Martin), Matt (Jackson), Keonta (Vernon) was in there, Oscar (Frayer), and Damari TEAM 3 1 4 Totals 19-49 4-13 9-14 8 24 32 19 51 8 22 5 8 200 (Milstead), all those guys can really defend and really get after it for a period of time and they did a good job. All those guys are pretty athletic, Gerard and Matt together are extremely smart FG % 1st Half: 6-22 27 .3% 2nd Half: 13-27 48 1%. Game: 19-49 38 .8% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 2-6 33 .3% 2nd Half: 2-7 28 .6% Game: 4-13 30 .8% Rebounds out there, and with Fiifi’s athleticism, the way he flies around, Damari gets into guys, and Keonta FT % 1st Half: 3-5 60 .0% 2nd Half: 6-9 66 7%. Game: 9-14 64 .3% 3 uses his size and his strength. Those are guys that can really cause some havoc defensively. Grand Canyon 67 (1-0) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 6-10 4-6 3-4 0 6 6 4 19 1 1 0 2 32 (on what stood out from Fiifi Aidoo’s play especially in the second half)“I see glimpses 12 Roberts Blumbergs F 3-8 2-5 6-6 3 5 8 2 14 6 1 0 1 31 every day in practice with Fiifi, when he’s aggressive, looks to score, and is focused, he is about 24 Keonta Vernon F 4-8 0-0 1-2 1 7 8 5 9 2 0 1 1 20 02 Joshua Braun G 2-8 2-8 1-2 1 1 2 0 7 2 2 1 0 35 as talented as they come. His thing is that he just has to stay focused, in the second half some 11 Casey Benson G 5-7 4-4 1-2 0 1 1 1 15 8 3 0 2 31 00 Shaq Carr 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 9 of his shots were questionable. But I’ll take it, because when he is focused like that and gets 01 Fiifi Aidoo 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 8 05 Matt Jackson 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 6 going downhill, and making shots he is about as they get. He is really strong, athletic, he’s got 21 Kerwin Smith 1-3 0-0 0-1 2 2 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 8 a really good shot. Half the battle with him, is in his head, he’s just got to be more confident in 25 Alessandro Lever 4-6 0-0 4-4 1 0 1 1 12 0 0 0 0 11 42 Gerard Martin 2-3 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 1 6 0 1 0 0 9 himself. I expect a lot out of him, sometimes I don’t think he expects anything out of himself. So TEAM 1 Totals 27-55 14-26 17-23 8 25 33 18 85 21 11 3 6 200 I tell him every day in practice, ‘You’re one of our best players in practice, you’ve got to believe

FG % 1st Half: 13-26 50 .0% 2nd Half: 13-33 39 4%. Game: 26-59 44 1%. Deadball in yourself as much as I believe in you.’ So it was good to see him really step up and be confident 3FG % 1st Half: 4-9 44 4%. 2nd Half: 3-13 23 1%. Game: 7-22 31 .8% Rebounds and aggressive.” FT % 1st Half: 5-8 62 .5% 2nd Half: 3-8 37 .5% Game: 8-16 50 .0% 2 Officials: Dennis Flannery, Toby Doolittle, James Ford (on the reason for the slow start and turnovers) “Yeah, we’re still trying to figure each other Technical Fouls: Florida A&M-None . Grand Canyon-None . GCU Arena, Phoenix, Ariz . Attendance: 7202 out, we’ve got freshman in there, Roberts (Blumbergs) really struggled with six turnovers, he’s In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench just has to understand the physicality of the game. Sometimes he’s out there and he wants the Florida A&M 17 34 51 FAMU 24 11 8 6 18 nickname ‘Big Smooth’, well he can’t be ‘Big Smooth’ out there, he’s got to be more aggressive Grand Canyon 35 32 67 GCU 36 19 14 4 34 and handle the ball better. He learn, he’s got a lot of talent. And then Casey (Benson), we’re Last FG - FAM 2nd-00:20,GCU 2nd-03:30 . Score Tied - 0 times Largest lead - FAM None, GCU by 25 2nd-11:38 Lead Changed - 0 times still trying to figure out Casey, and how he plays and how we are going to get him involved. We FAM led for 00:00 . GCU led for 39:51 . Game was tied for 00:09 . haven’t practiced with Josh (Braun), he had his first practice two days ago in almost three RAPID RECAP: weeks. So we are still trying to figure each other out and get lineups, so that’s going to be some Josh Braun returned and all was right with Grand Canyon’s offense again. growing pains, but our goal is to be playing the best basketball come WAC time and that’s what these games are for, so I’ll take the win.” Braun missed GCU’s exhibition games but did not look like he missed a beat when he made the Lopes’ first four shots in a season-opening 67 -51 victory Friday night against Florida A&M at (on how he felt Josh Braun looked tonight) “Josh at the beginning hit shots, had some silly sold-out GCU Arena. turnovers there, but that’s fine. The guy hasn’t practiced in three weeks, so Josh will be fine, he’s going to be really good once he gets back into shape and works on his game with Casey Braun, who scored 11 points in 27 minutes, opened the game with a 3-pointer, scored three (Benson), I think they’ll be good together.” points the old-fashioned way on a drive with a foul and hit another 3-pointer in the first five minutes but it was GCU’s defense that pulled away from the Rattlers later in the half. (on having taller lineups in during stretches of the game) “Kerwin (Smith) played really well, especially in the first half. When he is in there controlling the boards, and flying around being The Lopes shut out Florida A&M for nearly six minutes, stretching a four-point game to a active he can be a really good player. He’s made a lot of strides since he got here as a freshman 31-14 lead with 13 unanswered points. By that point, GCU head coach Dan Majerle had gone and last year. If he plays like that he’ll get some significant minutes, and just go in there and play 11 players deep and was tightening the defensive pressure by adding guards Fiifi Aidoo and as hard as he can, and I thought he did a really good job.” Damari Milstead to a lineup with Keonta Vernon, Matt Jackson and Oscar Frayer. (on the play of Gerard Martin, getting a lot of things done)“Yeah Gerard has always been It was not just that unit that locked up the Rattlers, who only shot 38.8 percent from the field that way, his problem is that he has to slow down a little bit offensively. Because he’s so smart, for the game. An early second-half lineup of mostly starters, bolstered by freshman Alessandro he’s thinking, and trying to do things really quick, he just has to slow down and take what they Lever’s substitution, shut out the Rattlers again for five minutes to extend GCU’s lead to 45-21 give him. Martin is a big defensive guy, really smart, and knows every play in the book so he with 12:20 remaining. helps other guys. Martin was really good, he’ll shoot some shots and made some today. Just what he does out there as far as switching, helping, and playing defense. He’s kind of a glue on GCU kept Florida A&M at a distance with the help of three Aidoo 3-pointers in a four-minute our defensive end.” span of the second half. Aidoo scored 11 to shared the team scoring lead with Braun. Vernon grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while scoring eight points.

‹ 29 › 2017-18 GAME RECAPS

GAME 2: GCU 75, ROBERT MORRIS 61 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: November 13, 2017 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz. (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “First let me say, it was a really good win. Great first half, unbelievable Robert Morris 61 (0-2) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds first half. 48 points, defensively we were great, flying around, everybody played well. Second ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 01 Jon Williams * 1-6 1-4 0-1 0 2 2 1 3 5 2 0 1 31 half, we were just too casual. Way too many turnovers, we stopped making free throws, got to 02 David Cole * 1-1 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 5 4 0 2 0 1 16 be stronger with the ball. I know I’m nitpicking but I don’t care. We have to be good if we want 10 Koby Thomas * 5-11 0-3 3-4 2 2 4 4 13 0 1 0 1 23 11 Dachon Burke * 4-12 1-1 6-7 2 4 6 4 15 1 5 0 6 31 to win the WAC and do all of that stuff, we have to get better. But, first half was unbelievable. 23 Matty McConnell * 1-6 0-4 2-4 1 1 2 3 4 2 2 1 0 22 03 Leondre Washington 0-8 0-4 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 1 2 0 0 22 That’s a good team. Well coached, they play hard. I knew this was going to be a hard game but 04 Taevon Ashmeade 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 05 Malik Petteway 4-8 0-0 2-4 4 7 11 3 10 0 2 1 3 20 that first half was about as good as I’ve seen from our guys.” 20 Charles Bain 3-6 1-3 0-0 3 2 5 0 7 0 1 0 1 17 22 Ronnie Gombe 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 2 0 0 1 0 4 (on if there was a reason they came out casual in the second half) “No I just think they get a 24 Chris Coalmon 1-3 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 2 3 0 2 0 0 12 TEAM 2 2 4 little casual with the ball. They start gambling, it’s human nature. Coach (Pat) Riley always told Totals 21-62 4-20 15-22 16 23 39 29 61 9 19 3 13 200 me it’s human nature to let up when you get up. Oscar (Frayer) hits three three’s and we get up FG % 1st Half: 9-25 36 .0% 2nd Half: 12-37 32 4%. Game: 21-62 33 .9% Deadball by twenty something, I don’t know what it was and it’s let up. Can’t do that, you have to step on 3FG % 1st Half: 3-10 30 0%. 2nd Half: 1-10 10 .0% Game: 4-20 20 .0% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 7-9 77 .8% 2nd Half: 8-13 61 .5% Game: 15-22 68 .2% 5 the guy, have to keep him down. When you start gambling, I mean we gave up 25 points off our Grand Canyon 75 (2-0) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds turnovers and had 21 turnovers, that’s not good enough. You have to be strong with the ball. ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 4-5 2-2 3-4 2 7 9 1 13 3 3 2 2 33 Even at the end, Gerard (Martin) is dribbling the ball out and guys are trying to steal it, you have 12 Roberts Blumbergs F 0-2 0-2 2-2 0 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 13 to be strong. Josh (Braun) hell of a player, we all know that but be strong with the ball. He has 24 Keonta Vernon F 1-4 0-0 5-8 0 4 4 5 7 0 0 2 1 19 02 Joshua Braun G 7-13 4-7 2-4 3 1 4 2 20 0 6 2 0 37 to get better, everybody does. Our goal is huge, what we are trying to do is really, really hard 11 Casey Benson G 4-10 1-2 8-10 1 5 6 2 17 5 4 0 0 34 00 Shaq Carr 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 6 so we have to get better. Period. But great win, I was worried about this. Great win. That first 01 Fiifi Aidoo 2-2 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 11 05 Matt Jackson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 4 half was unbelievable.” 21 Kerwin Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 25 Alessandro Lever 1-4 0-2 4-4 0 2 2 1 6 1 3 0 0 17 (on what Gerard Martin brought off the bench)“That’s what Gerard does. He takes charges, 42 Gerard Martin 2-3 0-1 0-0 1 6 7 3 4 2 1 0 2 24 TEAM 1 2 3 Keonta (Vernon) took a few charges, we have a group that comes in here and plays really hard Totals 21-43 7-16 26-36 8 29 37 21 75 13 21 6 5 200 defensively when I sub them in, I can switch them out of things, they get after guys, they’re FG % 1st Half: 14-25 56 0%. 2nd Half: 7-18 38 .9% Game: 21-43 48 .8% Deadball disruptive. Really good. I though Oscar was unbelievable. He rebounded the ball, steals, flying 3FG % 1st Half: 4-10 40 .0% 2nd Half: 3-6 50 .0% Game: 7-16 43 .8% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 16-19 84 2%. 2nd Half: 10-17 58 .8% Game: 26-36 72 .2% 2 around, the way he plays defense. So Oscar had a great game. Obviously what Josh (Braun) did Officials: Ronnie Hernandez, Ruben Ramos, Marc A . Beasley in the first half, but everybody was contributing. I think our defense is going to be what leads us Technical Fouls: Robert Morris-None . Grand Canyon-Keonta Vernon . GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 6833 this year. Offensively we will get there.” In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench (on if he wants Casey Benson to be more aggressive) “No I want Casey to do whatever it Robert Morris 28 33 61 RMU 28 25 13 4 22 Grand Canyon 48 27 75 GCU 26 19 10 15 16 takes to win. I don’t think Casey has to be more aggressive. Casey is not an explosive athlete

Last FG - RMU 2nd-00:39,GCU 2nd-01:24 . Score Tied - 6 times that is going to score…Casey just has to be smart, hit his open shots, feed guys, take care of Largest lead - RMU by 3 1st-14:39, GCU by 25 2nd-14:08 Lead Changed - 7 times the ball, do those kinds of things. Casey is not DeWayne Russell I don’t want him to be DeWayne RMU led for 03:13 . GCU led for 33:42 . Game was tied for 02:51 . Russell. He has to be Casey Benson and that’s lead our guys, make great decisions, make open RAPID RECAP: shots, make passes, make his free throws. That’s all Casey has to do. He’s surrounded by some The Grand Canyon men’s basketball team’s opponent always will have something to handle very talented guys. There’s no way Casey has to lead this team. He just has to be a real solid out of the Lopes’ starting backcourt with the shooting, scoring, running and playmaking from piece as a point guard, the guy has great experience, played on a great program, very high either Joshua Braun or Casey Benson. level. He doesn’t have to do any more than what he has to do. He just has to play basketball and be himself.” When they both are rolling at once, watch out. (On what he likes that they are doing defensively) “It’s different now because we can play Braun and Benson combined for 27 first-half points Monday night, building a 20-point lead on 10 or 11 guys and we switch a lot. We switch up our defense. We are in a man that we play the Lopes’ way to a 75-62 victory against Robert Morris in front of 6,833 fans at GCU Arena. traditional then we put those guys in and we can switch, take them out of their offense, get steals, be very aggressive and we have a bunch of athletes and smart guys. When you put Braun, the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, was more than a scoring Gerard out there and Matt (Jackson) who didn’t get to play much because of foul trouble, but leader on Monday night with 20 points. He became GCU’s all-time record holder for 3-pointers Gerard and Matt and Fiifi (Aidoo), Shaq (Carr), Damari (Milstead), all of those guys can really made, making four of five 3-pointers in Monday’s to give him 199 for his four-season career. guard and really disrupt their offensive flow for that four or five minutes. Then we get back to The Lopes (2-0) have held each of their opponents this season to less than 40 percent shooting our normal defense which is still pretty good and hard. But with that group you can get out to extend Division I’s longest active winning streak to nine game. Robert Morris shot 33.9 there and switch.” percent from the field with 19 turnovers. After Matty McConnell and Koby Thomas each scored (on Keonta Vernon going down in the first half) “He just tweaked his knee, he’s always 22 points in a Friday loss to Ohio State, they were kept to 17 points combined by the Lopes on battling something. That kid is as tough as they come. He just tweaked it but he came back Monday. in. All our guys are tough. I jumped them pretty hard in there but they are resilient and tough. Robert Morris hung early with GCU with the score being tied five times in the first eight They know how much I care about them but they also know that we have to get better. You just minutes and the Colonials leading 19-18 at the midpoint of the first half. can’t have 21 turnovers. And that’s been a problem this year so far. We’ve had way too many turnovers for a team that’s pretty talented.” From there, the Lopes went on a 26-5 run with half of those points coming from Braun. During that stretch, Braun made the 3s that tied and set the GCU career 3-pointers record (previously held by Richard Davis, 2005-07). The Lopes kept a 20-point lead at halftime (48-28) and stretched the lead to 25 when sophomore swingman Oscar Frayer caught fire with two 3-pointers and another jumper on the 3-point line in less than two minutes. GCU lost momentum after a Robert Morris time out at that point. The Lopes made one field goal, a Benson drive to give him 17 points, over a span of more than 12 minutes of play. Robert Morris worked the lead to 13 while GCU sustained the lead on free throws and stops.

‹ 30 › 2017-18 GAME RECAPS

GAME 3: GCU 76, LITTLE ROCK 51 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES:

November 18, 2017 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz. (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “Just a really good game again. First half, came out defensively, Josh Little Rock 51 (0-3) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds (Braun) has got to play better in that first half. No, he was awesome. He just continues to amaze ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 05 Oliver Black * 0-3 0-0 5-6 1 4 5 4 5 1 1 0 0 28 with what he is able to do, but it was great. I thought everybody played really hard and really 10 Jaizec Lottie * 2-8 0-2 0-1 0 2 2 2 4 0 3 0 0 27 11 Camron Reedus * 3-8 1-3 1-2 1 1 2 1 8 1 2 0 2 21 well and I was really happy about our second half. We came out on point, put together a really 20 K .J . Gilmore * 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 1 14 good 40 minutes again. I think we have to be a little better on our turnovers still, 18 turnovers 24 Ben Marcus * 3-4 0-0 2-4 2 3 5 3 8 0 1 0 1 19 01 Andre Jones 4-15 1-4 2-2 2 0 2 3 11 0 2 0 1 29 is something we need to work on. Defensively, to hold them to 27 percent, 3-for-18 from the 03 Cameron Corcoran 1-1 1-1 4-4 0 0 0 1 7 1 0 0 0 8 13 Cezanne Carson 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 three-point line was good. Just a great game. I didn’t see that one. That team is very athletic 14 Damir Hadzic 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 15 Khari Harley 0-2 0-1 2-2 1 1 2 4 2 0 1 0 0 4 and long and we played hard.” 23 Wadly Mompremier 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 10 30 Anthony Black 1-6 0-3 0-0 1 2 3 1 2 0 2 0 1 16 32 Kris Bankston 1-2 0-0 2-5 2 2 4 2 4 0 0 1 0 14 (on what stood out defensively) “Just flying around. When we put that other group in we can TEAM 2 4 6 Totals 15-55 3-18 18-26 12 22 34 25 51 4 16 2 8 200 white, which is a switch, guys get out and deny, really impressed with our athleticism as far as blocking shots. Keonta (Vernon) is really starting to get better at that timing Oscar (Frayer), FG % 1st Half: 8-31 25 .8% 2nd Half: 7-24 29 .2% Game: 15-55 27 .3% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 0-7 0 .0% 2nd Half: 3-11 27 .3% Game: 3-18 16 7%. Rebounds Gerard (Martin), Roberts (Blumbergs) got a block, all these guys are protecting the basket FT % 1st Half: 7-9 77 .8% 2nd Half: 11-17 64 7%. Game: 18-26 69 .2% 3 and moving their feet. Oscar defensively is really good so I just think when we play 10, 11 or 12 Grand Canyon 76 (3-0) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min guys, guys don’t have any excuses, they’re not tired, we can rotate them in and they are really 04 Oscar Frayer F 1-4 1-3 2-6 1 5 6 2 5 3 1 1 2 23 12 Roberts Blumbergs F 2-4 0-2 0-0 1 3 4 1 4 0 2 1 0 12 starting to be pressed and taking pride in their defense.” 24 Keonta Vernon F 2-3 0-0 1-2 0 6 6 4 5 3 0 2 0 24 02 Joshua Braun G 9-11 5-7 6-7 0 2 2 1 29 3 2 1 1 32 11 Casey Benson G 4-5 2-3 0-1 0 4 4 1 10 2 2 0 1 26 (on if he is going to stick with a rotation) “Yeah, I will keep working with it. Shaq (Carr), Damari 00 Shaq Carr 2-2 0-0 2-2 0 2 2 1 6 3 2 0 0 12 (Milstead), Shaq, Damari, they both deserve to play. Shaq is a senior, I want to develop Damari 01 Fiifi Aidoo 1-6 0-3 6-6 0 3 3 1 8 3 3 1 0 19 05 Matt Jackson 0-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 14 but Shaq came in and played really well in that first half. Damari will get his chances, Shaq will 10 Damari Milstead 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 13 Ibrahima Sankare 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 continue to work but if he plays like that it is hard to not put him in the game. Damari is good 21 Kerwin Smith 0-1 0-0 3-4 1 2 3 3 3 1 2 0 0 8 25 Alessandro Lever 3-7 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 3 6 0 0 0 0 7 too. I am going to stick with the freshmen. Roberts is really struggling but he is going to be a big 42 Gerard Martin 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 2 0 17 TEAM 1 3 4 part of this program for a long time. He is very talented and will get better. Alessandro (Lever) Totals 24-47 8-20 20-28 6 33 39 24 76 20 18 8 7 200 had a better second half, he struggled that first half but we have guys like Matt (Jackson) and FG % 1st Half: 14-25 56 0%. 2nd Half: 10-22 45 .5% Game: 24-47 51 1%. Deadball Gerard who can come off the bench and pick it up. I am happy with our whole team and it’s just 3FG % 1st Half: 6-11 54 .5% 2nd Half: 2-9 22 .2% Game: 8-20 40 .0% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 8-12 66 7%. 2nd Half: 12-16 75 .0% Game: 20-28 71 4%. 3 about winning here. I told them it’s not about me, not about them, it’s about GCU and winning Officials: Mike Reed, Mike Scyphers, Matt Basham and that’s what we are doing.” Technical Fouls: Little Rock-None . Grand Canyon-None . GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 7394 In Off 2nd Fast (on Shaq Carr progressing) “He’s just more focused. He’s taking care of the ball which is good, Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Little Rock 23 28 51 LR 18 7 10 0 26 he’s a good athlete. He can really penetrate and make good passes, can’t be careless, you Grand Canyon 42 34 76 GCU 32 16 9 6 23 have to make good passes. And I thought he came in and was impressive about getting to the Last FG - LR 2nd-02:29,GCU 2nd-01:04 . Score Tied - 1 times basket, made a few layups which he is able to do. Defensively when he wants to, he can guard.” Largest lead - LR by 4 1st-17:16, GCU by 31 2nd-11:37 Lead Changed - 1 times LR led for 03:05 . GCU led for 35:15 . Game was tied for 01:18 . RAPID RECAP: (on overall ball protection) “Not good. We are not tough enough yet. Fiifi (Aidoo) made some really bad passes, Oscar still doesn’t understand, Josh (Braun) even puts that ball in front of him Grand Canyon senior guard Joshua Braun outscored Little Rock for most of Saturday’s first and people take it. We have to do a better job of being strong with the basketball, protecting it, half, making the Lopes’ team effort good for a 76-51 blowout victory at sold-out GCU Arena. not making careless one-handed passes. Rob made a couple one-handed passes. We’ve been GCU (3-0) continued its streak of holding each opponent this season to less than 40 percent working on it, driving and kicking and getting ready to shoot so it’s just something we have to shooting but Braun’s offense spotted the Lopes a great starting point. keep working on.” Braun made all eight of his first-half shots and scored 19 of GCU’s first 25 points in the game’s (on Braun’s ability to stretch out the defense then use pump fakes) “Josh has to limit his first 13 minutes. Little Rock did not pass 19 points until the final minutes of the first half. dribbles, he’s not a big dribble guy. As they come out on him he has to pump fake. He can get to the basket which is fine but get away from a guy and score. We are going to work on his post Braun scored 22 of his game-high 29 points, the second-best scoring game of his career, in the up moves. He gets down there and he gets fouled a lot. He’s not doing as good of job this year first half to send GCU to a 42-23 halftime lead on 56 percent team shooting. Braun connected in the post but we will keep working on that with him. When he is making that jump shot he has on five 3-pointers in the first half and picked up another 3-point score when he pump-faked at to be able to put it on the floor and if nobody closes out on him he can make it all the way to the the 3-point line and scored driving as he was fouled. basket. What can you say about Josh? The guy is amazing.” There was no let-up with how the Lopes emerged for the second half. Little Rock missed five of its first six second-half shots and committed four turnovers to start the second half. The Lopes doubled up the Trojans, 60-30, eight minutes into the second half with two Braun free throws that gave him 26 points. GCU head coach Dan Majerle has stuck with a deep rotation through three games. He used 11 Lopes players in Saturday’s first half with a strong contribution from senior backup point guard Shaq Carr. Freshman reserve power forward Alessandro Lever followed up by scoring three consecutive Lopes field goals in the second half, when he was set up inside by Braun and Gerard Martin. Little Rock was shooting only 23.8 percent from the field with 12 minutes remaining in the game and wound up at an opponent season-low 27.3 percent for the game. Even as GCU went deep to its bench, the Lopes held Little Rock without a made field goal for nearly seven minutes. GCU continued issues with turnovers, committing 10 in the first half and eight in the second half as the lead grew to as much as 31 points twice. Senior point guard Casey Benson added 10 points for GCU while sophomore Fiifi Aidoo scored eight points and delivered three assists in 19 minutes. ‹ 31 › 2017-18 GAME RECAPS

GAME 4: GCU 85, NORFOLK STATE 60 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES:

November 20, 2017 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz. (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “Well good win, 85-60, good win. Not happy with the second half, I told our guys if you want to be a good defensive team, you can’t be a good defensive team for 20 minutes, Norfolk State 60 (0-4) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min which we were for the first half. The second half, they were shooting 65% at one time, and we 01 Preston Bungei * 0-4 0-0 1-4 1 4 5 3 1 3 3 0 0 30 walked them up the last couple of minutes and got it down to 52. It was not good enough, our guys 14 Nic Thomas * 5-12 1-4 3-4 0 2 2 0 14 2 3 0 1 26 know that. The second unit which is usually pretty good for us was bad, they came out and just 22 Alex Long * 2-6 0-0 1-2 1 2 3 5 5 2 1 0 0 25 34 Steven Whitley * 6-10 2-3 4-4 0 2 2 2 18 2 5 0 2 35 stopped playing. Good things was Oscar played really well, Josh struggled tonight, Casey played 44 Dan Robinson * 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 4 4 0 2 1 0 23 really well on the offensive end and Braun on the offensive end. Roberts is learning, overall good, 00 Mastadi Pitt 4-8 1-2 4-5 0 5 5 2 13 4 0 0 0 29 13 Stavian Allen 1-2 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 0 0 9 11 turnovers which was really big, that’s down from what we’ve been doing. Rebounding was still 35 Derrik Jamerson 1-4 0-3 0-0 1 5 6 2 2 0 2 1 0 23 not very good, but a win is a win and we’ll take it. I tell the guys all the time that we are playing for TEAM 1 1 2 Totals 21-50 4-12 14-21 6 24 30 19 60 14 17 2 3 200 something a whole lot more, trying to do something that is really hard, so we’ve got to be better than that for 40 minutes. So hopefully they will learn without having to lose a game.” FG % 1st Half: 8-25 32 .0% 2nd Half: 13-25 52 .0% Game: 21-50 42 .0% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 2-7 28 .6% 2nd Half: 2-5 40 .0% Game: 4-12 33 .3% Rebounds (on taking a while to get the offense going in first half) “That’s a team that’s going to switch up FT % 1st Half: 4-8 50 .0% 2nd Half: 10-13 76 .9% Game: 14-21 66 7%. 5 defenses, and I think that we’re more worried about are they in a 2-3, or a 1-2-2, or man. I just tell them Grand Canyon 85 (4-0) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds to move the bodies and the basketball, attack, get into our running game and we were able to do that. ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min We committed some fouls early, and offensive rebounds. We went into our switching defense, that 04 Oscar Frayer F 6-10 4-6 3-4 0 6 6 4 19 1 1 0 2 32 allowed us to get some stops and get out and run which allowed us to get hot. So again I think that is 12 Roberts Blumbergs F 3-8 2-5 6-6 3 5 8 2 14 6 1 0 1 31 24 Keonta Vernon F 4-8 0-0 1-2 1 7 8 5 9 2 0 1 1 20 where our defense turned it on a little bit and allowed us to get going in the first half.” 02 Joshua Braun G 2-8 2-8 1-2 1 1 2 0 7 2 2 1 0 35 11 Casey Benson G 5-7 4-4 1-2 0 1 1 1 15 8 3 0 2 31 (on the maturation of Oscar Frayer) “I think that Oscar is really good, last year as a freshman 00 Shaq Carr 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 9 he played a lot of minutes and had some growing pains. He shot a lot of threes early and kind 01 Fiifi Aidoo 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 8 of lost his way. Then at the end of the season, probably the last half of the season he became a 05 Matt Jackson 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 6 21 Kerwin Smith 1-3 0-0 0-1 2 2 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 8 slasher and an offensive rebounder. We told him that he had to be our best defender and he’s 25 Alessandro Lever 4-6 0-0 4-4 1 0 1 1 12 0 0 0 0 11 really bought into that. He’s worked hard this summer on his shot, he shot 4 for 6 from three, 42 Gerard Martin 2-3 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 1 6 0 1 0 0 9 TEAM 1 he continues to work on that and gets better with his shot he can be hard to guard. I’ve always Totals 27-55 14-26 17-23 8 25 33 18 85 21 11 3 6 200 told Oscar that he’s got to be our best defender, rebounder, he’s got to fly around. If you want to FG % 1st Half: 12-28 42 9%. 2nd Half: 15-27 55 .6% Game: 27-55 49 1%. Deadball be a scorer, energy finds the ball with him. If he does the stuff he has to do with rebounding and 3FG % 1st Half: 7-15 46 7%. 2nd Half: 7-11 63 .6% Game: 14-26 53 .8% Rebounds defense, then he’s going to find a way to score and the ball is going to find him. He’s starting to buy FT % 1st Half: 6-9 66 7%. 2nd Half: 11-14 78 .6% Game: 17-23 73 .9% 2 into that which is nice, he’s got to work on his ball handling and passing. He’s not a good passer Officials: Michael Greenstein, Shawn Lehigh, Rick Batsell and he’s not a good ball handler, and we’ve got that to work on but I love his energy. He plays with Technical Fouls: Norfolk State-None . Grand Canyon-Oscar Frayer . a passion in defense and rebounds, he’s hard to stop.” GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 6889 In Off 2nd Fast (on this being Casey Benson’s best game) “Yeah Casey is a smart kid, what we are doing is a Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench complete 180 from what he did at Oregon. Oregon is a great program but they didn’t use him that Norfolk State 22 38 60 NRK 26 10 0 10 18 Grand Canyon 37 48 85 GCU 23 28 12 7 21 way, and I use him this way. He’s doing a good job he’s just got to figure it out, he’s got to know when to shoot it. He’s not a blow by guy, he’s got to get off the ball, and then find his shot and take Last FG - NRK 2nd-06:56,GCU 2nd-01:25 . Score Tied - 1 times Largest lead - NRK by 1 1st-08:34, GCU by 27 2nd-01:25 Lead Changed -3 times it. He’s not always going to the basket and he’s starting to figure that out. He’s very smart, he’s very NRK led for 00:31 . GCU led for 37:47 . Game was tied for 01:42 . competitive. He’ll figure it out and I’ve got to figure it out, I’ve got to make different plays where we get him involved. And I’m not worried about it, I don’t think about how I’ve got to get Casey involved, the only guy I think about getting shots is Josh. Those guys are going to find shots, Casey will find RAPID RECAP: it, he’s smart, but he’s to worry about passing, playing good defense, and taking open shots and Having its deepest team yet gives Grand Canyon men’s basketball an abundance of options to making them. He did that tonight, I want him to be aggressive and he is.” find what works. (on what other guys learn about playing the game when Josh Braun isn’t having the best game) “Well our guys know, we’ve won games without Josh before, he was out 7 or 8 games last year, and When the Lopes were not clicking in Monday’s first half, GCU head coach Dan Majerle kept we won a lot of games and we played Louisville to 9 here, we played Arizona to 7 or 8 there without shuffling his 11-man rotation until GCU closed the half with a 21-5 run that devastated Norfolk Josh, so our guys know we can play without Josh. We don’t live or die with Josh, it makes it a lot State for a 85-6- Lopes rout. easier when Josh is hot. The thing for Josh is that everyone is going to concentrate on him and they are not going to let him get easy shots, our guys just have to move the basketball and we have good GCU (4-0) wore down Norfolk State (0-4) in front of 6,889 at GCU Arena to win its 11th players and when Josh is hot it makes it easier for everybody and when Josh is not, he will still draw consecutive game, the longest active Division I winning streak. people to him, so other guys just have to step up and score.” (on bringing turnovers down and still having good ball movement) “Yeah 21 assists, we had 20 GCU won by 25 for a second consecutive game but trailed 17-16 with eight minutes remaining assists last game and we went over 20 in this, and like I said, it is probably more my fault. Last year in the first half before Majerle went to his 11th player, junior power forward Kerwin Smith, in a with DeWayne, the ball was in his hands all the time, DeWayne was such an explosive scorer, that lineup with four starters. The 21-5 run started then with a 3-pointer from Lopes senior guard he would come up with score first, then give guys the ball and like I said, Casey isn’t like that, so we Joshua Braun but the offense did not need much more from its leading scorer. have to get the ball moving, side to side, get other guys involved, then get it back to Casey when he is open, so then that creates a problem and situation for me and our guys, learning with these The Lopes came within one of a program record for 3s by making 14 of 25, even with Braun guys, and like I said, Roberts is going to be really good. He can shoot it, he rebounds well and he going two for eight on Monday night. plays defense, he just needs to find his niche.” (on his teams confidence in shooting three’s)“Yeah I love threes, you know, if they are open, Senior point guard Casey Benson made all four of his 3-point attempts, tallying 15 points and shoot it. I have never told a guy it’s a bad shot. I like guys shooting threes, if they are open, if it is eight assists. Benson has three consecutive games of double-digit scoring for the first time in their shot. I think it is a good shot for most of our guys, and we work on it and as long it is a good his career. shot and they are confident about it, shoot it.” (on cutting down the rotation) “I mean I don’t know, it just depends, like I told those guys, if that Freshman power forward Roberts Blumbergs scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half, second group, which has been really good, if that second group comes in again like they did in including the Lopes’ final seven points of the first half for a 37-22 lead. Sophomore small the second half and not playing defense, I’ll cut it down in a second, if they aren’t going to give an forward Oscar Frayer added 11 first-half points and finished with a team-high 19 points, which effort, then yeah they aren’t going to play. I mean they didn’t play, I mean nine-eight-eight-eight- was also a career high for Frayer. He made four of six 3-pointers. eleven and nine, I mean, our starters, thirty two-thirty one- twenty-thirty five-thirty one, if that second group is not bringing the energy, like they have done before, then they are not going to Norfolk State became the first opponent to shoot better than 40 percent against GCU this play. I mean I’ll play five guys if I have to, I told them you guys are begging for your own playing season, hitting 42 percent of its shots with 17 turnovers. time, if you are not going to come out with energy, then you are not going to play. If you don’t care, I don’t care. So if you are not going to play hard, then why am I going to play you. I will go with a six, seven, rotation, whoever is playing hard. That is the same thing with the starters, if they are not playing hard, I will bring in the other guys and they will play. The good thing is about those first three games is everybody played hard, that second half, we did not play hard, we did not play hard at all. So they are not going to play, that is their fault, not mine.” ‹ 32 › 2017-18 GAME RECAPS

GAME 5: SAN DIEGO 72, GCU 62 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES:

November 25, 2017 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz. (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “That’s exactly what we needed, that team was tougher than us,

San Diego 72 (5-0) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds made tough shots when they had to, we didn’t. We shot 28% in the second half, they end ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min up almost shooting 50% from the floor, we shot 36%. That’s what we need, our guys aren’t 00 Isaiah Pineiro * 7-14 0-0 3-3 2 2 4 2 17 1 2 0 2 28 03 Olin Carter Iii * 5-16 3-12 2-2 0 2 2 1 15 0 2 1 0 39 tough enough, mentally or physically, so they thought they were good and I told them that’s 15 Alex Floresca * 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 4 4 0 1 0 0 10 20 Cameron Neubauer * 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 4 5 4 0 3 4 0 1 37 what happens when you think you’re good. We’ve got a lot of work to do, we’ve got a week 22 Isaiah Wright * 6-12 1-2 3-6 1 8 9 5 16 10 1 0 3 30 of practice to get after it. We’ll get better, our goal is to be playing the best basketball come 12 Juwan Gray 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 4 3 0 1 1 0 24 21 Hunter Summy 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 WAC time, this is a good loss for us, that’s a good team they played hard, and we’ve got a lot 25 Yauhen Massalski 8-11 0-0 1-3 4 3 7 3 17 0 1 3 0 26 TEAM 1 3 4 of work to do.” Totals 29-59 5-17 9-14 10 26 36 23 72 14 12 5 6 200 (on no field goals for a long period of time in second half )“They were tougher than we FG % 1st Half: 15-29 51 7%. 2nd Half: 14-30 46 7%. Game: 29-59 49 .2% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 3-9 33 .3% 2nd Half: 2-8 25 .0% Game: 5-17 29 4%. Rebounds were, we didn’t make shots. A lot of shots they made, especially down the stretch, were FT % 1st Half: 1-2 50 .0% 2nd Half: 8-12 66 7%. Game: 9-14 64 .3% 1 tough shots, shot clock running out, and long threes. Our weak side was as bad as I’ve ever Grand Canyon 62 (4-1) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds seen, I don’t know what happened there we just weren’t focused. And on the other end ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 5-13 1-6 1-2 2 0 2 5 12 2 2 0 1 34 they were just tougher than we were. We’re not protecting ball, we talked about putting the 12 Roberts Blumbergs F 1-6 0-4 0-0 0 6 6 1 2 1 2 1 1 25 24 Keonta Vernon F 4-6 0-0 1-1 1 6 7 4 9 0 1 0 1 15 ball in front of you and they just took the ball from us, we’re not finishing tough shots. They 02 Joshua Braun G 6-13 2-3 6-8 1 0 1 1 20 2 3 0 0 37 played better, we didn’t, they played tougher, we didn’t.” 11 Casey Benson G 2-8 0-3 4-5 4 6 10 2 8 6 2 0 0 36 00 Shaq Carr 0-0 0-0 3-4 0 1 1 1 3 1 1 0 0 8 01 Fiifi Aidoo 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 6 (on having good three point looks) “Most of them were, Rob had a lot of good looks, Oscar 05 Matt Jackson 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 7 forced a few but him taking it to the basket, that’s fine. I thought for the most part our 21 Kerwin Smith 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 25 Alessandro Lever 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 0 2 1 0 1 0 12 looks were pretty good. We’ve just got to make them, we’ve been making them, tonight 42 Gerard Martin 2-4 1-3 1-4 0 1 1 2 6 1 2 0 0 15 TEAM 5 0 5 wasn’t that night and that is your defense has to get better and we didn’t get stops down Totals 21-57 4-23 16-24 13 24 37 18 62 14 15 3 4 200 the stretch. When your offense isn’t going and you’re not making shots, you’ve got to get FG % 1st Half: 14-32 43 .8% 2nd Half: 7-25 28 .0% Game: 21-57 36 .8% Deadball stops, we weren’t getting stops.” 3FG % 1st Half: 3-12 25 .0% 2nd Half: 1-11 9 1%. Game: 4-23 17 4%. Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 4-6 66 7%. 2nd Half: 12-18 66 7%. Game: 16-24 66 7%. 5 (on the offense forcing shots after they weren’t going down)“Well I hope not because Officials: Tom Nally, Rob Rorke, Brad Gaston that is what we talk about all the time. Our offense hasn’t been that great, I don’t think, Technical Fouls: University of San Diego-Isaiah Pineiro TEAM . Grand Canyon-None . GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 7397 we talk about being a good defensive team, and if your offense isn’t flowing you’ve got to In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench be able to get stops. A lot of your offense is generated off your defense, we didn’t get that San Diego 34 38 72 USD 44 18 11 4 20 at all. Just bad mistakes, we weren’t making tough shots, our weak side defense wasn’t Grand Canyon 35 27 62 GCU 23 28 12 7 21 there. If we start worrying about our offense that much, and just rebound the ball, we’re Last FG - USD 2nd-00:10,GCU 2nd-00:58 . Score Tied - 6 times Largest lead - USD by 12 2nd-00:10, GCU by 7 2nd-12:28 Lead Changed - 11 times barely outrebounding and this team gets outrebounded a lot, so we did a good job there. USD led for 21:40 . GCU led for 11:23 . Game was tied for 06:57 . We had 15 turnovers again, I think we had three. in the first half, that’s a lot of turnovers in the second half and we’ve just got to get stronger defensively.” RAPID RECAP: (on wanting someone to step up leadership wise in the game) “I think our guys will step Without its usual defense for one half and its usual offense for the other half, the Grand Canyon up, guys like Keonta and Gerard they’ll step up. I think this loss is good for us, I think our men’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday night. San Diego remained guys had a false sense of that they are pretty good, and right now we’re not very good we’ve undefeated by using a defensive crunch to erase a seven-point Lopes second-half lead and win got a long way to go. So maybe this will wake them up, good thing and bad thing is we’ve got 72-62 at sold-out GCU Arena. a week to sit on this, which is bad but it should make for some very interesting practice I After trailing by nine points in the first half, the Lopes (4-1) opened a seven-point lead in the second guarantee you that.” half by attacking San Diego’s interior off dribbles drives and senior power forward Keonta Vernon’s (on Kenota Vernon being the most effective player when in the game)“Those first two post-ups. The Toreros (5-0) raced back with a 9-0 run that put them ahead 51-49 with 9:13 to go. fouls were terrible calls, sorry but they were. They were ticky-tack fouls and he gets put After a Vernon backdoor slam tied the game at 51, the Lopes struggled offensively to fall into a on the bench, and it’s tough when he’s on the bench in foul trouble. He plays really hard deeper hole. That Vernon jam was GCU’s only field goal for more than 12 minutes of action. The and he’s an emotional leader, so it’s tough when he picks up those fouls. And those fouls he Lopes last led at 54-53 on a Shaq Carr free throw and kept San Diego scoreless for another two got called were bad calls, they were ticky-tack fouls when there were just two guys down minutes but were unable to capitalize. The Toreros then scored eight unanswered points for a there battling.” 61-54 lead with 4:21 to go and the Lopes could not mount another threat. San Diego shot 49.2 percent from the field with four players scoring 15 points or more. The Toreros outscored the Lopes 20-11 in bench points and 44-32 in paint. GCU shot a season-low 36.8 percent form the field and only made four of 23 3-point tries while making 15 turnovers. Senior guard Joshua Braun scored a game-high 20 points with sophomore small forward Oscar Frayer adding 12 points. The Lopes were in their most difficult hole of the season when they trailed 29-20 with 4:55 to go in the first half. They scored 15 points in the final 4:46, catching up quickly in threes with point guard Casey Benson’s and-one drive, Braun’s 3-pointer and Frayer’s 3-pointer off Braun’s assist. A 10-1 GCU run was capped by Frayer when he beat his man to the baseline and slammed on 6-foot- 10 Toreros power forward Yauhen Massalski. The Lopes had allowed only 35.2 percent field goal shooting in their first four victories but San Diego shot 51.7 percent in the first half. GCU came out cold, missing eight of its first nine shots and also missing eight of its first nine 3-point attempts. GCU played most of the first half without Vernon, who picked up two fouls in the game’s first three minutes and did not return to action until the second half. Vernon sparked the Lopes’ second-half start with seven of their first 10 points. ‹ 33 › 2017-18 GAME RECAPS

GAME 6: GCU 68, UC RIVERSIDE 56 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: December 2, 2017 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz. (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “Good win, like I told you guys, anytime you go 4-for-36 from three and UC Riverside 56 (2-5) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds win, you did something right. I thought activity wise we were good, we forced 24 turnovers, ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 03 Chance Murray * 2-11 0-0 4-5 0 8 8 2 8 3 4 0 0 35 we were aggressive, had a couple lapses, but for the most part, we played hard, you know 14 Brandon Rosser * 3-4 2-3 0-1 0 2 2 5 8 0 3 1 0 21 15 Dikymbe Martin * 3-11 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 4 7 2 4 0 0 26 I don’t know what to tell you, we moved the ball well, had 20 assists, all zone, just wide open 21 Alex Larsson * 4-7 0-0 4-5 5 10 15 3 12 1 3 0 0 35 threes, not making them, I don’t know. It is just something we have to keep working on. It 32 Menno Dijkstra * 2-3 0-1 4-4 0 2 2 3 8 3 0 0 1 20 01 Dj Sylvester 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 is a good win. We will take it; then we will move on for Tuesday. Tuesday is going to be hard.” 05 Jayvon Brown 2-2 1-1 2-2 0 0 0 0 7 0 3 0 0 13 10 Ajani Kennedy 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 Idy Diallo 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 3 (on what he noticed about the energy and getting rebounds) “Yeah, they were crashing 22 Dominick Pickett 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 24 Koh Flippin 0-5 0-4 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 14 the boards, I thought Keonta did well, he has got to continue to get better on the stupid 25 James Jackson 3-4 0-0 0-2 1 7 8 1 6 2 2 0 0 21 31 Ryker Pierce 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 fouls, I mean he makes one foul on a free throw where he reaches around a guy, undercuts TEAM 2 2 4 another guy on a box out, he has got to stay on the floor, I mean he is too good for us to Totals 19-50 4-11 14-19 10 35 45 23 56 12 24 1 2 200 continue to get in foul trouble. Some of the communication still is bad, on our defenses, but FG % 1st Half: 9-23 39 1%. 2nd Half: 10-27 37 .0% Game: 19-50 38 .0% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 3-5 60 .0% 2nd Half: 1-6 16 7%. Game: 4-11 36 4%. Rebounds we did play hard, we crashed the boards, but when you go 4-for-36, you better crash the FT % 1st Half: 6-11 54 .5% 2nd Half: 8-8 100 .0% Game: 14-19 73 7%. 2 boards. We had 16 offensive rebounds and we probably should have had 26 with the shots Grand Canyon 68 (5-1) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min we missed, but the energy was there. I was happy with it, I thought Shaq came in and gave 04 Oscar Frayer F 5-12 1-5 0-1 0 4 4 4 11 0 1 0 3 21 us some good minutes, but what can you say? We got a win. We needed it.” 12 Roberts Blumbergs F 5-11 2-7 2-2 3 4 7 0 14 0 1 0 0 25 24 Keonta Vernon F 2-3 0-0 1-1 4 3 7 3 5 2 0 4 1 20 02 Joshua Braun G 1-9 0-7 4-7 3 4 7 0 6 2 1 0 1 25 (on what the team looks for when they are cold shooting) “Well that is the first time we 11 Casey Benson G 4-13 0-7 4-6 3 1 4 4 12 7 2 0 4 34 00 Shaq Carr 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 2 5 1 0 1 22 have seen a zone and we don’t really have a post game. You know, I try to get the ball to 01 Fiifi Aidoo 2-6 0-3 2-2 0 0 0 2 6 1 0 0 1 10 05 Matt Jackson 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 Alessandro. Roberts is not very tough down there, so for us, our post game is nonexistent, 10 Damari Milstead 2-3 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 6 21 Kerwin Smith 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 4 1 0 1 0 6 Keonta is really not a post guy, he is more a face up and go. We try to get it in the middle, try 25 Alessandro Lever 0-2 0-0 0-0 3 2 5 3 0 0 2 0 0 13 to get some penetration. Every time we got penetration and dumped it off, Kerwin had a few 42 Gerard Martin 0-4 0-4 3-4 0 4 4 0 3 2 0 0 0 16 TEAM 0 1 1 finishes. Kerwin is not a post-up guy, as far as making moves down in the zone, so we have Totals 24-69 4-36 16-23 16 24 40 23 68 20 8 5 12 200 to do a better job of penetrating to the gaps, finding people and we had wide open threes, FG % 1st Half: 14-39 35 .9% 2nd Half: 10-30 33 .3% Game: 24-69 34 .8% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 2-20 10 .0% 2nd Half: 2-16 12 .5% Game: 4-36 11 1%. Rebounds man. I mean, against a zone, that is why they play a zone. We have to do it in the gaps and FT % 1st Half: 8-12 66 7%. 2nd Half: 8-11 72 7%. Game: 16-23 69 .6% 1 we kicked it. I mean, 4-for-36, you know like I said, they were wide open, so you just have to Officials: Jimmy Casas, Mark Cook, Jeff Wooten jump up and shoot them, make them. You should fall into 10 shots out of 36, I would think.” Technical Fouls: UC Riverside-Chance Murray . Grand Canyon-None . GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 6844 In Off 2nd Fast (on Roberts Blumbergs at the post) “Yeah he has got to get better at it, I keep telling him Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench UC Riverside 27 29 56 UCR 26 4 7 2 13 he has to get stronger. I called him into my office today and said, “It is time, man. You are Grand Canyon 38 30 68 GCU 36 32 20 14 20 way too talented to be playing the way you have been playing. I’ve been giving you a long Last FG - UCR 2nd-00:55,GCU 2nd-00:37 . Score Tied - 0 times Largest lead - UCR by 1 1st-14:37, GCU by 16 2nd-07:54 Lead Changed - 2 times leash as far as starting, it is time to get better and it is time for everyone to get better.” I UCR led for 01:13 . GCU led for 38:10 . Game was tied for 00:37 . thought Gerard came in, defensively and did what he usually does. He had a few mistakes RAPID RECAP: early, but it is time for our guys to start playing. I mean, we started practicing early. We Grand Canyon had a long week of waiting to wash away the taste of a loss and an even longer went to Spain. We have been together for quite a while now. Casey has got to play better. year to make amends for last season’s loss at UC Riverside. The Lopes took care of both Saturday Josh has to figure it out. If he is not making shots, he might as well not be out there. He has night, managing to win 68-56 despite a frigid shooting night in front of 6,844 fans at GCU Arena. got to do a better job. He will figure it out, but you know it is in his head now too--his free throws and his shot. These guys just have to get in the gym and work on it.” Coming off a four-for-23 3-point shooting game in a loss to San Diego, GCU (5-1) only made four of 36 3-point tries against Riverside but won the possession battle to give the Lopes more (on getting better and how the defense has gotten better) “Well we have been pretty good chances to win. defensively, you know. Last game we were not tough enough down the stretch, but I think our focus from here on in is going to be defense. If we do not play good defense tonight, we GCU has yielded 61 or fewer points in all five of its wins, doing so Saturday by holding Riverside lose by 15. We can’t shoot the ball like that and not play defense, so we will have to hang our to 38.0 percent shooting and coaxing 24 Highlanders turnovers. hat on defense and rebounding, causing turnovers and getting out and running and getting In categories that give the Lopes extra shots, GCU outscored Riverside 52-11 in points off easy layups, cause right now, we cannot shoot the ball.” turnovers and second-chance points combined. Some of those turnovers, helped by Casey (on how to keep the teams confidence up, but really work on shooting and making shots) Benson’s four steals, helped GCU dominate fast break points, 14-2. “I told them to have tomorrow off, but if I was any of those guys, I wouldn’t take tomorrow The Lopes hammered the offensive boards and held Riverside to seven points in the game’s off, I would be in the gym shooting, it is that simple. You know when I came into the league, I first 10 minutes to take a lead that they were slow to expand with cold shooting. The Lopes wasn’t a shooter, I worked on it. It is just old fashion work, get in the gym and work on your missed their first 10 3-point attempts and went two for 20 in the first half, when Roberts shot, some of these guys work on it, some of them don’t. Just have to find your confidence Blumbergs was two for four and teammates were 0 for 16. and work on your shot, cause you will see a lot of teams zoning us again, and giving us that three, because if they watch this game, that is what they are going to do. ” Blumbergs played a strong overall game, leading the team in points (14) and sharing the team lead in rebounds (seven). Benson missed all seven of his 3-point tries but still scored 12 points (on what they are doing defensively to get their hands on balls) “Ah, just good job, we are and dished seven assists. switching a lot, which is really good because we are very aggressive, we have athletes out there, I think that is one of our strengths, that is why we are hanging our hat on defense, Braun also missed all seven of his 3-point tries. He entered the game averaging 17.4 points Keonta can move, Oscar is very good, Fiifi, guys can move and they are strong so they are per game but went one for nine from the field with four-for-seven free throw shooting for six just doing a good job getting into the passing lanes and pressuring, we do a pretty good job, points in 25 minutes. The Lopes only shot 34.8 percent from the field and 69.6 percent from for the most part protecting the rim” the charity stripe. GCU closed out the game slowly, going four minutes without scoring while its defense was (on the team’s help defense) “Yeah I mean we don’t want any layups, we gave up a few, but enough to keep Riverside from a challenge. we want to protect the rim, have them kick it out and recover, and we worked on that all week too, it was a little better” The Lopes return to action Tuesday night against St. John’s at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. ‹ 34 › 2017-18 GAME RECAPS

GAME 7: ST. JOHN’S 68, GCU 60 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: December 5, 2017 - 9:31 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz. (Talking Stick Resort Arena) (opening statement) “Not a whole lot to say, same story different night. We play extremely hard

St. John’s 68 (8-1) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds and get after it but it’s hard to win a game when you shoot 30 percent and shoot 50 percent ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min from the free throw line, 21 turnovers a lot of them are because they are a team that forces 01 Bashir Ahmed * 3-12 1-5 0-1 1 9 10 4 7 0 1 0 2 36 02 Shamorie Ponds * 10-21 2-5 6-8 4 2 6 1 28 4 5 0 5 40 turnovers but some of those are just us being not strong with the ball making careless passes. 05 Justin Simon * 4-7 1-1 8-8 1 10 11 4 17 2 5 0 0 36 Our guys fought extremely hard for forty minutes, kept in the game but we have to figure it out. 11 Tariq Owens * 1-3 0-0 0-3 0 4 4 4 2 0 3 3 1 30 13 Marvin Clark Ii * 2-6 2-5 4-4 0 3 3 5 10 1 4 0 0 18 We can’t shoot the ball whether it’s from the free throw line, three-point line, layups, it’s not just 10 Amar Alibegovic 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 happening right now. Playing hard is great but you have to play smart and good after a while.” 12 Bryan Trimble Jr 0-3 0-2 2-2 0 3 3 3 2 1 0 0 2 27 14 Kassoum Yakwe 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 10 TEAM 1 3 4 (on if he felt they were on the brink of making a run) “I was on the brink of somebody maybe Totals 21-53 6-18 20-27 8 34 42 22 68 8 18 3 10 200 making a shot. It’s ridiculous. I have never seen a college team shoot more air-balls than we do. FG % 1st Half: 10-26 38 .5% 2nd Half: 11-27 40 7%. Game: 21-53 39 .6% Deadball Maybe we should schedule a team with no fans because in practice we make every shot. I don’t 3FG % 1st Half: 5-12 41 7%. 2nd Half: 1-6 16 7%. Game: 6-18 33 .3% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 7-11 63 .6% 2nd Half: 13-16 81 .3% Game: 20-27 74 1%. 3 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 Grand Canyon 60 (5-2) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min get after it for forty minutes but that’s not good enough anymore. Our guys are better than that. 04 Oscar Frayer F 1-9 0-4 4-6 1 3 4 4 6 2 1 0 3 28 Oscar has to be better, Keonta has to be better, Josh has to be better, Casey has to be better. 12 Roberts Blumbergs F 3-12 2-7 2-2 0 2 2 2 10 1 2 0 1 23 24 Keonta Vernon F 0-3 0-1 0-6 7 8 15 4 0 1 2 1 0 30 Those freshmen are freshmen, you can’t expect them to carry your team. Those seniors have to 02 Joshua Braun G 5-16 3-10 0-0 1 5 6 3 13 0 3 0 3 30 be better and right now they are not very good.” 11 Casey Benson G 6-11 2-2 4-5 1 1 2 3 18 1 6 1 1 30 00 Shaq Carr 2-3 0-0 1-1 1 0 1 1 5 0 2 0 0 10 01 Fiifi Aidoo 1-5 0-4 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 3 0 0 0 13 (on the emotions coming back to this building) “It wasn’t much for me. I love this building, I’ve 21 Kerwin Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 4 been to it a lot. I have a lot of great memories but this is about GCU and our team. It was a great 25 Alessandro Lever 1-5 0-2 1-2 0 2 2 2 3 0 2 0 1 10 42 Gerard Martin 1-2 1-2 0-0 2 3 5 2 3 1 1 0 2 22 experience for our guys to play in the Suns arena, to play against some great competition in St. TEAM 4 1 5 John’s and Chris (Mullin) and those guys have done a really good job with that team they are very Totals 20-66 8-32 12-22 18 28 46 22 60 9 21 2 11 200 talented. It is going to be a good test for us to be on TV, to play in the Suns arena to play a quality FG % 1st Half: 10-32 31 .3% 2nd Half: 10-34 29 4%. Game: 20-66 30 .3% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 5-17 29 4%. 2nd Half: 3-15 20 .0% Game: 8-32 25 .0% Rebounds opponent to see what we could do and it’s disappointing. Like I said, the effort is always there FT % 1st Half: 2-8 25 .0% 2nd Half: 10-14 71 4%. Game: 12-22 54 .5% 4 but there comes a time where you have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and shooting

Officials: Paul Janssen, Brooks Wells, Chance Moore better and we are just not doing it. Josh is a fifth year senior, Casey has been around forever, Technical Fouls: Saint John’s (NY)-None . Grand Canyon-None . Keonta has been around forever, and those guys have to do a better job.” Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 8907 In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench (on if players are pressing) “I don’t know what they are doing. We are not doing anything St . John’s 32 36 68 SJU 22 22 8 4 4 different than what we are doing in practice. We practice really hard, we get after it but we make Grand Canyon 27 33 60 GCU 21 13 16 7 13 shots. I don’t know, I wish I knew because if I knew I would change it. We can’t make free throws. Last FG - SJU 2nd-01:24,GCU 2nd-01:53 . Score Tied - 0 times Their guy Simon was a 50 percent free throw shooter and he was 8-for-8 tonight. Keonta is a 60 Largest lead - SJU by 16 2nd-06:57, GCU by 3 1st-17:50 Lead Changed - 2 times SJU led for 36:29 . GCU led for 02:40 . Game was tied for 00:51 . percent free throw shooter and he was 0-for-6. It just comes down to being mentally strong and making free throws and damn air-balls on threes that are wide open. That’s all there is too it. I RAPID RECAP: love our guys, they play really hard. I have no complaints, our guys give everything they have but Grand Canyon grinded on defense but was grounded on offense, never getting the scoring run at this time it is not good enough. Our guys are more talented than they are showing. St. John’s is that could have chased down St. John’s in a 68-60 loss Tuesday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena. good, they are a good team. It is amazing that we even stayed in the game.” The Lopes took to an ESPNU national television stage in the Phoenix Suns’ arena with NBA (on if he felt he had home court with the Havocs here tonight) “Yeah, anytime a team comes executives, alumni and scouts watching NBA greats Dan Majerle and Chris Mullin face off as from New York and you are playing right downtown and you have the Havocs there, you always head coaches. The Havocs filled the arena’s south end with their brand of bedlam but GCU (5-2) feel like you have the home court advantage. We have the greatest crowd, everyone knows could not fill the basket enough to send them back to campus happy. that. We have the greatest crowd in the history of crowds. I have to get our guys on the road. We are too soft. Just soft. We have to get out there and face some adversity and find our way. The Lopes trailed for the last 36 minutes of the game, trailing by as many as 15 before making one These guys have it so easy with what President Mueller has done at GCU, the way he packs those last push that trimmed the Red Storm’s lead to seven with 1:52 to go. St. John’s (8-1) did not make stands and the things that our guys get, they have to be better than this. It’s probably my fault. a field goal for more than four crunch-time minutes but eventually was able to close out the win. We schedule a lot of home games, we have to get on the road and get these guys tougher man, Casey Benson led GCU with a career-high 18 points while Keonta Vernon matched a career high that’s all there is to it. They are not tough enough. They play hard but they are not tough enough” with 15 rebounds. However, the Lopes shot only 30.3 percent from the field, 25.0 percent on (on having a chance to grab momentum at the end of the first half)“Yeah we were right there 3-pointers and 54.5 percent on free throws while committing 21 turnovers. and then we couldn’t make a few shots. They hung in there and then we came out in the second Sophomore guard Shamorie Ponds led St. John’s with a game-high 28 points to help a St. John’s half like we usually do, had some bad possessions, had some turnovers, and then we got it doing offense that shot 39.6 percent and made 18 turnovers with only four bench points. a little bit but we were down and we had to fight our way back. We kept on fighting, kept on fighting, didn’t convert some layups, didn’t convert some free throws, missed some wide open Each team entered Tuesday night as a top-10 scoring defense in Division I and the game played shots, just not good enough.” out as such. The effect was worse on GCU, which went without making a field goal for nearly eight minutes of the first half. (on there being a silver lining in the loss) “No, we are at the point that we want to be a really good team, we want to win the WAC and we want to go to the tournament. So there’s no silver lining, I The Lopes were struggling to keep possession and missing shots when they did. With four told my guys I’m very proud of how hard they worked and how hard they played, that’s what they minutes remaining in the first half, St. John’s led 27-16 with the Lopes at 25 percent shooting give. Every team that we play, goes ‘oh man you guys played hard,’ and that’s great but it’s not good from the field with 11 turnovers. enough anymore. It’s not what I want to be known for, oh you guys are a hard playing team. No I want to be a hard playing team that’s really good, and we can do that we have the players, it’s just GCU came alive in the final four minutes of the first half, starting with a Benson 3-pointer that whether or they want to do it or not, they have to get out of their own way and get it done. So no keyed an 11-2 run. But when Oscar Frayer’s defense set up a Benson drive that missed, St. John’s there’s no silver lining anymore, silver linings are for a year or two years ago. Silver linings were was able to close out stronger for a 32-27 halftime lead. when we were 15-15 as a Division II team, silver linings are when we went 27-7 in our third year. Defense was giving the Lopes a chance to win again. St. John’s only was shooting 38.5 percent This is our fifth year, we’re eligible, we have a fifth-year senior in Casey who played at Oregon, Shaq from the field with turnovers at the half but GCU was shooting worse (31.3 percent) with more Carr he’s a senior, Keonta he’s a senior, Oscar played a lot last year, Gerard all those guys. This is turnovers (11). the year we are supposed to be good and right now we are not playing that way.” ‹ 35 › 2017-18 GAME RECAPS

GAME 8: GCU 87, GRAMBLING STATE 53 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: December 9, 2017 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz. (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “Great energy from everybody. Starters came out really well, the bench Grambling State 53 (3-6) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds guys came in and provided a spark also. Shaq was really good. Matt Jackson; Matt hadn’t played ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 01 Ivy Smith, Jr . * 2-13 0-1 8-8 1 1 2 3 12 2 3 0 3 29 in a year, over a year. Seeing him come out there was really good. Everybody played really good, 04 Anthony Gaston * 1-6 0-3 0-0 0 2 2 3 2 0 3 1 2 21 11 Axel Mpoyo * 3-7 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 3 6 0 2 0 1 21 it was just a good win and we sustained it. We needed that kind of win, it was huge.” 24 Diontae Jones * 1-6 0-2 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 1 1 0 2 27 33 Jason Perry-Murray * 6-7 0-0 1-2 7 5 12 3 13 0 2 1 1 24 02 Nigel Ribeiro 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 3 2 4 1 0 0 16 (on if changing up the starting five helped)“I don’t know. It wasn’t because Oscar was 03 Kareem Wright 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 05 Shirmane Thomas 3-6 1-1 2-3 1 3 4 1 9 0 5 0 0 23 playing bad or Roberts was playing bad, we just needed a new look. Fiifi was somebody that 10 Drake Wilks 2-5 1-2 1-2 1 1 2 1 6 1 3 0 1 17 12 Bobby Jackson 0-1 0-0 1-4 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 9 was practicing hard and gave us a spark defensively. Alessandro is a really hard worker as a 20 Charles Simmons 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 32 Devante Jackson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 8 freshman, I thought he deserved a chance. I don’t know if it provided anything. Keonta came TEAM Totals 19-53 2-12 13-19 13 21 34 19 53 9 21 2 10 200 out and played really well. 8-for-8, stayed in the game and just his physical presence around the basket was big. We shared the basketball well. I think we had 14 or 15 assists on maybe FG % 1st Half: 9-25 36 .0% 2nd Half: 10-28 35 7%. Game: 19-53 35 .8% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 0-8 0 .0% 2nd Half: 2-4 50 .0% Game: 2-12 16 7%. Rebounds 17 baskets in the first half. Everybody played well. Then those guys came off the bench, Matt, FT % 1st Half: 3-3 100 0%. 2nd Half: 10-16 62 .5% Game: 13-19 68 4%. 4 Gerard, Oscar, Roberts, Shaq, everybody played well. All around just a good win.” Grand Canyon 87 (6-2) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 24 Keonta Vernon F 8-8 0-0 3-4 3 3 6 2 19 1 2 0 1 23 (on if he liked the balance coming off the bench) “I liked it today. I liked the other ones before 25 Alessandro Lever F 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 15 01 Fiifi Aidoo G 2-4 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 5 4 1 0 0 20 we lost. Winning cures a lot of different things. That’s a dangerous team that we played in 02 Joshua Braun G 5-9 3-7 0-0 0 5 5 2 13 0 2 1 0 24 11 Casey Benson G 2-5 0-2 0-0 1 2 3 1 4 8 3 0 1 23 Grambling. They went to Georgia Tech and beat them, we knew they would present a problem 00 Shaq Carr 3-4 2-2 3-3 2 1 3 2 11 3 0 0 1 12 03 Parker Dale 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 and play zone. We did a really good job of moving the basketball early, getting in the paint, not 04 Oscar Frayer 1-4 0-3 1-3 0 1 1 2 3 1 2 0 0 14 05 Matt Jackson 5-6 2-3 0-0 0 2 2 2 12 1 0 1 2 13 settling for jump shots. We took the shots when they were there but we didn’t swing-swing- 10 Damari Milstead 1-1 1-1 3-4 0 2 2 0 6 0 1 0 0 7 12 Roberts Blumbergs 2-6 1-4 1-2 0 0 0 1 6 2 0 1 3 21 shooter. We had some penetration. That’s one thing that Alessandro is really good at for his size, 13 Ibrahima Sankare 1-2 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 4 15 Cheick Sy-Savane 1-3 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 4 he gets in there and finds people. He did a good job” 21 Kerwin Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 22 Nehemiah Allen 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 “We have too. We just can’t settle for shots. 42 Gerard Martin 0-1 0-0 0-1 2 4 6 1 0 2 1 0 0 13 (on seeming more intent on getting the ball inside) TEAM 1 0 1 It’s much better when you can get it inside then it comes outside off the penetration. A couple Totals 32-58 11-27 12-19 10 23 33 19 87 23 12 3 9 200 times we just start living by the jump shot where we just swing it on the perimeter and people FG % 1st Half: 17-29 58 6%. 2nd Half: 15-29 51 7%. Game: 32-58 55 .2% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 4-12 33 .3% 2nd Half: 7-15 46 7%. Game: 11-27 40 7%. Rebounds are just standing around and we can’t do that. Overall a really good job by everybody.” FT % 1st Half: 1-4 25 .0% 2nd Half: 11-15 73 .3% Game: 12-19 63 .2% 2 Officials: Ronnie Hernandez, Matthew Rukasin, Ryan McDaniel (on if he felt Casey Benson was more aggressive) “I think he does a good job when he takes his Technical Fouls: Grambling State-None . Grand Canyon-Casey Benson . GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 6829 shot but he has to get back to assists. When he is open he can take shots. He is not a penetrator, In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench he’s not a guy who is going to get in the lane with the big guys. We really emphasize on getting Grambling State 21 32 53 GSU 30 15 13 4 18 Grand Canyon 39 48 87 GCU 38 26 5 6 44 out early and running today. Even though they are going to be in zone, getting out and running Last FG - GRAM 2nd-00:43,GCU 2nd-00:21 . Score Tied - 0 times and pushing the ball is what Casey does really well. Getting it up early then getting back and he Largest lead - GRAM by 2 1st-18:53, GCU by 38 2nd-06:44 Lead Changed - 1 times GRAM led for 00:15 . GCU led for 38:38 . Game was tied for 01:07 . can make good decisions. He was really good in the first half assists wise.” RAPID RECAP: (on if he liked the threes in transition) “I like transitions threes especially off steals or good Surrounded by a student section in neon, GCU enjoyed its brightest basketball game of the season. defensive plays. You always know as a coach and even as a player a lot of your offense can come off of defense. Our defense was really good as far as getting in and being aggressive. If we get The Lopes shined Saturday night in a 87-53 blowout of Grambling State at GCU Arena. GCU posted steals then let’s go, we deserve a shot.” its largest blowout of the season, thoroughly dominating the Tigers with a stellar two-way effort. (on if they maintained the lead well tonight) “It was better. We came out in the second half and GCU (6-2) shot a season-high 55.2 percent from the field while holding Grambling to 35.8 percent, picked up where we left off. Our energy was really good from everybody, I was happy. Those the Lopes’ sixth opponent in eight games to make less than 40 percent of its shots. kind of games in the beginning of the year we would get up and let them back in the game and Senior power forward Keonta Vernon boosted the Lopes’ efficiency by making all eight of his field tonight we didn’t do that.” goal attempts on a 19-point, six-rebound night in 23 minutes. It was the fourth most makes without (on if Matt Jackson needs more minutes for confidence) “Just staying out there long and a miss in GCU program history and the most at the Division I level. sustaining some time, maybe a stretch of seven or eight minutes. It was hard for me to do it in Senior guard Joshua Braun (13 points) and backup senior point guard Shaq Carr (11 points in 12 the beginning because I wanted to see the younger guys, I wanted to see other people but when minutes) also scored in double figures, as did junior forward Matt Jackson (12 points in 14 minutes) he played two years ago he was really good. I was looking at when we were 27-7 he averaged 19 after not playing in Tuesday’s loss to St. John’s. or 20 minutes a game and had some big games for us. He’s had a rash of injuries and it’s been tough for him but he’s done a good job of preparing and it tonight it showed. So hopefully he can From the time GCU had a 12-0 run for a 37-17 lead with 3:37 to go in the first half, the Lopes lead stay healthy and it can stay like that.” remained comfortable. No Lopes player logged more than 24 minutes and the entire roster played, including the debut of freshman guard Parker Dale to the Havocs’ delight. For the first time this season, GCU head coach Dan Majerle switched the Lopes starting lineup. He inserted sophomore guard Fiifi Aidoo and freshman power forward Alessandro Lever in place of sophomore guard Oscar Frayer and freshman power forward Roberts Blumbergs. It clicked early when the starting lineup led 9-4 before the first subs. When the starters reunited to close the half, GCU went into halftime with that unit scoring all but three points of a 14-4 run. The Lopes handled a 2-3 zone defense better than they did against California-Riverside. Mostly, that was the work of senior point guard Casey Benson, who assisted on six of GCU’s first seven baskets. Benson finished with eight assists. Grambling, which beat Georgia Tech this season, kept the Lopes’ lead narrow at 13-12 by capitalizing on second chances and GCU turnovers but the Lopes then went on a 24-5 run. The Lopes defense created 21 turnovers, including a team-high three steals from Blumbergs.

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GAME 9: GCU 64, NC CENTRAL 59 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: December 11, 2017 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz. (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “It’s a win, so I am happy. Second half was the same. A lot of things that

NC Central 59(4-8) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds went wrong for us as far as shooting the basketball. Just not finishing, but we pulled out a win ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min and got a stop when we needed it. I thought our defense was really poor tonight. Just a lot of 02 Zacarry Douglas * 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 03 Brandon Goldsmith * 2-6 0-1 2-3 0 5 5 2 6 0 0 0 1 34 mental mistakes more than anything. Just not following assignments and doing the things we 04 Jordan Perkins * 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 4 0 6 5 0 0 34 are supposed to do, so that was a little concerning. That is a good team, man. That is a team 05 Reggie Gardner Jr * 3-8 2-4 3-3 0 2 2 0 11 1 1 0 0 26 32 Raasean Davis * 6-7 0-0 4-6 5 4 9 2 16 2 3 0 0 29 I knew was going to give us some problems. That big kid is really good. They did a good job 11 Alston Jones 4-8 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 4 10 2 2 0 0 26 getting the basketball, so I’ll take it. Good win.” 13 Pablo Rivas 6-9 1-3 0-0 1 7 8 3 13 0 0 0 1 32 22 Dominique Reid 1-3 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 1 3 0 2 0 0 13 TEAM 1 2 3 (on the offense being deliberate and going deep into the shot clock) “They had the 2-3 zone Totals 22-46 3-8 12-16 8 25 33 16 59 11 13 0 3 200 and the 3-2 zone and when we are not hitting jump shots, that puts us in a problem. Last game FG % 1st Half: 11-23 47 .8% 2nd Half: 11-23 47 .8% Game: 22-46 47 .8% Deadball we were able to make a few jumpers and got into the paint. They did a good job of protecting 3FG % 1st Half: 2-5 40 .0% 2nd Half: 1-3 33 .3% Game: 3-8 37 .5% Rebounds the basket, so anytime you see a zone the whole game and a press the whole game, you are not FT % 1st Half: 6-7 85 7%. 2nd Half: 6-9 66 7%. Game: 12-16 75 .0% 0 going to be able to get quick shots. You know we want to attack the press, but we also do not Grand Canyon 64 (7-2) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min want to turn the ball over. We do not have a lot of great ball handlers, so we want to make sure 24 Keonta Vernon F 3-7 0-0 3-6 3 2 5 5 9 0 1 1 0 25 they we are not only aggressive, but we do not want to be too aggressive where we turn the ball 25 Alessandro Lever F 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 16 01 Fiifi Aidoo G 2-4 2-4 0-0 1 1 2 2 6 2 2 0 1 20 over. We only had six turnovers, but it does lead to some late shot clocks, especially when they 02 Joshua Braun G 7-15 3-8 3-3 4 3 7 1 20 1 0 0 0 33 are in a zone and taking away Josh, things like that. Early we shot the ball pretty well, but we 11 Casey Benson G 1-8 0-2 4-4 0 7 7 0 6 7 0 0 0 28 00 Shaq Carr 2-5 0-2 1-1 1 0 1 3 5 4 0 0 1 21 could not buy a basket there in the second half. ” 04 Oscar Frayer 2-4 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 3 4 0 1 0 0 10 05 Matt Jackson 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 13 (on the interior scoring by NCCU and what led to it whether it was their size or mistakes by 12 Roberts Blumbergs 3-7 1-4 2-2 2 2 4 0 9 0 0 0 0 15 42 Gerard Martin 1-4 1-4 0-0 0 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 0 19 GCU) “A little bit of both, they had a couple back cuts to the basket, number 32, Davis is a good Totals 22-59 7-26 13-16 13 20 33 16 64 16 6 1 2 200 player. Man he is there best player, he is a big kid-- 6-9, 250--does a good job of sealing, they

FG % 1st Half: 16-32 50 .0% 2nd Half: 6-27 22 .2% Game: 22-59 37 .3% Deadball do a good job getting him the basketball and he finishes around there. It is just what happens 3FG % 1st Half: 5-13 38 .5% 2nd Half: 2-13 15 4%. Game: 7-26 26 .9% Rebounds when you play a good big guy. They got some penetration, they got some and-ones, which we FT % 1st Half: 1-1 100 0%. 2nd Half: 12-15 80 .0% Game: 13-16 81 .3% 2 will have to look at the tape on there because we gave them too many easy and-ones, with some Officials: Mike Reed, Steve Olson, David Hall ticky-tack fouls, so we have to do a better job with that, but I think our focus defensively, for Technical Fouls: North Carolina Central University-None . Grand Canyon-None . GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 6276 whatever it was, we just did not do a good job of depleting our assignments, getting lost on back In Off 2nd Fast cuts and things like that.” Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench NC Central 30 29 59 NCCU 34 5 13 4 26 Grand Canyon 38 26 64 GCU 26 13 12 0 23 (on what to anticipate going on the road to Boise State) “I am expecting an extremely tough game. Boise is a really, really good team, it will be a real good test for us. It will be good for our Last FG - NCCU 2nd-00:44,GCU 2nd-03:29 . Score Tied - 1 times Largest lead - NCCU by 4 1st-16:47, GCU by 11 1st-00:55 Lead Changed - 4 times guys, we need to get on the road a little bit and play against a good team on the road in a new NCCU led for 03:14 . GCU led for 35:16 . Game was tied for 01:30 . environment, and they have all of that. I am anxious, to get there and see what we got.” RAPID RECAP: (on grinding it out when the three points shots were not falling) “Well we had to, against that With Grand Canyon’s first road game and perhaps toughest opponent two days away, a carryover zone. That is why people play zone, to keep you from getting inside and we do not have a whole of the momentum of Saturday’s thorough blowout would have been ideal. lot of finishers on the inside anyways, so we are going to have to be able to make those threes. Instead, the Lopes had their first extended challenge in a win this season. GCU led for the final Josh did not shoot extremely well the second half, as far as from the three, and nobody else 32-plus minutes of the game Monday night but beating North Carolina Central was never easy in a could really make a shot either, so we have to do a better job at pounding the boards and getting 64-59 win at GCU Arena. second opportunities that way, and then finding a way to penetrate and finish around the glass.” GCU (7-2) held a 10-point lead with 12:13 to go but offensive struggles kept them from putting away (on whether it is good to finally get on the road) “Yeah I think it is going to be good. We have the Eagles (4-8). Facing NC Central’s zone, the Lopes went more than six minutes without a made field such a great experience here and have such a great crowd, we get a little comfortable, so it is goal until junior Gerard Martin broke a string of six consecutive missed GCU 3-pointers with a deep 3. good to get on the road, especially against a team like Boise. It is going to be a real good test for us to see what we got. So yeah, I am excited to get on the road.” North Carolina Central pulled within one point with 2:09 to play on an interior three-point play. The Eagles had chances to take a lead after GCU missed consecutive layups but Lopes senior guard (on what it does for the team closing out a close game) “I don’t know I think our guys are Joshua Braun rebounded the second one while getting fouled and hit two free throws for a 60-57 confident. I’m usually irate right now because we know we won but we should have played lead with 1:12 remaining. better. I’ve learned in my short coach career of five years, you take every win and the positives and you move on. That was a tough team, our guys are positive we just have to do a better job The Eagles cut the lead to 60-59 with the last of their interior scoring (34 points in the paint) and of finishing down the stretch. Just being a little tougher mentally, like I said defensively I didn’t got a stop blocking GCU senior point guard Casey Benson’s drive. Senior power forward Keonta enjoy that at all. We just made mental mistakes.” Vernon fouled out on the rebound but the Havocs helped prompt a miss on the front end of a one- and-one bonus situation. Roberts Blumbergs rebounded and got the ball to Benson, who hit two (on what the learning experience has been like for the team) “It’s hard because I am a free throws and made two more free throws after North Carolina Central missed a 3-pointer to tie competitive guy, winning is great losing is misery. So you’ve just got to take the winning and in the final seconds. breathe a sigh of relief instead of always looking at the negative. That’s kind of my problem sometimes is always looking at the negative. We should have done this, we should have done Braun led the Lopes with 20 points and seven rebounds while Benson finished with six points, that, but you know we won. That’s a getaway game, when you go on the road next day to go play seven rebounds and seven assists. a good team you can’t afford to lose at home. So I’m going to look at this and be happy tonight.” The Lopes were efficient offensively in the first half but did not have the usual offensive sharpness until the close. GCU went on an 8-0 run with the new three-guard starting trio of Braun, Benson (on having a low number of turnovers) “We did a good job against the zone, we would like to be and Fiifi Aidoo but the Eagles finished on a three-point play to cut the Lope lead to 38-30 at halftime. more aggressive and make them pay for zoning us. But that also comes with the fact that you’re going to have more turnovers. We wanted to make sure that we took care of the basketball, and Braun led GCU’s scoring attack with 10 of his points in the first half, mixing a pair of 3-pointers with that is why the shot clock went deep a lot of times. We were methodical in breaking the press a pair of power moves in the paint. The Lopes committed only three first-half turnovers despite and trying to do too much and turning it over. Casey had seven assists and Shaq had four and facing full-court pressure but had trouble getting into fast breaks or early offense. both of them didn’t have turnovers so that’s good.”

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GAME 10: BOISE STATE 85, GCU 80 (2OT) In the second overtime, the Lopes missed five of their first six shots to fall behind 79-72 but rallied December 13, 2017 - 7:05 PM Tip Boise, Idaho (Taco Bell Arena) to 85-80 with two Lever free throws before the final miss.

Grand Canyon 80 (7-3) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds After holding a 36-30 halftime lead, the Lopes missed nine of their first 10 second-half shots but ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 24 Keonta Vernon F 6-10 0-1 3-3 5 7 12 3 15 2 1 2 0 39 still held a 41-36 lead with 14:05 to go when Benson found Vernon for a slam. 25 Alessandro Lever F 3-10 1-3 3-4 1 1 2 1 10 1 3 0 0 20 01 Fiifi Aidoo G 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 3 1 0 0 1 12 The Lopes’ rotating defensive effort on Boise State star Chandler Hutchison was effective in the 02 Joshua Braun G 3-15 2-8 2-4 1 4 5 4 10 3 1 0 2 43 11 Casey Benson G 4-16 3-9 5-6 0 7 7 5 16 3 2 0 1 38 first half, when the 6-foot-7 senior guard made two of eight shots with two turnovers. Hutchison 00 Shaq Carr 5-11 1-3 0-0 0 3 3 2 11 5 3 0 0 29 scored seven consecutive Broncos points for Boise State’s first lead (45-43) when the Broncos 04 Oscar Frayer 2-5 0-2 2-2 4 5 9 2 6 0 1 1 0 25 05 Matt Jackson 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 14 were finding their way to the rim. 12 Roberts Blumbergs 2-7 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 5 4 0 3 0 0 10 21 Kerwin Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 GCU responded just as the Boise State fans were getting more into the action. With about 200 42 Gerard Martin 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 4 3 0 0 0 2 20 TEAM 1 1 2 “Lopes on the Road” fans on hand, the Lopes answered with a 12-3 run that included two aggressive Totals 28-79 9-32 15-19 14 32 46 29 80 16 14 3 6 250 drives from senior point guard Shaq Carr. FG % 1st Half: 14-33 42 4%. 2nd Half: 10-28 35 7%. OT: 4-18 22 .2% Game: 28-79 35 4%. 3FG % 1st Half: 4-11 36 4%. 2nd Half: 3-11 27 .3% OT: 2-10 20 .0% Game: 9-32 28 1%. Another Carr scoring drive put GCU ahead 59-55 with 4:02 remaining and the Lopes did not get on FT % 1st Half: 4-5 80 .0% 2nd Half: 4-5 80 .0% OT: 7-9 77 .8% Game: 15-19 78 9%. the board again until Vernon’s follow scored put GCU ahead 61-57 with 1:32 remaining. Boise State 85 (10-1) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min The Lopes emerged with their best start of the season, jumping on Boise State and silencing the 11 Zach Haney F 1-1 0-0 1-2 2 2 4 3 3 0 0 0 0 19 43 Chris Sengfelder F 4-11 0-6 4-6 2 6 8 2 12 1 3 1 1 45 home fans with a 12-4 lead. GCU scored on five of their first six possessions with four of the starters 02 Lexus Williams G 4-4 2-2 2-3 2 4 6 4 12 2 2 0 1 38 scoring. 03 Justinian Jessup G 5-10 2-6 6-7 0 8 8 2 18 4 2 2 0 47 15 Chandler Hutchinson G 10-23 1-6 6-12 0 11 11 3 27 3 7 0 0 44 00 Marcus Dickinson 1-5 0-4 3-5 0 3 3 4 5 0 1 0 1 24 The Lopes played with better tempo than Monday’s win and stretched their lead to as much as 10 Robin Jorch 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 6 nine (21-12) with more of their 3-point-denying defense. Boise State entered the game with the 33 David Wacker 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 34 Alex Hobbs 2-4 0-0 2-2 0 2 2 1 6 0 2 0 0 24 fifth-most made 3-pointers (120) in the nation but GCU kept the Broncos to one-for-10 shooting TEAM 1 0 1 Totals 28-59 5-24 24-37 7 38 45 20 85 10 18 3 3 250 on 3s in the first half.

FG % 1st Half: 10-24 41 7%. 2nd Half: 12-25 48 .0% OT: 6-10 60 .0% Game: 28-59 47 .5% Boise State tightened GCU’s lead to one with 3:59 to go until halftime but the Lopes closed on a 7-2 3FG % 1st Half: 1-10 10 .0% 2nd Half: 3-10 30 .0% OT: 1-4 25 .0% Game: 5-24 20 .8% FT % 1st Half: 9-12 75 0%. 2nd Half: 6-12 50 .0% OT: 9-13 69 .2% Game: 24-37 64 .9% run with Benson dropping a 3-pointer at the horn.

Officials: Michael Irving, Rick Randall and Dan Nowakowski Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None . Boise State-None . DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Boise, Idaho - Taco Bell Arena Attendance: 4628 In Off 2nd Fast (on dropping a double overtime thriller to Boise State) “We needed one stop to beat them. Score by Period 1st 2nd OT OT2 Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Grand Canyon 36 27 6 11 80 GCU 34 16 19 4 26 We were supposed to switch everything. I’ll have to look at the film and see what happened. Boise State 30 33 6 16 85 BSU 40 11 3 4 13 We were supposed to make everything go towards the basket. The kid made a tough shot, but Last FG - GCU OT2-00:48,BSU OT2-00:58 . Score Tied - 6 times that’s a shot we’ve got to stop and we didn’t stop it. Our guys battled hard and kept fighting. This Largest lead - GCU by 10 1st-09:09, BSU by 7 OT2-02:16 Lead Changed - 3 times is a really good team in a tough place. We battled and hopefully we’ll get better. GCU led for 36:09 . BSU led for 09:11 . Game was tied for 04:40 . RAPID RECAP: (on if that was the best the Lopes have played this season) “No. We shot 35 percent. Everybody Grand Canyon was the first non-conference visitor to outplay Boise State in regulation over the is talking about moral victories and ‘you hanged with them’. I’m done with hanging with teams. past four seasons and it still was not enough to win. I’m done with that crap. Play better--35 percent is not good enough. That’s a good defensive team but so are we. It’s time to win. I’m upset. I’m never upset at our guys’ effort. They play The Lopes were often at their best for their best opponent of the season but did not close out extremely hard and they want to win. They try, but they had a lot of mental mistakes that we chances to win regulation and the first overtime before the Broncos claimed an 85-80 double- have to get over it if we want to be a good team. Right now, we’re not a very good team because overtime victory at Taco Bell Arena. we make too many mental mistakes.” GCU’s fifth-ranked scoring defense in Division I proved stronger than a Boise State offense that (on if the team recovered from regulation with Boise State getting out to quick leads in ranked fifth in the nation for 3-pointers made. The Lopes (7-3) limited the Broncos (10-1) to three the overtime period) “When you lead most of the game and they make a three to tie it up, the made 3-pointers in regulation time and five-for-24 3-point shooting overall. momentum swings to their team. We battled back in that first overtime, but we were 4-for-18 in The Lopes had a four-point lead with 1:32 remaining in regulation and had the last possession of overtime. We missed layups and wide open threes. Josh goes 3-for-15 and Casey goes 4-for-16. the first overtime but Boise State controlled the second overtime by scoring on eight consecutive Those are our two best players. We played well. We battled, but we have to find a way to put the possessions. ball in the basket and guys have to find a way to score.” GCU was given a shot to tie by gaining possession with 15.9 seconds to go in the second half. The (on how his team did defensively on Chandler Hutchinson and Justinian Jessup) “They’re Lopes executed the play with Fiifi Aidoo sending a bounce pass along the baseline to an open good players. Yeah, I thought we did well. We did fine. They’re a really good team. I’ve got no Alessandro Lever in the corner but the freshman power forward missed for Boise State’s 24th problem with how hard we played and we tried, but we made silly mistakes and we’ve got to consecutive home win against non-conference opponents. play better on the offensive side. We have to shoot better.” Senior point guard Casey Benson led GCU with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists but fouled out in the second overtime. Senior power forward Keonta Vernon posted 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Lopes shot 35.4 percent from the field but made 15 of 19 free throws. The Lopes led 63-60 with 13.3 seconds to play in regulation after two Benson free throws but Boise State, held to three-for-19 3-point shooting to that point, got a tying, long 3 from Lexus Williams. Benson had 3.9 seconds to get upcourt and his long 3-pointer leaner missed to send the game to overtime. In the first overtime, Boise State took a quick 68-63 lead but GCU held the Broncos without a field goal for the final three minutes. Benson made one of two free throws to tie the game with 28.2 seconds to and had a clean 3-point look that missed at the buzzer.

‹ 38 › 2017-18 GAME RECAPS

GAME 11: GCU 71, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 38 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: December 18, 2017 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz . (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “Obviously a good game for us. We had some goals that we wanted to Mississippi Valley St 38 (0-11) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds meet and we met them. This was a good game for us to come home after a tough loss against ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 01 Dante Scott * 5-13 1-1 2-2 3 2 5 0 13 0 2 2 0 33 Boise. We obviously did what we had to do. You are always a little nervous when you face a 03 Jordan Evans * 3-8 1-1 0-0 0 4 4 4 7 1 4 0 0 25 10 Emmanuel Ejeh * 0-4 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 0 1 2 0 0 22 team that has not won. That is a team that travels all over the place and plays hard. I am happy 15 Gemaal Davis * 1-6 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 2 23 23 Lacurtis Allen * 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 6 with our guys, I thought defensively we were good, active, got on the offensive boards. Sixteen 00 Jeffery Lewis 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 05 Tereke Eckwood 1-8 0-0 2-2 0 4 4 2 4 0 1 0 0 21 offensive rebounds, which is good. Actually shot 40 percent which is a step up for our team. 11 Kylan Phillips 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 6 12 Lorenzo Hunt 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 9 We are getting there. I thought Matt Jackson was really good. He has got to continue to round 20 Davere Creighton 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 7 21 Arinze Anakwenze 3-4 0-1 0-2 2 2 4 4 6 1 2 2 1 21 into shape. We missed him, especially last year. He is a big part of this team. Very smart. 22 Nate Nahimy 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 13 24 Henry Taylor 1-2 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 Overall really good win. Got one more to get and [then] we get on the road.” 32 Kaleb Allison 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 TEAM 3 4 7 Totals 14-51 2-4 8-15 9 21 30 23 38 4 14 4 5 200 (on Matt Jackson playing like he did before the injury) “He missed a whole year. When we FG % 1st Half: 8-29 27 .6% 2nd Half: 6-22 27 .3% Game: 14-51 27 .5% scrimmaged Oregon State, you know, he was really good, then he got hurt. He missed that 3FG % 1st Half: 1-1 100 0%. 2nd Half: 1-3 33 .3% Game: 2-4 50 .0% FT % 1st Half: 2-2 100 0%. 2nd Half: 6-13 46 .2% Game: 8-15 53 .3% whole year and had a bunch of different injuries he had to battle through and then has done a Grand Canyon 71 (8-3) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds good job. We have been trying to bring him along slowly to make sure he is healthy, especially ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min for the WAC Season. Trying to get his wind and get back into game shape. He is just so smart. 24 Keonta Vernon F 3-8 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 2 6 0 0 4 2 23 25 Alessandro Lever F 2-7 1-2 2-2 2 4 6 2 7 2 3 1 1 14 Not only when he shoots the ball well, he is a good shooter, but he is just so smart defensively. 01 Fiifi Aidoo G 1-2 1-2 1-2 3 1 4 3 4 1 1 0 0 20 02 Joshua Braun G 3-9 3-8 7-9 2 4 6 1 16 0 0 1 0 28 He knows what we are trying to do offensively and is a really good glue guy. When he shoots the 11 Casey Benson G 2-6 1-4 3-4 2 2 4 3 8 6 1 1 1 26 00 Shaq Carr 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 11 ball like that, he gives us good size and a guy that can stretch the floor and just a smart guy.” 03 Parker Dale 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 04 Oscar Frayer 1-3 0-2 0-1 1 3 4 2 2 2 1 0 0 20 05 Matt Jackson 3-5 3-5 1-2 0 5 5 1 10 1 1 0 1 17 (on what they concentrated on for this game following a tough loss at Boise) “Learn from 10 Damari Milstead 2-2 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 4 12 Roberts Blumbergs 0-3 0-2 2-2 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 9 our mistakes. We have a history of giving away games. We had that game won at Boise against 13 Ibrahima Sankare 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 4 15 Cheick Sy-Savane 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 3 a really good team at a tough place. We just cannot continue to give games away. We have 21 Kerwin Smith 1-1 0-0 0-2 0 2 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 4 22 Nehemiah Allen 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 to take whoever we are playing and get better. We cannot just go out and play and not try to 42 Gerard Martin 2-3 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 13 TEAM 2 3 5 improve and I thought tonight we did a good job of really concentrating and getting after it and Totals 22-54 11-27 16-24 16 33 49 19 71 14 12 8 5 200 like I said, we have one more to get here then get on the road and play a really good Louisville FG % 1st Half: 9-27 33 .3% 2nd Half: 13-27 48 1%. Game: 22-54 40 7%. 3FG % 1st Half: 7-15 46 7%. 2nd Half: 4-12 33 .3% Game: 11-27 40 7%. team and Morgan State who is going to be good at Vegas and then obviously Illinois. It will be FT % 1st Half: 8-11 72 7%. 2nd Half: 8-13 61 .5% Game: 16-24 66 7%. Officials: Larry Spaulding, Rob Rorke, Kelly Pfeifer good for us to get on the road and start to test our mental [strength].” Technical Fouls: Mississippi Valley State-None . Grand Canyon-None . GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 6464 In Off 2nd Fast (on how it was having Jerry Colangelo and Paul Westphal in attendance) “It’s always fun. Mr. Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Mississippi Valley State 19 19 38 MVSU 20 4 11 2 13 Colangelo is here a lot and I talked to him. The first thing he said when he came into my office Grand Canyon 33 38 71 GCU 18 9 8 7 30 was ‘why don’t you foul like Boise State?’ It’s always good to see him. Coach Westphal, was a big Last FG - MVSU 2nd-01:55,GCU 2nd-01:35 . Score Tied - 0 times Largest lead - MVSU None, GCU by 34 2nd-01:35 Lead Changed - 0 times part of what we did in Phoenix. He’s such a legend, not only in Phoenix but wherever in the NBA MVSU led for 00:00 . GCU led for 39:30 . Game was tied for 00:30 . and then what he was able to do as a coach. It’s always good to see him. He was a terrific coach RAPID RECAP: and a better person. I got to visit with Mr. Colangelo and Coach Westphal in the office before. The visitors came to GCU Arena in red and green Monday night and Grand Canyon got the early It’s always good when those guys come back. Mr. Colangelo is here all the time so I will get his Christmas present. update on the game tomorrow.” For the seventh time in this season’s 11 games, the Lopes held an opponent to less than 40 (on what he said at halftime about the offense) “I told them we have to be better. We have percent shooting. It was far below this time, as Mississippi Valley State shot 27.5 percent in a to finish. I am tired of looking at the stat sheet and seeing 30 percent. We have to find a way. 71-38 GCU home victory. The big thing was that we were shooting 46 percent from the three in the first half and we were shooting 33 percent overall in the first half and I said enough is enough. We have to The Lopes (8-3) opened the game by hitting 3-pointers for their first four made field goals to concentrate, we missed a lot of layups. We have to put the ball in the basket. Have to make take a 12-6 lead and stayed in command from there. the extra pass, sometimes we are still taking bad shots so we have to make the extra pass and The GCU defense shut out the Delta Devils (0-11) for five minutes of the first half when the Lopes penetrate. We have to do a better job of that.” opened a 30-15 lead after consecutive 3-pointers from junior power forward Matt Jackson on senior point guard Casey Benson’s assist and Benson in transition. After the defense established GCU’s hold on the game in the first half, the offense opened the second half with a five-shot possession that lasted one minute and 14 seconds before the Lopes scored on a jumper by freshman power forward Alessandro Lever. The GCU offense thrived on 3-pointers in the first half but worked inside-out to start the second half, scoring 18 points in a span of 6:18 to open up a 22-point lead. Mississippi Valley State struggled to score even more from there as the Lopes pulled away on a string of free throws. Senior guard Joshua Braun led the Lopes in scoring with 16 points while Jackson added 10 points and five rebounds in 17 reserve minutes. Benson delivered a team-high six assists while scoring eight points. GCU made 13 of 27 3-pointers and nearly grabbed as many offensive rebounds (16) as Mississippi Valley State had defensive rebounds (21). GCU returns to action at 6 p.m. Thursday against Longwood at GCU Arena.

‹ 39 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 12: GCU 86, LONGWOOD 76 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: December 21, 2017 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz . (GCU Arena) (Opening statement) “Good win. You’re always a little nervous about these, especially when Longwood 56 (3-9) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds we are flying out tonight and have a big road trip. I thought our guys came out really focused. ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min Came out and played really well in the opening minutes and shot the ball extremely well. The 02 B .K . Ashe * 6-12 0-2 1-2 0 6 6 2 13 2 4 0 0 39 03 Kamil Chapman * 3-8 2-6 5-5 0 2 2 4 13 1 3 0 3 26 bench came in, Fiifi brought a lot of energy, Matt, everybody. Just a good win. Those are two 21 Jashaun Smith * 4-9 1-4 2-2 0 1 1 2 11 0 2 0 1 30 24 Damarion Geter * 3-5 0-1 1-3 0 5 5 2 7 0 0 1 1 35 home games that you get nervous for but our guys did a great job of coming out and taking 30 Chris Shields * 2-6 0-1 1-2 2 2 4 3 5 0 3 0 0 24 care of business. I’m proud of them.” 00 Dominic Ezeani 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 13 Spencer Franklin 1-7 0-0 1-4 3 2 5 3 3 0 1 0 1 25 20 Jordan Cintron 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 0 2 3 2 2 3 0 1 19 (on Fiifi Aidoo’s performance off the bench) “Fiifi is a good player. He’s starting to get some TEAM 0 1 1 Totals 21-50 3-15 11-18 7 19 26 20 56 5 16 1 7 200 confidence and the best thing is Oscar started to get going too. They were just reversing their roles a little bit. I think Oscar’s more of a starter and Fiifi can come off the bench and get it FG % 1st Half: 8-21 38 1%. 2nd Half: 13-29 44 .8% Game: 21-50 42 .0% 3FG % 1st Half: 1-5 20 .0% 2nd Half: 2-10 20 .0% Game: 3-15 20 .0% going. Oscar the second half got it going. He’s so athletic and flies around and that’s when FT % 1st Half: 3-6 50 .0% 2nd Half: 8-12 66 7%. Game: 11-18 61 1%. he’s really good. He crashes the boards and uses his athleticism, it makes the three point shot Grand Canyon 86 (9-3) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds earlier. I’m proud of both of them.” ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 4-8 2-3 0-0 3 1 4 2 10 0 2 1 1 19 24 Keonta Vernon F 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 0 2 3 0 0 1 18 (on what it’s like when both rotations are playing well and how it raises the play) “When 25 Alessandro Lever F 2-5 1-3 2-4 2 8 10 4 7 2 1 2 0 23 you play 10, Kerwin and Damari make 12, and we really can’t play that many. We have some 02 Joshua Braun G 2-7 2-6 0-0 1 0 1 2 6 1 1 0 0 14 11 Casey Benson G 4-10 1-5 2-2 1 4 5 1 11 5 1 0 2 20 talented guys so we will see how they hold up against Louisville, Illinois and Morgan State, guys 00 Shaq Carr 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 2 2 5 2 2 2 17 like that. We have guys who can go in and play four or five minute stretches and play really hard 01 Fiifi Aidoo 6-8 2-4 0-0 1 1 2 1 14 2 0 0 0 22 05 Matt Jackson 4-7 2-4 0-0 1 2 3 0 10 1 1 0 1 16 defensively and that’s what we try to key on. Go out there and let our defense get our offense 10 Damari Milstead 1-1 1-1 2-2 0 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 0 8 12 Roberts Blumbergs 1-5 0-2 4-6 1 4 5 2 6 0 1 0 0 17 going and pick up our energy. All of those guys are doing a good job there. All of those guys 13 Ibrahima Sankare 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 understand what they have to do and they did a good job. These are games that are sometimes 15 Cheick Sy-Savane 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 21 Kerwin Smith 2-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 4 1 0 2 0 5 hard and I was proud of our guys.” 22 Nehemiah Allen 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 42 Gerard Martin 2-5 2-5 1-2 1 1 2 0 7 2 0 0 1 15 (on traveling to Louisville on a quick turnaround similar to two years ago) “We didn’t get TEAM 1 2 3 Totals 31-63 13-34 11-16 16 26 42 16 86 22 11 7 8 200 kind of blown out, I think we lost by 60 so we really got blown out. That’s why we are flying out

FG % 1st Half: 16-32 50 .0% 2nd Half: 15-31 48 4%. Game: 31-63 49 .2% tonight. We have a red-eye at 12:30, we get into Louisville at 9:30 in the morning that way we 3FG % 1st Half: 8-19 42 1%. 2nd Half: 5-15 33 .3% Game: 13-34 38 .2% can be in there, get some practice and get a little bit of rest then we have another afternoon FT % 1st Half: 4-5 80 .0% 2nd Half: 7-11 63 .6% Game: 11-16 68 .8% game. They’re obviously very good but I told our guys I expect us to go in there, compete and Officials: Shawn Lehigh, Frank Harvey, Jon Stigliano win the game. We are past the point of just showing up. Tonight hopefully we get some rest on Technical Fouls: Longwood-None . Grand Canyon-None . GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 7006 the plane and when we get there we will be energized, have a good practice and be ready for In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Saturday.” Longwood 20 36 56 LWD 32 13 4 2 7 Grand Canyon 44 42 86 GCU 30 18 11 1 50 (on the offensives pace vs Longwood) “When you hit jump shots, it is always a little bit better.

Last FG - LWD 2nd-00:04,GCU 2nd-00:19 . Score Tied - 0 times Fiifi shot the ball well, Gerard shot it well, Matt came in and shot it well. When you start hitting Largest lead - LWD by 1 1st-18:47, GCU by 35 2nd-13:43 Lead Changed - 2 times LWD led for 00:15 . GCU led for 39:31 . Game was tied for 00:14 . jump shots everything kind of loosens up and then we kind of let them back in the game, which is a tough deal for me. I wanted them to keep playing, but we came out in the second half and RAPID RECAP: did a good job. We just have to continue to shoot the ball that well, but it can’t be just living by Grand Canyon did not wait until Saturday to get ready for its high-profile game Louisville. the jump shot, we have to be able to attack and most of our stuff will come off of our defensive pressure.” The Lopes came out Thursday night with play befitting a match with a perennial power, pouncing on Longwood with a sizzling 34-5 start that led to a 86-56 victory in front of 7,006 fans at GCU Arena. (on if Alessandro Lever is doing a better job on the boards and rebounding) “I think so. He is starting to figure it out. He has got to get stronger with the basketball, but he is doing a good GCU (9-3) made 15 of its first 21 shots, scoring 25 points in one first-half stretch of five minutes job. I thought Rob was a little bit more aggressive. He is a much better shooter then he is right and 14 seconds. now. He can really shoot it, but he is not shooting the ball well, but I liked how he took the ball The Lopes played with more pace than usual and came at Longwood in waves. GCU dominated to the basket. He is starting to figure it out a little bit. Both those guys with their size have to be Longwood in bench scoring, 28-0, in the first half. more physical and have to be stronger with the basketball.” Head coach Dan Majerle moved sophomore guard Fiifi Aidoo back to the bench in part to get him (on whether there was discussion on not looking ahead to Louisville and focusing on more scoring opportunities and he continued his recent hot shooting with a run of 10 consecutive Longwood) “There is a lot of discussion. I told our guys we have given away enough games Lopes points over two minutes. Aidoo finished with a team-high 14 points on six-of-eight shooting. and we are not good enough to look past anybody. We are always looking ahead to the WAC, not just Louisville, but we always want to be able to learn and get better each night that we play Two days after Longwood had No. 3 Arizona State tied at 30 late in the first half, GCU held the and tonight was an opportunity for us to get better and learn about each other, play hard and Lancers to five points in the game’s first 11 minutes. The stops translated to more transition play for continue to do well on defense and I thought we did that for the most part. We are not looking an offense with quick strikes and crisp passes to score 39 points in the first 13 minutes. past anybody. We have to try to get better every game and work on our game, and our guys A cool-off was unavoidable but the Lopes went seven minutes without making a field goal and still have to learn and get experience” led 39-20 before closing the first half with five unanswered points and opening the second half “Drive. Kick. with nine more. (on what the key is when you face a good shot blocking team like Louisville) Drive. Kick. It is not that hard. I mean you have to get in the paint. There is going to be shot Coming off a win with 11 made 3-pointers, the Lopes hit 13 more on Thursday for its second-highest blockers coming, you have to have good spacing and just move the basketball. We have done total of the season. Aidoo, Matt Jackson, Gerard Martin, Joshua Braun and Oscar Frayer (in his a better job at that lately and moving the basketball, trying to make the extra pass. I mean we return to the starting lineup) each hit two 3-pointers. had 22 assists tonight, so I think we are starting to move the ball a little bit better. Our guys understand that. So we just have to do that come Saturday. Pick our spots, but once you get to On the flip side, GCU maintained its status as the defense that has allowed the fewest 3-pointers the paint, if somebody is there, just find the open guy.” in Division I and the sixth-lowest opponent 3-point percentage. Longwood, missing leading scorer Isaiah Walton for a third consecutive game, went three for 15 from 3-point range. (on if the team is used to environments like Louisville) “Oh yeah, I mean these guys, if you In addition to Aidoo, Jackson (10 points) and senior point guard Casey Benson (11 points, five think about it. Josh has played at almost every environment, Casey, obviously played at Oregon rebounds, five assists) scored in double figures for GCU. Freshman power forward Alessandro and has done all that, Oscar has been to Duke, started as a freshman. Matt, Gerard, all the way Lever grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, which also is a season high. The win marked GCU’s third down the line. Alessandro and Roberts are two foreigners that don’t know what the hell is win by 30 points or more in the past five games. going on, they don’t even know where Louisville is. We will be alright.”

‹ 40 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 13: LOUISVILLE 74, GCU 56 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: December 23, 2017 - 1:02 PM Tip Louisville, Ky . (KFC Yum! Center) (opening statement) “Obviously they’re a really good team, playing at home. With our travel, Grand Canyon 56 (9-4) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds it’s tough, but that’s no excuse. We’ve had a hard time scoring all year long. The matchup ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 24 Keonta Vernon F 4-7 0-0 1-3 3 6 9 5 9 0 2 2 1 26 zone really bothered us. I thought we had too many careless turnovers early. We hung in 25 Alessandro Lever F 5-9 2-2 0-0 1 2 3 5 12 4 3 0 0 23 02 Joshua Braun G 3-10 1-4 1-2 2 2 4 1 8 0 3 0 2 30 there early and tried to battle. We just didn’t have it tonight. I’m a little disappointed in our 04 Oscar Frayer G 6-8 1-3 1-1 0 1 1 3 14 1 1 1 0 28 effort, but like I said, that’s a really good team. They’ve got a lot of talent. I thought Spalding 11 Casey Benson G 2-7 2-4 1-2 0 3 3 1 7 7 3 0 2 34 00 Shaq Carr 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 really took the game over with 21 (points) and 16 (rebounds). He did a really good job for 01 Fiifi Aidoo 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 1 11 05 Matt Jackson 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 3 0 1 2 0 0 17 them. I’m a little disappointed in us, but that’s a really good team.” 10 Damari Milstead 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 Roberts Blumbergs 0-3 0-3 2-4 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 11 21 Kerwin Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 (on not taking advantage of the stops early with the turnovers) “That’s a good defense 42 Gerard Martin 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 1 14 and its predicated on not letting guys get to the basket. They’re the number one shot TEAM 4 0 4 1 Totals 22-55 6-19 6-12 12 23 35 20 56 13 19 3 7 200 blocking team in the country. We just haven’t shot the ball. We hit some early threes—Casey

FG % 1st Half: 10-25 40 .0% 2nd Half: 12-30 40 .0% Game: 22-55 40 .0% hit two-straight threes and got us off to that lead, but didn’t shoot the ball well and didn’t 3FG % 1st Half: 3-11 27 .3% 2nd Half: 3-8 37 .5% Game: 6-19 31 .6% FT % 1st Half: 2-2 100 0%. 2nd Half: 4-10 40 .0% Game: 6-12 50 .0% finish. The careless turnovers, not so much of what Louisville did, but us just being too casual with the basketball and the worst thing you can do is have live-ball turnovers against a team Louisville 74 (10-2) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min like that and we had a lot of those. I’m disappointed, but we kept on fighting there in the 13 Ray SPALDING F 8-13 0-1 5-9 6 10 16 2 21 1 1 2 3 36 22 Deng ADEL F 5-14 1-6 3-4 0 1 1 1 14 2 1 1 1 32 second half. We made a little bit of a run, but it wasn’t enough.” 14 Anas MAHMOUD C 3-4 0-0 1-2 2 3 5 0 7 2 2 3 1 33 00 VJ KING G 2-6 1-1 2-4 0 3 3 3 7 1 3 0 1 19 (on what was working early in the game when GCU jumped out to an 11-3 lead) “Inside- 04 Quentin SNIDER G 4-10 0-2 4-4 2 1 3 1 12 5 2 0 1 32 02 Darius PERRY 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 3 1 2 0 0 8 out. We got the ball into our freshman, who I thought had a really good game. I’m excited 05 Malik WILLIAMS 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 24 Dwayne SUTTON 2-3 0-1 3-4 2 3 5 4 7 0 0 0 0 18 about him. He’s continuing to get better and better—Alessandro from Italy. He’s going to be a 30 Ryan McMAHON 1-5 1-5 0-0 1 3 4 1 3 2 0 0 3 14 33 Jordan NWORA 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 good player. One of those stretch fours, stretch fives, that can really shoot it. We got the ball TEAM 2 1 3 into him at the post and just ran a stagger pick for Casey coming off and he hit two big threes Totals 26-59 4-19 18-27 15 26 41 15 74 14 12 6 10 200 to start us off in the game. They kind of adjusted to that as all coaches and teams do. We just FG % 1st Half: 13-30 43 .3% 2nd Half: 13-29 44 .8% Game: 26-59 44 1%. 3FG % 1st Half: 1-11 9 1%. 2nd Half: 3-8 37 .5% Game: 4-19 21 1%. found it hard to find a way to score in that matchup zone. If you’re not shooting the ball well, FT % 1st Half: 4-8 50 .0% 2nd Half: 14-19 73 7%. Game: 18-27 66 7%. and Josh didn’t shoot well—and he’s got to shoot it well for us to play well.” Officials: Bert Sith, Brent Hampton, Lamar Simpson Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon - None . Louisville - None . (on if Louisville did anything to slow Josh Braun down) “Josh did something to slow Josh KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky . - Attendance: 16,841 In Off 2nd Fast down. Josh hasn’t shot the ball well. He gets a lot of good looks. He was 3-for-10, 1-for-4 from Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Grand Canyon 25 31 56 GCU 24 15 7 4 6 three. He’s been a great player for us. He’s the WAC Preseason Player of the Year this year. Louisville 31 43 74 LOU 34 21 13 2 13 He’s been a First-Team Academic All-American, First-Team All-WAC. For whatever reason, Last FG - GCU 2nd-02:27, LOU 2nd-00:37 . Score Tied - 3 times he’s really struggling with this shot and confidence. We have to find a way to fix that before Largest lead - GCU by 8 1st-13:28, LOU by 19 2nd-08:28 . Lead Changed - 3 times GCU led for 13:30 . LOU led for 23:58 . Game was tied for 02:32 . the conference season. He just hasn’t had a good year, but he’s one of those kids that’s tough and will find a way to get it done. He’s one of our main guys and for us to be successful, we RAPID RECAP: have to be able to shoot the ball.” Grand Canyon was going to need to be at its best to upset a perennial power like Louisville in its (on adapting to Louisville’s full court press) “We’ve got to do a better job of guys getting building. Playing well at times was good for first-half GCU leads and a tight first half. Falling far to the basketball. They’ve got two guys on Casey. We’ve handled the press well. We knew short of that led the Lopes to a 74-56 loss to the Cardinals at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville was going to press and the last couple of years, we’ve done a good job against GCU (9-4) trailed Louisville (10-2) by one point with 16:53 remaining in the game but the Cardinals them. We just had guys not getting to the ball. Not flashing and getting the ball and turning then went on a 21-3 run to beat the Lopes for a third consecutive year. it over. We’ve got to be aggressive. We did a little better job in the second half when we got GCU was far more of a challenger than its Louisville visit two years ago but expected to be. The some layups, but we’ve got to become more aggressive in attacking the press and trying to Lopes led for nearly the first 12 minutes of the game and more than 13 minutes of the first half. But score instead of being satisfied with just breaking it. Double-team Casey, and we’ve got guys 12 first-half turnovers prevented the Lopes from doing more and they crashed hard in the second kind of hiding. They don’t want to go get the ball for whatever reason.” half until it was too much to overcome. Starting big men Keonta Vernon and Alessandro Lever fouled out during one last surge that trimmed the Louisville lead to 11 with 3:32 to go. Louisville junior power forward Ray Spalding set career highs for points (21) and rebounds (15) as the Cardinals outscored GCU 34-24 in the paint. The Lopes committed 19 turnovers and shot 40 percent from the field with sophomore guard Oscar Frayer scoring a team-high 14 points. The Lopes were far from the team shook by playing at Louisville two years for a 48-point loss. They shut out Louisville for the first 3:41 and jumped ahead 6-0 when senior point guard Casey Benson hit 3-pointers on their second and third possessions of the game. GCU’s turnover issues prevented them from extending the lead more but the Lopes still led 11-3 after seven minutes with Frayer adding another 3-pointer. GCU then missed its next seven 3-point tries of the half but still led 23-21 when Benson threaded a bounce pass for a layup by Vernon. Louisville closed the first half with a 10-2 run over the final 3:34 by getting repeatedly into the paint with its size. The Cardinals led 31-25 at the half despite hitting one of 11 3-pointers against GCU, which entered the game with the third-lowest opponent 3-point percentage in Division I. GCU handled Louisville’s full-court press better early in the second half and tightened Louisville’s lead to 38-37 when Lever beat the shot clock with a jumper off Benson’s inbound. Shortly after, Benson had a potential tying 3-pointer rim around twice before coming out and Vernon nearly had a follow. Instead, it was the start of a massive Lopes offensive funk. GCU scored once, a Lever 3-pointer, over more than eight minutes of play to fall irretrievably behind at 59-40 with 8:28 to go. ‹ 41 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 14: GCU 100, MORGAN STATE 74 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: December 27, 2017 - 6:09 PM Tip Las Vegas, Nev . (Orleans Arena) (opening statement) “Really good game. The Lopes score 100. Holy cow. Just the energy was Morgan State (4-8) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds really good. The only negative that I have about this game is transition. They really pushed the ball ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 05 Tiwian Kendley * 9-20 1-4 12-12 0 3 3 1 31 2 5 1 4 37 and got out in transition. We did a really good job despite that in the half court. We had too many 02 Martez Cameron * 2-11 1-3 0-0 1 2 3 3 5 5 2 0 1 30 10 Antonio Gillespie * 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 13 fouls. They got to the foul line. Really good energy, offensively. I thought everybody came in and 22 Phillip Carr * 5-17 1-1 7-9 6 6 12 4 18 1 2 0 1 39 played extremely well. Good to see Josh get it going a little bit. He needed that. We needed that. 34 Elijah Staley * 0-4 0-0 3-4 3 0 3 2 3 1 0 0 0 15 00 Stanley Davis 2-10 0-3 1-2 1 0 1 2 5 1 3 0 1 21 Shaq started and played really well. Keonta, when he was in there, played really well. I thought 01 Lapri McCray-Pace 3-5 1-1 1-3 1 2 3 3 8 1 0 0 2 17 03 Azariah Sykes 0-0 0-0 2-4 1 3 4 2 2 0 0 0 1 16 Rob, in the second half, had a couple of breakthrough moments, which he needs as freshman. 32 David Syfax 0-2 0-0 2-2 0 3 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 12 TEAM 6 0 6 1 Overall, everybody played well—a great team win. It’s good to experience, so I’m very happy.” Totals 21-70 4-13 28-36 19 21 40 19 74 11 13 1 10 200 (on if the ball moved better by pass than dribble tonight) “Oh no question, 24 assists. We FG % 1st Half: 11-33 33 .3% 2nd Half: 10-37 27 .0% Game: 21-70 30 .0% 3FG % 1st Half: 3-8 37 .5% 2nd Half: 1-5 20 .0% Game: 4-13 30 .8% tried to put in stuff where we just got off the ball and had movement. We did a good job of FT % 1st Half: 8-11 72 7%. 2nd Half: 20-25 80 .0% Game: 28-36 77 .8% that, especially that first half. They went to the zone, but we still did a good job of moving the Grand Canyon 100 (10-4) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min ball and trying to get it inside. I thought Alessandro did a really good job. He’s just got to finish 24 Keonta Vernon F 5-8 0-0 1-1 4 2 6 4 11 0 2 0 0 15 around the basket, but really nice offensive rebounds a couple of times, high-low, get down 25 Alessandro Lever F 3-9 0-2 2-4 2 7 9 3 8 1 1 0 0 21 00 Shaq Carr G 3-3 0-0 3-3 1 5 6 3 9 6 2 2 0 22 there and seal. He just has to take his time to make the plays, but I thought everybody moved 02 Joshua Braun G 6-11 5-9 1-2 2 3 5 2 18 2 2 0 3 28 11 Casey Benson G 3-9 1-4 4-4 0 5 5 4 11 5 2 0 0 23 the basketball. It didn’t really stick. We shot it really well.” 01 Fiifi Aidoo 4-9 2-6 2-2 2 2 4 2 12 3 1 1 1 21 05 Matt Jackson 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 15 (on the message to the team following the loss at Louisville) “I told them today, before the 10 Damari Milstead 3-5 0-0 3-3 0 3 3 1 9 3 2 0 0 17 12 Roberts Blumbergs 2-2 2-2 2-2 0 2 2 1 8 1 1 2 0 14 season, everybody was kind of picking Grand Canyon. Now, everybody thinks we’re dead. I 13 Ibrahima Sankare 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 15 Cheick Sy-Savane 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 understand that. We haven’t played real well. New Mexico State is playing great. I just said, ‘It’s 21 Kerwin Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 22 Nehemiah Allen 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 time to get our mojo back. Nothing has changed. We just hit a little bit of a lull. We have to get our 42 Gerard Martin 4-5 2-3 0-0 1 1 2 5 10 1 1 1 0 16 mojo back. We have to get our confidence up. We have to play as a team. We have to get out of TEAM 0 1 1 Totals 34-66 13-29 19-23 12 33 45 28 100 24 15 6 5 200 ourselves and just win games. If we’re not making shots, rebound and play defense and all those FG % 1st Half: 18-38 47 4%. 2nd Half: 16-28 57 1%. Game: 34-66 51 .5% things will come around. I thought we did a better job of that. We just have to continue to that 3FG % 1st Half: 6-17 35 .3% 2nd Half: 7-12 58 .3% Game: 13-29 44 .8% FT % 1st Half: 4-4 100 0%. 2nd Half: 15-19 78 .9% Game: 19-23 82 .6% as we get closer and closer. We’ve got a really hard game coming up against Illinois and then we’ve got Seattle and New Mexico State when the league starts. We’ve got to get ourselves back Officials: Kevin Brill, Deldre Carr, Doran Gotschall Technical Fouls: Morgan State-None . Grand Canyon-None . to having a lot of confidence and playing fun and playing free, but yet, fundamentally strong.” Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, NV Attendance: 1544 In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench (on if he looks for the players to step up into those leadership roles) “Yeah, our coaching staff Morgan State 33 41 74 MSU 30 17 18 13 17 Grand Canyon 46 54 100 GCU 36 15 11 18 43 can want to win as bad and work as hard, but until the team takes over the team, we’re not going to be a good team. Until someone takes that locker room by the throat as a player, and Last FG - MGS 2nd-01:09,GCU 2nd-01:22 . Score Tied - 0 times Largest lead - MGS None, GCU by 31 2nd-04:09 Lead Changed - 0 times they decide they want to be better and they want to listen and they want to improve. Then they’ll MGS led for 00:00 . GCU led for 38:40 . Game was tied for 01:20 . be a good team and I think that’s starting to happen. We’ve done a good job against teams and RAPID RECAP: that’s a good team. They’ve got those guys back, so we did a good job. We’ve got to step up and Grand Canyon is undefeated in Orleans Arena. play against the upper echelon teams that we should be able to beat and hang with. So far, we haven’t done that this season. Boise State was a very good test for us, but we let that one go. That record would mean much more come mid-March when the Western Athletic Conference I’m happy with this game and hopefully it will catapult us forward.” Basketball Tournament is here but blowing out Morgan State 100-74 at Orleans Arena on Wednesday could be a nice prelude. (on if he likes having this amount of extended road time together) “Yes and no. You miss your In one of the more balanced scoring attacks of the season, the Lopes set a season high for scoring family. I know our guys, some of them have their families here now, but you miss being home for the and had five double-digit scorers. Nine GCU players scored eight or more points to make the most holidays. Everyone misses that. You never like being on the road for 10 or 11 days, but it’s good to be out of one of their best defensive efforts. GCU reached 100 points for the second time in its Division on the road and go through battles, and see each other every day, and eat with each other every day, I era, enthralling a crowd of 1,544 fans that was nearly all Lopes fans. and go through practice. It’s so comfy back at our house where we play, that sometimes we lose perspective. So it’s good, but you always wish you were home. I think this is a good trip for our guys.” GCU (10-4) held Morgan State to 30.0 percent shooting, including no made field goals for the first 6:55 of the second half. The Lopes started the second half fouling the Bears on their first three (on having 1,500 fans travel to Vegas for this game) “Our fans are unbelievable. Are you possessions to prompt a time out from GCU head coach Dan Majerle. After that, a Shaq Carr kidding me? Wherever we go, we travel well. With Lopes on the Road and President Mueller 3-point play on a follow started an 8-0 run that gave the Lopes a 58-38 lead and a command that allowing us to come here and rent the facility and play here, so we have a shot to get in here they would not relinquish. before the WAC Tournament. People getting on buses, the dance, the band—I’ve said from the The Lopes started the game with a different look because sophomore guard Oscar Frayer injured beginning that it takes a university to raise a great team and they’ve done way more than their his knee in practice Tuesday but is expected to return soon. Carr started in his place at point guard, share. They are absolutely unbelievable. Our fan base is incredible.” moving senior Casey Benson off the ball with senior Joshua Braun to small forward for tip-off. It worked well for everyone. (on how important it is to get this game in at the Orleans Arena before the WAC Tournament) “It’s big. It is. We’ve had five or six guys that have never been to Vegas with Ali and Rob and Fiifi and Carr delivered a team-high six assists and did not miss a shot while scoring nine points and all those guys, they’ve never been here. To get here and to see this gym and be able to practice and grabbing five rebounds. Benson still had five assists to go with 11 points and five rebounds. Best shootaround and have a game, get familiar with it, so when they walk in here for hopefully those three of all, Braun found his shooting stroke to make five of nine 3-point tries for a team-high 18 points. games, they are comfortable having been here before and now look back on a good experience.” The Lopes’ bench played a major part again, outscoring the Morgan State reserves 37-17. Sophomore guard Fiifi Aidoo led the Lopes subs with 12 points, including two great end-to-end (on if he liked the offense with Casey Benson playing off the ball more)“When Shaq plays like stretches. He followed one layup by taking a charge six seconds later. He also followed a 3-pointer that, I like it. We’ve got to handle the ball well. I thought Damari was good. The problem with by blocking a Bear layup try nine seconds later. Shaq is every time he gets comfortable, he gets comfortable. He can’t play comfortable. He has to play on fire. He’s got to play with a sense of urgency. He’s got to play like I’m going to pull him GCU shot 51.5 percent from the field, 44.8 from 3-point range and 82.6 percent from the free out of the game. When he does that, he’s really good. His problem is he gets casual. We need throw line. Freshman center Alessandro Lever led GCU’s rebounding with nine boards while also scoring eight. him, but if he doesn’t play well, I’ve got Damari right there to move in, so he’s got to stay on edge. He’s got to stay on edge. Casey has got to continue to work, but it was good to see Josh. I was The Lopes stay on the road to next play at Illinois on Saturday in their final non-conference game. really happy for Josh. Nobody is harder on Josh than Josh. I just hold him, he’s got to just play.” ‹ 42 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 15: ILLINOIS 62, GCU 58 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: December 30, 2017 - 3:01 PM Tip Champaign, Ill . (State Farm Center) (opening statement)“I thought my guys really battled hard. They played hard. This is 10 of an 11- Grand Canyon 58 (10-5) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds day road trip so I’m happy with how hard we played. We didn’t shoot the ball well, which has been ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 24 Keonta Vernon F 5-9 0-0 4-6 2 3 5 2 14 0 1 2 1 19 a problem all year long. I knew coming in here that we were going to face a tough defensive team in 25 Alessandro Lever F 5-10 1-3 2-3 2 3 5 3 13 1 3 0 0 26 Illinois and they were exactly that. We just didn’t shoot well enough to win the game. But we battled 00 Shaq Carr G 4-8 0-0 1-1 0 4 4 1 9 3 4 0 0 33 02 Joshua Braun G 2-10 1-5 2-3 1 4 5 2 7 3 0 1 1 34 hard and I’m happy for our guys. We’ll be able to learn from it and move on going into conference play.” 11 Casey Benson G 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 4 0 1 3 0 0 20 01 Fiifi Aidoo 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 9 04 Oscar Frayer 5-9 0-1 0-1 3 0 3 2 10 1 0 0 2 20 (on what he saw from Illinois and specifically at the end of the game) “I knew they were going 05 Matt Jackson 1-4 0-2 0-0 2 2 4 0 2 1 1 0 0 8 to be good and they hold and they play the way I used to play when I was with the Heat. I’ve 10 Damari Milstead 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 Roberts Blumbergs 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 9 experienced that and I love it. That’s just their style and we try to play that way, but it was just 42 Gerard Martin 1-5 1-4 0-0 0 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 2 21 TEAM 3 1 4 1 hard to get shots. They do a good job of pressuring you all game long. I thought our guys kept on Totals 23-64 3-20 9-14 13 20 33 16 58 13 14 4 8 200 battling and made stops when we had to. As I said, when you go 3-for-20 from the 3-point line and FG % 1st Half: 14-33 42 4%. 2nd Half: 9-31 29 .0% Game: 23-64 35 .9% Josh has been struggling where he goes 2-for-10 and missed some easy ones, it’s hard to win. 3FG % 1st Half: 2-11 18 2%. 2nd Half: 1-9 11 1%. Game: 3-20 15 .0% FT % 1st Half: 2-3 66 7%. 2nd Half: 7-11 63 .6% Game: 9-14 64 .3% Casey didn’t play a good game. Between those guys, they were 2-for-14. We had some other guys step up. Our 6-foot-10 center, Alessandro, was good. Keonta always plays hard. Oscar, coming off Illinois 62 (10-5) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min the knee injury where he missed the last game, I thought was very effective. That’s a good team. 12 Leron Black F 8-12 1-3 3-4 3 8 11 4 20 0 2 0 0 32 43 Michael Finke F 4-9 1-3 0-0 1 2 3 0 9 0 0 2 1 28 They’re playing very well. Coach has them playing the way he likes to play and I’m proud of our 03 Te’Jon Lucas G 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 2 1 5 0 0 15 guys. We hung in there. It was just too much for us at the end.” 13 Mark Smith G 1-6 0-3 0-0 2 1 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 11 24 Mark Alstork G 1-4 0-2 2-2 3 5 8 2 4 1 3 0 1 28 01 Trent Frazier 6-12 1-2 1-3 0 2 2 1 14 2 3 0 2 25 (on what he saw on the final 3-pointer of the game) “We got switched off. Alessandro, we told them 02 Kipper Nichols 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 1 0 11 11 Greg Eboigbodin 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 to get up and run them off the line. We’ve a great job defending the 3-point line all year long. We didn’t 20 Da’Monte Williams 1-4 1-3 0-0 0 2 2 2 3 3 2 1 1 19 do bad tonight. They shot 5-for-19, but those last two shots, he’s got to get up there and make him put 23 Aaron Jordan 2-6 1-2 1-2 1 3 4 2 6 0 4 0 1 24 TEAM 4 0 4 it on the floor and have somebody come over and make him make another pass. We made a mistake Totals 25-57 5-19 7-11 15 29 44 18 62 9 20 4 6 200 and blitzed the high-ball screen on a butter situation at the end of the clock. We should’ve just whited FG % 1st Half: 11-29 37 .9% 2nd Half: 14-28 50 .0% Game: 25-57 43 .9% it or switched it, because a 2-pointer doesn’t kill us. We’re only down three and 3-pointer puts us 3FG % 1st Half: 0-6 0 .0% 2nd Half: 5-13 38 .5% Game: 5-19 26 .3% FT % 1st Half: 5-8 62 .5% 2nd Half: 2-3 66 7%. Game: 7-11 63 .6% down four which is a two possession game. So we made a mistake blitzing that, but our guys were

Officials: D .J . Carstensen, Lamont Simpson, Tod Eades just over aggressive, but I’ll take that. We didn’t fully rotate, but we should switched it. But you’re Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None . Illinois-None . right, they hit two big threes when they had to and that, so that’s good for them.” State Farm Center; Champaign, Ill . Attendance: 13762 In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench (on forcing 20 turnovers) “We’re one of the best defensive teams around. We’ve done that all Grand Canyon 32 26 58 GCU 36 18 13 8 15 Illinois 27 35 62 ILL 32 10 9 2 25 year long. It’s the only way we’ve been able to win games and stay in games. Our shooting has been spotty all year long, so we’ve been turning up the defense and doing a good job of forcing Last FG - GCU 2nd-00:07,ILL 2nd-00:17 . Score Tied - 11 times Largest lead - GCU by 5 1st-00:48, ILL by 6 1st-06:23 Lead Changed - 6 times turnovers. A lot of our offense comes off of good defense and getting stops and getting out and GCU led for 16:49 . ILL led for 12:36 . Game was tied for 10:35 . running hopefully. I’m happy with how hard we played and all of that is our defense. We did a good RAPID RECAP: job of that tonight. Fourteen turnovers for us is pretty good because at Illinois, they turn teams The theme is encouraging for Grand Canyon but the ending was too familiar when the Lopes over 20 times (a game). That’s been our biggest Achilles heels in that we turn the ball over way gave another quality opponent a test but came away with a loss on Saturday. GCU led at halftime too much. For us to have 14 turnovers and turn them over 20 is good, but like I said, we have to and for much of the second half at Illinois but lost 62-58 at State Farm Center after a nine-for-29 find a way to shoot better. Josh not shooting the ball, it’s hard for us to score.” second half of shooting. (on getting a recruit out of Champaign for his 2018 class in Tim Finke) “I needed him tonight. The Lopes move to 10-5 with all five losses coming to opponents who have at least 10 wins. Illinois That would’ve been good. I love Tim. Josh will be gone. I told him we need a shooter. He’s a (10-5) won despite committing 20 turnovers and going three for 17 on 3-pointers until closing high character kid. I love his family. His brother plays extremely hard. I went and watched him the game by making its final two 3-point tries. practice and I knew right away he’s one of those kinds of kids that we like in our program: a guy After taking a 37-32 lead to halftime on freshman center Alessandro Lever’s 11 first-half points, that loves to be in the gym and is only going to get better, can really score, can shoot it. We’re GCU gave up scores on the first four Illinois second-half possessions before resuming its strong excited to get him. He was really the highest recruit that we’ve ever got, so we’re excited to have defense. The Lopes were strong with ball pressure and rotations to help out of double-teams and Tim and he plays again tonight, so hopefully we can get out there and see him. We’re excited to create some of the Illini’s 20 turnovers. have Tim. That’s a big get for us.” The Lopes led or were tied for the first 14 minutes of the second half, including taking a 47-43 lead (on what he thought changed in the second half offensively) “When we come out of halftime, more when junior forward Gerard Martin made a 3-pointer off sophomore guard Fiifi Aidoo’s assist. times than not, we kind of fall asleep and it gets them going a little bit. They went on a little bit of a run The strong GCU defense continued but Illinois got a desperate 3-pointer against the shot clock from and cut the lead real quick. Like I said, they were doing a good job of playing defense and we weren’t freshman Trent Frazier for a 57-54 lead with 1:16 remaining. GCU tightened the lead to 57-56 when hitting shots. We just battled in there and they hit some big threes down the stretch, which was big. senior power forward Keonta Vernon made a difficult catch on a post entry pass and was able to finish We didn’t make a whole lot of those. We just battled, but coming out of halftime, we have to be better. the shot left-handed with:18 to go. The Lopes got the stop they needed but the rebound caromed out If we have a 5-point lead, we’ve got to build it to 10. They came out and got some easy baskets right of bounds to Illinois for another time-draining possession. Another Illini freshman, Da’Monte Williams, away, just our guys not being on point coming out of the locker room. That’s hurt us the past two.” hit a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock for a 60-56 Illinois lead with 15.2 seconds to go. (on the defense continuing to play well down the stretch) “Well, we made a few mistakes. Ali got Vernon scored quickly on a layup to finish his team-high 14 points and cut the lead back to two switched off on the point guard and didn’t get up and we want to make him get off the line and he but Illinois senior guard Mark Alstork iced the game with two free throws for a 62-58 lead with 6.3 seconds remaining. backed off and he hit a terrific shot over a 6-10 guy, but we want to make him put it on the floor. We blitzed the second one, which we’re not supposed to do. We’re supposed to white it because The Lopes received a major first-half boost from the return of sophomore guard Oscar Frayer, we don’t want to go down four, but our guys are aggressive and that’s fine. That’s just a mistake who came off the bench after missing Wednesday’s game for a knee bruise. Frayer scored six that we shouldn’t have made. We have to give them credit. They made two big shots. They’re consecutive Lopes points for a 15-12 lead. Frayer finished with 10 points, making his highlight play a good team. We keep fighting. I’m proud of our guys. We didn’t fight at Louisville. We played in the second half when he had a dunk follow despite getting fouled by Kipper Nichols. good the last game, but to come in here and fight these guys like this, I’m proud of our guys. We The Lopes, ranked second in the nation for 3-point defense, did not allow Illinois to make a obviously want to win, but we played really hard. We’ll learn from this and going into the WAC 3-pointer in the first half while the Illini also committed 11 turnovers. season, it will make us better.”

‹ 43 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 16: GCU 73, SEATTLE U 57 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: January 6, 2018 - 7:00 PM Tip Seattle, Wash . (KeyArena) (on the difference between the first half and second half) “I thought we played great defense Grand Canyon 73 (11-5) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds the whole game. We played great defense in the first half and just got sucked in a couple times ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 8-14 2-4 0-0 4 3 7 2 18 1 2 0 1 30 and left them open for 3s. We turned the ball over. I think we had 10 turnovers in the first nine 24 Keonta Vernon F 3-8 0-0 2-3 1 4 5 3 8 3 1 1 1 23 minutes and then we only ended up with 12. It was a combination of not turning the ball over 25 Alessandro Lever F 3-4 1-2 0-1 0 2 2 3 7 0 2 0 1 13 02 Joshua Braun G 2-8 1-4 5-6 0 1 1 2 10 0 0 0 1 37 and our defense was really good. And then Oscar (Frayer) getting hot. Oscar made some big 11 Casey Benson G 1-5 0-1 5-6 1 1 2 1 7 1 1 0 0 23 buckets, which was huge. It was everything. We rebounded the ball. Defensively, we were 00 Shaq Carr 2-6 0-0 6-7 0 3 3 0 10 3 2 0 0 23 01 Fiifi Aidoo 2-3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 4 1 1 0 1 9 good. And then guys played intelligently on offense. We didn’t foul, which was huge because 05 Matt Jackson 1-2 0-0 1-3 0 5 5 1 3 1 1 0 1 13 12 Roberts Blumbergs 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 3 3 1 3 0 2 0 1 6 they’re a great foul-shooting team, and we stayed home on the 3s. They only made five 3s and I 42 Gerard Martin 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 7 7 3 3 2 0 0 0 23 think they had three at the end of the first half.” TEAM 0 3 3 Totals 24-54 6-16 19-26 6 32 38 18 73 12 12 1 7 200 (on the second half displaying how the team can play) “I hope so. Who knows what we can FG % 1st Half: 9-25 36 .0% 2nd Half: 15-29 51 7%. Game: 24-54 44 4%. do when we get Josh going? He still hasn’t got going. We need other guys to step up. Oscar’s 3FG % 1st Half: 2-9 22 .2% 2nd Half: 4-7 57 1%. Game: 6-16 37 .5% FT % 1st Half: 11-15 73 3%. 2nd Half: 8-11 72 7%. Game: 19-26 73 1%. got the talent to do it. He works really hard. When he starts making that shot, he’s going to be hard to guard. We’ve got to have everybody step up. Ali didn’t play a lot. He got in foul trouble Seattle U 57 (11-7) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min and he kind of got out of the game because they went small but he did a good job coming out in 13 Josh Hearlihy F 1-9 0-3 3-4 3 0 3 3 5 0 4 0 1 37 41 Aaron Menzies C 0-4 0-0 3-4 1 4 5 5 3 0 2 0 0 12 the second half and made a few buckets.” 02 Jordan Hill G 11-22 4-10 0-1 1 4 5 1 26 2 2 0 0 40 05 Matej Kavas G 3-11 0-5 0-0 0 8 8 4 6 0 3 0 0 31 (on the defensive job against leading scorer Matej Kavas) “Just locked into him. Made him 10 Richaud Gittens G 2-5 0-1 2-3 3 2 5 4 6 1 1 0 1 26 01 Morgan Means 3-7 1-1 0-1 1 4 5 4 7 1 1 1 0 25 put it on the floor. Gave him no space. Just moved with him. We did a really good job. Hill was 11 Scott Ulaneo 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 8 fantastic. We tried to guard him with everybody and he just made a lot of different shots. They 12 Mattia Da Campo 2-3 0-0 0-1 0 3 3 3 4 2 0 0 0 20 23 Aaron Nettles 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 have a lot of guys who can score and we did a good job.” TEAM 4 3 7 1 Totals 22-61 5-20 8-14 13 31 44 25 57 6 16 1 2 200 (on the strong interior defense) “We played straight up. We didn’t really want to help because FG % 1st Half: 10-30 33 .3% 2nd Half: 12-31 38 7%. Game: 22-61 36 1%. then you ended up giving up threes. Our guys really welled up and moved their feet and made 3FG % 1st Half: 3-9 33 .3% 2nd Half: 2-11 18 .2% Game: 5-20 25 .0% FT % 1st Half: 6-9 66 7%. 2nd Half: 2-5 40 .0% Game: 8-14 57 1%. them take tough shots. I’ve learned, since I’ve been a college coach, that college kids don’t make a lot of contested layups. They miss them a lot. I just say go straight up and contest it. Officials: Ronnie Hernandez, Casey McClellan, SirAllen Conner Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None . Seattle U-None . If they make it, take the ball out of bounds and let’s go. We don’t want to foul. Just make them KeyArena; Seattle, Wash . Attendance: 2156 make tough shots.” In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Grand Canyon 31 42 73 GCU 24 22 6 0 23 (on a 14-0 Lopes run down the stretch) “Oscar really did a good job there hitting some key Seattle U 29 28 57 SU 30 8 8 0 11 shots. Defensively, we got stops when we needed to. I’m just proud of our guys. I was worried Last FG - GCU 2nd-01:03,SU 2nd-00:08 . Score Tied - 4 times about this game.” Largest lead - GCU by 18 2nd-00:16, SU by 2 1st-13:33 Lead Changed - 6 times GCU led for 28:46 . SU led for 03:15 . Game was tied for 07:59 . RAPID RECAP: If Grand Canyon’s offense caught up with the play of its defense this season, its Western Athletic Conference play had a chance of living up to the label of preseason favorite. That happened in the second half of GCU’s conference opener Saturday night, when the Lopes found their flow with better shooting and no turnovers for nearly 16 minutes on the way to a 73-57 victory Saturday night at KeyArena. Lopes sophomore guard Oscar Frayer scored a team-high 18 points, including 14 during a second half in which GCU (11-5) shot 51.7 percent from the field. The Lopes were strong defensively throughout the game but they took control with nine points in the final 3:10 of the first half and never let go of the lead in the second half. Seattle (11-7) cut GCU ‘s lead to 59-55 with 6:55 remaining but the Lopes ran off 14 unanswered points and held the Redhawks scoreless until eight seconds remained and the hundreds of Lopes fans were celebrating. Seattle missed nine shots in a row while also committing four turnovers over that 6:47 against GCU, which entered Saturday with a No. 11 national ranking for scoring defense. For the ninth time in 16 games, the Lopes held an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting with Seattle coming in at 36.1 percent. Besides Frayer’s 18, Lopes guards Joshua Braun and Shaq Carr each added 10 points. Frayer and junior Gerard Martin shared the rebounding lead with seven each. Seattle’s leading scorer, Matej Kavas, entered the game averaging 17.8 points but was kept to six points on three-of-11 shooting. Each Redhawks starter has averaged in double figures but only Jordan Hill (26 points) did it against the Lopes on Saturday. Conference play for the Lopes looked a lot like their non-conference work. Outstanding defense was good enough for a 31-29 halftime lead despite more offensive struggles. The Lopes kept the Redhawks to one made shot on their first nine tries, denying Seattle’s post chances well and pressuring Seattle into mistakes. The defensive effort maintained but GCU had a hard time capitalizing it with a four-for-16 shooting start to the game. The Lopes also committed 11 first-half turnovers but locked Seattle up well enough to lead until a 7-0 Redhawks run put Seattle ahead 24-22 with 4:14 to go. GCU closed the half strongly, taking the halftime lead after a late 8-2 run started by a Braun 3-pointer and continued with an alley-oop dunk and a tip-in score from Frayer.

‹ 44 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 17: NMSU 70, GCU 59 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: January 11, 2018 - 7:00 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz . (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “First of all give them a lot of credit. They played the way they were New Mexico State 70 (14-3) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds supposed to play. Came on the road in a tough environment and just kicked our butts. ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 10 Jemerrio Jones * 3-9 0-2 0-0 4 11 15 0 6 3 1 0 0 23 Congratulations to New Mexico State, they earned it, they were the better team. I’m at a loss 11 Johnathon Wilkins * 2-4 1-3 1-2 2 1 3 1 6 1 1 0 0 15 for words. We’ve hung our hat on defense and for the most part, rebounding all year. We didn’t 12 Aj Harris * 5-11 1-2 0-0 0 6 6 3 11 2 0 0 0 29 13 Sidy N’dir * 1-4 0-1 1-2 1 2 3 3 3 0 1 0 0 19 do any of that. At the first half, in the beginning, (Zach) Lofton has the ability to get off and 23 Zach Lofton * 8-15 3-6 10-10 2 3 5 2 29 2 7 0 0 37 00 Keyon Jones 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 2 0 2 0 1 13 we didn’t guard him the way we were supposed to guard him. Our rebounding was awful. We 01 Shunn Buchanan 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 1 2 0 1 14 fought back but we were 4-for-10 from the three-point line and then we were 1-for-14. Just 03 Gabe Hadley 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 22 Eli Chuha 4-5 0-1 1-3 0 4 4 2 9 1 3 0 0 24 started jacking up three’s, took the easy way out and got soft. When you get out rebounded 35 Johnny McCants 2-6 0-0 0-2 4 5 9 0 4 1 0 1 1 20 TEAM 1 1 2 1 50 to 25 on your home court something is wrong. They were a lot tougher than we were, they Totals 26-56 5-15 13-19 14 36 50 17 70 11 18 1 3 200 were better than we were and hopefully that’s a wakeup call for everyone. We can’t score. FG % 1st Half: 16-28 57 1%. 2nd Half: 10-28 35 7%. Game: 26-56 46 4%. I don’t know what to do. Not making shots, not making layups, not making three’s. So I told 3FG % 1st Half: 3-7 42 9%. 2nd Half: 2-8 25 .0% Game: 5-15 33 .3% FT % 1st Half: 2-3 66 7%. 2nd Half: 11-16 68 .8% Game: 13-19 68 4%. our guys we can’t score and it’s been like that all year. They only reason we are any good, sometimes, is that we play defense and rebound for the most part. As I said, tonight we didn’t Grand Canyon 59 (11-6) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min do anything and that’s what happens. We got our butt handed to us by a better team on our 04 Oscar Frayer F 2-8 1-4 0-0 1 3 4 2 5 2 2 1 3 33 24 Keonta Vernon F 6-15 0-0 0-0 6 6 12 2 12 2 0 2 0 24 own floor. We will see how our guys respond. Luckily it’s a quick turnaround. We have a game 25 Alessandro Lever F 4-9 0-2 1-1 0 1 1 4 9 1 1 1 1 19 on Saturday so we will get back to work. We have some time to fix it hopefully but it’s not going 02 Joshua Braun G 4-9 2-5 5-8 0 2 2 2 15 2 2 0 0 34 11 Casey Benson G 2-7 1-4 4-4 0 1 1 2 9 2 0 0 0 32 to work unless they buy into it and figure it out. There is no way you can get out rebounded by 00 Shaq Carr 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 11 01 Fiifi Aidoo 1-5 1-4 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 1 9 25 rebounds on your own floor.” 05 Matt Jackson 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 0 1 9 12 Roberts Blumbergs 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 (on if he felt the team was settling a lot offensively in the second half) “We just can’t score. 42 Gerard Martin 1-5 0-3 0-0 0 2 2 3 2 1 0 0 2 25 TEAM 0 2 2 You try every play, every shot, guys are missing lay ups. We ran a play where we got a wide open Totals 22-64 5-24 10-13 7 18 25 17 59 13 7 4 8 200 lay up and missed. Missing three’s, turning the ball over, although we didn’t it over a ton, it just FG % 1st Half: 13-29 44 .8% 2nd Half: 9-35 25 7%. Game: 22-64 34 4%. was out of our hands. We shoot, 34 percent and only get seven offensive rebounds. They shoot 3FG % 1st Half: 4-10 40 .0% 2nd Half: 1-14 7 1%. Game: 5-24 20 .8% FT % 1st Half: 7-9 77 .8% 2nd Half: 3-4 75 .0% Game: 10-13 76 .9% 46 percent and get 14. We haven’t been able to score all year, that doesn’t shock me. That’s a good defensive team. We have to hold teams to 59 or 60 points, 30 percent and we didn’t do Officials: David Hall, Michael Irving, Eric Anderson Technical Fouls: New Mexico State-None . Grand Canyon-None . it. We weren’t tough enough. We didn’t guard how we were supposed to guard. We guarded GCU Arena, Phoenix, Ariz . Attendance: 7521 In Off 2nd Fast Lofton better the second half and he struggled a bit. I don’t know how many turnovers he had Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench but then he got it going. I tell our guys all the time, if they guard the way we ask them to and they New Mexico State 37 33 70 NMSU 34 6 17 2 15 Grand Canyon 37 22 59 GCU 24 19 10 0 9 score it’s my fault. If they guard the way they want to and they score, I got nothing to tell you. It’s

Last FG - NMSU 2nd-00:33,GCU 2nd-00:09 . Score Tied - 3 times your fault, we are trying. Todd Lee, everybody on our coaching staff watches hours and hours of Largest lead - NMSU by 13 1st-08:36, GCU by 4 2nd-15:34 Lead Changed - 1 times film and we game plan. I’m not blaming this all on the players, this is us. I’m in it too. They have NMSU led for 30:17 . GCU led for 05:33 . Game was tied for 04:10 . to listen and guard the way we ask them to guard. I can’t tell you how many box-out drills we do, RAPID RECAP: they were just tougher. It’s all about the heart. (Jemerrio) Jones is 6’5, 180 pounds and we are Grand Canyon’s Western Athletic Conference goals will need an early reboot after the Lopes lost lucky he got hurt or he would’ve had 25 rebounds.” a second-half lead at home to end their eight-game Western Athletic Conference winning streak. (on Keonta being the only consistent rebounder) “Well Keonta is a tough kid. I have said all New Mexico State outscored GCU 32-9 at the close of the game for a 70-59 victory Thursday night along, he is a tough kid. He is one guy that I know will compete. He has got to do a better job at a sold-out GCU Arena, where the standing-room-only crowd of 7,521 set a Lopes basketball of finishing around the basket, but he is a tough kid. He will go after it and he played hard. He attendance record. The Lopes took their first lead of the game on a follow score by senior power rebounded, he had six out of the seven offensive rebounds. So I have no problem with Keonta forward Keonta Vernon less than three minutes into the second half and stayed ahead for the and his effort. I just need, and I talk about it all the time, I need more performance out of our next five minutes until a decisive cold spell did in GCU. players. You know Josh, it is time. Casey, it is time. Oscar, had a terrible night, it is time. I am The Lopes (11-6) missed 10 consecutive shots as the Aggies (14-3) took the lead with nine not upset at Alessandro. Alessandro is a freshman and that is a hard place for a freshman to unanswered points. GCU remained within striking distance when freshman Alessandro Lever, play in that kind of game. We tried, he will get better. Gerard, it is time. All those guys. They have who scored nine points, hit a jump shot to cut NMSU’s lead to 58-55 with 6:24 to go. But the Lopes been here for years. They have to start playing. Now Gerard tries, he plays defense, but he has again went cold, failing to score unitl the final minute when the game was decided. to make shots. Like I said, it is us, just not players. I have a lot of work I have to do, our coaching GCU only made seven turnovers but shot 34.4 percent from the field. NMSU committed 18 staff has a lot of work we have to do. We have to figure it out and we will, but our players have turnovers but shot 46.4 percent from the field and doubled GCU in rebounds, 50-25. to take a long look in the mirror and figure out how you can get beat that bad at home on the boards. I have never seen anything like it. ” Lopes senior guard Joshua Braun led the team with 15 points while Vernon added 12 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Zach Lofton scored 29 for the Aggies with 10-for-10 free throw shooting. (on if his previous statement was what he said to the team after the game) “That is what I said. I can scheme, put in a new offense, do all this stuff. We cannot score. Fine. We better be The Lopes trailed 27-14 after almost 12 minutes of play with NMSU dominating the boards and senior guard Zach Lofton scoring 12 of the Aggies’ points. Early in the game, NMSU was thriving with second- able to play defense and rebound. We did not do it. Did not play defense the first half the way chance points and off-ball cuts for easy scores. The Aggies entered the game with a plus-7.7 average we were supposed to. Rebounding, obviously you guys saw that, we did not rebound and that is rebounding margin to rank 10th nationally but outrebounded GCU 17-4 to start Thursday’s game. all we talked about. We said take care of the basketball, which we did for the most part, which was good, and then rebound. I mean a freshman, kicked our butts twice in a row down there. It was Braun’s shooting that kept the Lopes in the game early and sparked the rally when he A freshman. So whatever. We just have to keep working. We have some time. So we will have made his second 3-pointer with 8:03 remaining until halftime. That 3 started a Lopes 17-4 rally to get after it and get back on the horse Saturday. Hopefully these guys will realize it. We have that pulled GCU within two points. to get to work. The Lopes’ defense came up with tough stops down the stretch of the first half, including when junior forward Gerard Martin stripped Eli Chuha on a post trap to thrill GCU head coach Dan Majerle. He was even more pumped when junior forward Matt Jackson followed with a jumper that sent the game to a 37-37 halftime tie. NMSU shot 57.1 percent from the field but committed 12 first-half turnovers that led to 14 of the Lopes’ first-half points. ‹ 45 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 18: GCU 84, UTRGV 71 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: January 13, 2018 - 7:00 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz . (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “I thought it was a really good effort. I think you saw the concentration UTRGV 71 (10-9) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds on the boards in the beginning. Defensively we were good the only thing we did wrong was turn ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 03 Terry Winn * 3-7 0-0 2-4 3 6 9 4 8 1 2 0 1 19 the ball over. Overall, good. Everyone came in, played hard. We tried to keep the minutes limited 04 Nick Dixon * 5-12 0-3 18-21 2 3 5 1 28 0 0 1 1 31 13 Lew Stallworth * 1-5 0-2 3-3 1 2 3 4 5 3 0 0 0 19 as far as play so everyone did a good job. Roberts, I’ve been kind of waiting for a night like that 23 Dan Kimasa * 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 14 so good for him, he’s been working hard the last two weeks and it’s been paying off.” 25 Xavier McDaniel Jr *. 2-7 0-1 2-3 0 1 1 3 6 0 1 0 1 22 00 Greg Bowie 3-7 2-3 0-0 1 1 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 12 10 Moe McDonald 1-4 0-2 0-0 1 1 2 5 2 0 1 0 0 16 (on what specifically he saw from Roberts Blumbergs) “He got to the line. He’s a really good 11 Lesley Varner Jr . 1-3 1-3 1-1 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 1 0 11 14 Javon Levi 0-3 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 2 1 4 3 0 2 23 free throw shooter. He’s physical down there and that’s the one thing he’s had a problem with 20 Johnny Crnogorac 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 12 21 Mike Hoffman 1-4 1-1 2-2 0 0 0 3 5 0 1 0 0 12 is finishing around the basket. He did a good job even thought they were switching a lot of one 32 Adonis Rwabigwi 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 9 through four and slipping picks. He was able to get to the free throw line and that’s what he TEAM 1 2 3 Totals 19-57 4-15 29-36 10 21 31 28 71 8 10 2 5 200 does. He shoots good free throws. He made a three, two threes, so that’s good. He’s a talented

FG % 1st Half: 9-29 31 .0% 2nd Half: 10-28 35 7%. Game: 19-57 33 .3% kid so maybe this will fuel him to work as hard as he has the last couple of weeks.” 3FG % 1st Half: 2-9 22 .2% 2nd Half: 2-6 33 .3% Game: 4-15 26 7%. FT % 1st Half: 9-11 81 .8% 2nd Half: 20-25 80 .0% Game: 29-36 80 .6% (on if he saw Blumbergs adjust more to physical contact) “I think so. He’s got a long way Grand Canyon 84 (12-6) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds to go but he’s starting to figure it out. Last game, I didn’t play him very long but every time he ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 2-5 0-2 0-0 1 5 6 1 4 0 2 1 1 20 caught it he didn’t shoot a three and started attacking the basket. He started figuring out that 24 Keonta Vernon F 5-11 0-0 3-4 4 11 15 4 13 1 2 2 0 32 25 Alessandro Lever F 2-6 0-2 2-2 0 2 2 3 6 2 2 1 1 21 ‘my shot’s not going, maybe I have to get to the line or change things up.’ He’s a really smart kid 02 Joshua Braun G 5-9 3-5 7-8 3 1 4 1 20 3 2 1 2 29 and has a high basketball IQ. He does everything right the way we want him too offensively. I am 11 Casey Benson G 2-5 2-3 4-6 0 0 0 4 10 2 3 0 0 27 00 Shaq Carr 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 3 2 3 2 0 0 17 really happy he had a night like that but everybody did well. It’s good.” 01 Fiifi Aidoo 2-3 0-1 0-1 0 0 0 2 4 1 1 0 1 14 10 Damari Milstead 0-2 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 1 2 0 1 11 12 Roberts Blumbergs 6-11 2-6 11-13 3 5 8 4 25 2 2 0 0 18 (on having two or three guys on the boards every time) “I told them, I had the assistant coaches 21 Kerwin Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 42 Gerard Martin 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 5 0 1 0 0 0 11 watching. They each had guys and if they didn’t go to the boards when they were supposed to, if TEAM 2 3 5 they didn’t box out they were coming out. I don’t care if they were in there for one minute or five Totals 25-55 7-21 27-34 15 30 45 28 84 16 18 5 6 200 minutes. I think everyone wants to play so they understood if they weren’t boxing out or crashing FG % 1st Half: 14-33 42 4%. 2nd Half: 11-22 50 .0% Game: 25-55 45 .5% 3FG % 1st Half: 3-13 23 1%. 2nd Half: 4-8 50 .0% Game: 7-21 33 .3% they were going to come out. The focus was there and the concentration to go to the boards.” FT % 1st Half: 8-12 66 7%. 2nd Half: 19-22 86 4%. Game: 27-34 79 4%.

Officials: Brad Fowler, Dan Dorian, James Ford (on how Keonta Vernon has elevated his game and shown toughness) “He’s always been like Technical Fouls: UTRGV-None . Grand Canyon-None . that. When he first got here he got in foul trouble a lot so it was hard for him to stay on the floor. GCU Arena, Phoenix, Ariz . Attendance: 7222 In Off 2nd Fast He’s done a better job of that, a decent job. He got in a bit of foul trouble tonight but he’s just so Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench UTRGV 29 42 71 UTRGV 16 20 13 2 22 physical. A lot of people can’t match his strength and quickness. Some people have quickness, Grand Canyon 39 45 84 GCU 30 7 23 8 31 some have strength and he has both. He is kind of an undersized five but he really uses his Last FG - UTRGV 2nd-00:50,GCU 2nd-02:43 . Score Tied - 1 times quickness and strength and he is a great athlete. I just keep telling him ‘you can’t settle for jump Largest lead - UTRGV None, GCU by 23 2nd-10:44 Lead Changed - 1 times UTRGV led for 00:00 . GCU led for 38:18 . Game was tied for 01:42 . shots, you have to take the ball to the basket. Nobody can handle your quickness and strength.’ RAPID RECAP: He is starting to figure it out. He’s a big part of our locker room as far as his voice, the physical way he plays. He’s done a great job.” Grand Canyon did not leave much question to how it would respond to a home loss with a corresponding challenge from its head coach. (on how impressed he was that the team received his message from Thursday) “I’ll be impressed if it is continued to be received. Everyone feels better after a win, everybody can play The Lopes turned around Thursday’s rebounding and scoring issues to beat UT Rio Grande Valley 84-71 Saturday night at GCU Arena. well the day after. Whether they revert back the to the way we played New Mexico State or learn a few things and bounce back to keep playing the way they are supposed to. We will find out Lopes freshman power forward Roberts Blumbergs went from a four-minute appearance in because we will have that rule that we are going to play these guys and if you’re not doing your Thursday’s loss to New Mexico State to scoring a season-high 25 points and grabbing a season- job, rebounding or whatever, you’re coming out. That’s the way it will be from now on and we will high tying eight rebounds in Saturday’s victory. The scoring total is a GCU record for a true see. We’ve been able to beat teams – UTRGV is a good team, they are 2-0 but we’ve been able to freshman. beat teams we should beat. Our next step is to beat the teams that we haven’t been able to beat.” After being outrebounded 50-25 against NMSU, GCU controlled the glass against UTRGV with a 45-31 advantage that helped make the defensive effort stand up. The Vaqueros shot 33.3 (on if Josh Braun has his shot back) “He’s getting there, he’s not back yet but he’s getting percent, becoming the 10th Lopes opponent to shoot less than 40 percent this season. there. It’s good that he got 20 points. I think limiting his minutes, he is getting more of the minutes he’s out there. Instead of playing 35, 36 minutes probably helps him a bit. He just has The Lopes (12-6, 2-1) took command with an 11-4 start with a tone set by senior power forward to keep working at it. It is good for him to get 20. He had four rebounds, three offensive. He Keonta Vernon hammering the boards, sophomore forward Oscar Frayer denying conference usually gets five or six rebounds and he hasn’t been rebounding at all so it’s good to see him scoring leader Nick Dixon and a better GCU offensive tempo for scoring. really crash the boards a little bit. A better step. I think it’s good I limited his minutes a little bit The Lopes rattled off 11 points in 2:33 to take a 22-12 lead and carried that 10-point lead into so when he’s out there he’s gotten to play really hard then get rest then play really hard again.” halftime when they closed the half with a Blumbergs 3-pointer and a Vernon 3-point play. (on what he thought of Shaq Carr, Damari Milstead and Fiifi Aidoo together) “It’s alright. It all Those six unanswered points rolled into a 13-0 run by the time senior guard Joshua Braun depends. These guys have to show up when we are on the road and tough games when it’s physical. made a 3-pointer for a 46-29 lead about two minutes into the second half. With UTRGV (10-9, 2-1) All of these guys. To be honest our guys always look good against teams that we should beat. We missing eight of its first nine second-half shots, the Lopes stretched the lead to 20 with 13:32 to need those guys to step up against New Mexico State or Illinois or Louisville. I wanted to get Damari play. GCU led by 23 points on three occasions before the Vaqueros closed the gap slightly down the stretch. in today, did that, happy. I will try to continue to do that. When it really gets tough, we have to stick with a lineup that is going to get it done and if they’re not we have to find someone else to step up.” GCU boasted four double-digit scorers, including Vernon’s effort to tie his career high in rebounds (15) while scoring 13 points. It marks the third time that Vernon has posted consecutive double- (on what he thought was better about the offense tonight) “They are a big pressing team, doubles in his career. Braun added 20 points with three-for-five 3-point shooting and senior trapping team so we just had to get open. Our turnovers, I think we sped up too much, our guys point guard Casey Benson posted 10 points. are too fast. We just have to slow down and attack. We knew they were going to trap and I think we did a good job of attacking. We got some good mismatches off of slips so I thought that was pretty good. We got to the free throw line. We didn’t shoot 21 free throws like (Nick) Dixon but he has a good shot.”

‹ 46 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 19: GCU 86, CHICAGO STATE 58 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: January 18, 2018 - 7:05 PM Tip Chicago,Ill . (Jones Convocation Center) (on the win) “The first half was good. Josh played well and Ali obviously. We worked all week Grand Canyon 86 (13-6) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds on getting the ball inside and did a good job of that. I’m going to keep throwing the ball inside to ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 02 Joshua Braun * 9-14 3-5 2-2 3 3 6 5 23 1 2 0 2 23 Rob, Keonta and Ali and keep working on their post moves. I think we shoot better when it goes 04 Oscar Frayer * 0-3 0-2 0-2 3 3 6 2 0 1 2 0 0 25 11 Casey Benson * 1-6 0-2 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 6 0 0 0 24 inside-out. Ali’s talented down there and it’s my job to get him working down there to get him 24 Keonta Vernon * 4-8 0-0 1-2 1 6 7 4 9 4 3 1 0 31 25 Alessandro Lever * 11-14 2-3 4-6 2 6 8 4 28 2 2 0 0 27 better and get us better. We’re going to try to do that most games.” 00 Shaq Carr 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 4 2 0 0 20 01 Fiifi Aidoo 2-7 1-4 0-0 1 0 1 1 5 1 1 0 2 13 (on maintaining a big lead) “We rebounded the ball exceptionally in the first half. I thought the 05 Matt Jackson 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 7 10 Damari Milstead 1-2 0-0 4-4 1 1 2 1 6 1 2 0 2 11 second unit wasn’t very good, which is disappointing. In the second half, we did what most bad 12 Roberts Blumbergs 2-2 1-1 1-2 2 2 4 1 6 0 1 0 0 11 13 Ibrahima Sankare 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 teams do. We just played. We didn’t put our foot on their throat. Rebounding, we weren’t very 21 Kerwin Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 42 Gerard Martin 1-4 0-3 1-2 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 6 good. Defense, we weren’t very good. We just didn’t have that killer instinct.” TEAM 2 1 3 Totals 33-64 7-20 13-20 16 28 44 20 86 20 17 1 8 200 (on GCU’s veterans) “I don’t like Gerard, Matt and Casey the way they play. Casey is a 22-year-old FG % 1st Half: 17-37 45 .9% 2nd Half: 16-27 59 .3% Game: 33-64 51 .6% senior who played at Oregon. Gerard is a fourth-year junior. Matt is a fourth-year junior. It’s time 3FG % 1st Half: 1-10 10 .0% 2nd Half: 6-10 60 .0% Game: 7-20 35 .0% FT % 1st Half: 5-8 62 .5% 2nd Half: 8-12 66 7%. Game: 13-20 65 .0% they start playing. We need those guys if we’re going to be really good. Right now, they’re not Chicago State 58 (2-19) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds playing well. Those guys have to play well if we’re going to be really good, win the WAC and go to ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 00 Glen Burns * 5-8 2-2 4-7 0 3 3 4 16 1 5 0 0 37 the tournament, those guys have to play well.” 10 Anthony Harris * 1-6 1-2 0-0 2 5 7 2 3 3 3 0 0 21 14 Jr ., Fred Sims * 1-8 0-4 0-0 0 2 2 0 2 2 2 0 1 25 21 Cameron Bowles * 0-1 0-1 3-4 1 2 3 1 3 1 0 3 1 18 (on Oscar Frayer holding Fred Sims Jr. to two points) “Oscar did a great job on defense but 32 Montana Byrd * 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 8 it’s not too much for a coach to ask for great defense and to crash the boards.” 02 Jelani Pruitt 2-4 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 5 4 0 4 0 1 7 03 Deionte Simmons 4-9 0-0 6-7 4 3 7 5 14 0 4 1 0 21 05 Alex Dubovitskiy 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 (on a 30-point lead slipping to 18) “We could’ve held them down. We’re just too nice. We should 23 Patrick Szpir 1-1 0-0 1-1 0 1 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 9 30 Travon Bell 2-9 1-6 2-2 1 1 2 0 7 2 2 0 2 24 have just put a foot on their throat and just ended it. We let them start trading baskets and 31 Ken Odiase 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 35 Rob Shaw 3-7 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 6 3 0 0 3 22 stopped guarding.” TEAM 0 1 1 Totals 19-55 4-16 16-21 11 21 32 22 58 12 22 4 8 200 (on Joshua Braun regaining his shot) “He’s being more aggressive. He’s just not living by the FG % 1st Half: 7-20 35 .0% 2nd Half: 12-35 34 .3% Game: 19-55 34 .5% 3. We’re trying to get him to get to the basket more and he’s rounded into shape so hopefully he 3FG % 1st Half: 1-7 14 .3% 2nd Half: 3-9 33 .3% Game: 4-16 25 .0% FT % 1st Half: 6-7 85 7%. 2nd Half: 10-14 71 4%. Game: 16-21 76 .2% can keep it rolling because we’re going to need him to play well.” Officials: Rick Hartzell, Brent Meaux, Dan Nowakowski Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None . Chicago State-None . Jones Convocation Center - Chicago, IL Attendance: 463 In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Grand Canyon 40 46 86 GCU 46 20 13 6 24 Chicago State 21 37 58 CSU 26 17 10 10 34 Last FG - GCU 2nd-02:01,CHS 2nd-00:56 . Score Tied - 0 times Largest lead - GCU by 30 2nd-15:04, CHS None Lead Changed - 0 times GCU led for 39:39 . CHS led for 00:00 . Game was tied for 00:21 . RAPID RECAP: More of the same Grand Canyon defense, more of the return of Joshua Braun’s offense and way more scoring than ever from Alessandro Lever was more than enough against Chicago State. The struggling Cougars contended for a half with New Mexico State and nearly beat Seattle but GCU (13-6, 3-1) never gave them a sniff of hope in a 86-58 blowout at Jones Convocation Center. Braun continued his best three-game scoring string since the season’s opening three games by putting up 23 points and Lever added a game-high 28 points, which more than doubled his previous season of 13 at Illinois. It marks the first time that two Lopes have scored 20 in a game since GCU’s last Chicago visit a year ago. The Lopes’ 11th-ranked scoring defense dropped its opponent scoring average from 62.1 by limiting Chicago State to 34.5 percent shooting from the field. The Cougars also committed 22 turnovers as sophomore guard Oscar Frayer led the effort to hold Chicago State top scorer Fred Sims to two points in 25 minutes. He entered the game averaging 14.5 points per game. Lever, the 6-foot-10 power forward from Italy, offered too much size for Chicago State to handle. The Lopes established him early in the paint, where GCU scored 32 of its 40 first-half points. Lever made 11 of 14 shots and also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Braun continued his recent shooting streak, getting his offense going early with mid-range jumpers and drives before adding 3-pointers. Braun made three of five 3-pointers, making him eight of 15 on 3s in the past three games. The Lopes held Chicago State without a field goal for the game’s first three minutes and took complete command at the end of the first half, when they scored on seven consecutive possessions for a 40-21 halftime lead. GCU stretched the lead to as much as 30 in the second half on a 51.6 percent shooting night. Senior point guard Casey Benson delivered six assists without a turnover while senior power forward Keonta Vernon added nine points and seven rebounds.

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GAME 20: GCU 86, UMKC 69 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: January 20, 2018 - 7:05 PM Tip Kansas City, Mo . (Municipal Auditorium) (on GCU using their size for a rebounding advantage) “This team gets outrebounded by 16.5 Grand Canyon 86 (14-6) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds or 17 rebounds a game, so we knew we had to crash. We knew there would be mismatches, ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 6-9 2-4 0-3 3 6 9 3 14 0 2 1 1 29 not only on the offensive end, but defensively, our big guys would have to guard guards, so 24 Keonta Vernon F 0-3 0-0 1-2 1 3 4 4 1 0 4 1 1 17 we had to take advantage of the size we have down here because we were going to have 25 Alessandro Lever F 8-12 1-1 7-10 3 7 10 1 24 1 2 0 0 27 02 Joshua Braun G 1-5 1-3 6-8 3 5 8 3 9 1 2 0 1 24 to guard the little guys and we did a good job. We did a really good job of finding Ali in the 11 Casey Benson G 3-7 1-3 5-6 1 3 4 2 12 9 1 0 0 31 post and working the ball around. He was fantastic scoring. Oscar did a really good job. I’m 01 Fiifi Aidoo 3-3 1-1 0-0 2 1 3 1 7 0 1 0 0 20 05 Matt Jackson 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 11 happy.” 10 Damari Milstead 1-2 0-1 4-4 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 9 12 Roberts Blumbergs 4-7 0-1 1-3 2 0 2 3 9 1 0 0 0 14 42 Gerard Martin 2-5 0-3 0-0 1 4 5 0 4 1 1 0 1 18 (on if the team’s confidence going to Alessandro Lever in the post has increased) “The TEAM 1 0 1 3 team doesn’t have a choice. I told them we’re getting the ball in the post. It’s not just Ali. It Totals 28-55 6-18 24-36 17 30 47 17 86 15 17 2 5 200 will be Keonta, but Keonta got in foul trouble. It will be Rob. I thought Rob played well in the FG % 1st Half: 18-33 54 .5% 2nd Half: 10-22 45 .5% Game: 28-55 50 .9% first half. We’re going to post those guys up. It’s not just Ali. We’re going to go to the post. It 3FG % 1st Half: 5-11 45 .5% 2nd Half: 1-7 14 .3% Game: 6-18 33 .3% FT % 1st Half: 6-10 60 .0% 2nd Half: 18-26 69 .2% Game: 24-36 66 7%. doesn’t matter if they have confidence or not. They’re going to go to those guys.” UMKC 69 (6-15) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds (on knowing UMKC would put up a lot of 3-pointers) “Yeah, I knew it. It was going to be hard ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 11 Tony Jackson F 2-5 1-4 3-4 0 2 2 3 8 2 1 0 0 19 to keep them to four or five like we usually do because we had bigger guys. They’re going to 30 Aleer Leek F 1-4 0-1 2-2 1 1 2 4 4 0 2 0 0 24 00 Xavier Bishop G 9-16 0-4 5-6 0 3 3 4 23 0 2 0 1 30 kind of back off which we don’t want them to do, but they’re going to start making shots. 03 Brandon McKissic G 1-4 1-1 0-0 0 3 3 4 3 2 1 0 0 30 Overall, we did a good job, but I knew that would be tough.” 10 Broderick Robinson G 2-9 1-4 2-2 1 4 5 1 7 2 3 0 3 39 01 Marco Smith 3-5 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 4 6 0 2 0 0 21 02 Isaiah Ross 6-11 4-8 2-2 1 2 3 4 18 0 2 0 0 24 (on if this was one of Casey Benson’s better nights in terms of setting people up)“Yeah, he 15 Robert Knar 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 was better. Now he’s got to start making shots. I thought he ran the team well and got them 25 Steve Dulley 0-2 0-1 0-2 0 1 1 5 0 0 1 0 1 12 TEAM 2 1 3 in position, but he’s got to start making shots. But yeah, he played well.” Totals 24-56 7-24 14-18 5 17 22 29 69 6 14 0 5 200

FG % 1st Half: 13-29 44 .8% 2nd Half: 11-27 40 7%. Game: 24-56 42 .9% (on if the offense is turning a corner with three straight 80-point games) “I think it’s 3FG % 1st Half: 4-15 26 7%. 2nd Half: 3-9 33 .3% Game: 7-24 29 .2% better because we’re inside-out, we’re getting offensive rebounds, and we’re going to the FT % 1st Half: 2-3 66 7%. 2nd Half: 12-15 80 .0% Game: 14-18 77 .8% line. We went 36 times—if we could make free throws, it would even be better. The first Officials: Art Brown, Matthew Rukasin, Riel Banaria five minutes of the game, we missed four layups. We’ve got to keep working, but inside-out, Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None . UMKC-None . Kansas City, Mo . - Attendance: 1,440 going inside is a high percentage shot for us.” In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench “We better be, because we can’t shoot. Grand Canyon 47 39 86 GCU 40 20 15 6 26 (on if the team can be a big paint scoring team) UMKC 32 37 69 UMKC 24 19 7 2 24 That’s why the last couple of weeks we’ve worked on getting the ball into the post, working

Last FG - GCU 2nd-00:08,UMKC 2nd-05:22 . Score Tied - 1 times inside-out. That’s what we’re trying to do.” Largest lead - GCU by 18 1st-01:05, UMKC by 1 1st-16:14 Lead Changed - 2 times GCU led for 38:00 . UMKC led for 00:19 . Game was tied for 01:41 . (on if the team is trying to become less reliant on 3-pointers) “We can take threes, but it RAPID RECAP: has to come as it goes inside-out. Before we were just swinging the ball and trying to shoot threes. It was a good win. We didn’t play with Keonta and we basically didn’t play with Josh. Grand Canyon’s best offensive string of the season comes directly in line with a three-game Josh got into foul trouble and had a tough night. Keonta was awful—got into foul trouble winning streak. and was awful. It was good that other guys stepped up, so that’s good if we can win without The Lopes downed UMKC 86-69, posting their third consecutive 80-point game and shooting those guys.” better than 50 percent from the field in consecutive games for the first time this season. (on being 3-0 on the road in conference) “You’ve got to win on the road in the conference if GCU (14-6, 4-1) moved into a tie for second place in the Western Athletic Conference by taking you want to win. You have to take care of home court, which we didn’t do against New Mexico their conference road record to 3-0. Lopes freshman center Alessandro Lever followed his State. To win this league, you have to win on the road. We’re getting there.” 28-point, eight-rebound performance Thursday at Chicago State by scoring 24 points Saturday and adding a season-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Oscar Frayer added 14 points and nine rebounds while senior point guard Casey Benson set a season high for assists with nine while only making one turnover and adding 12 points. The Lopes were plus-25 in the 31 minutes that Benson played. UMKC (6-15, 1-4) opened the second half with 10 unanswered points to quickly get back in the game. The Kangaroos trimmed the lead to four twice in the second half but the Lopes’ work in the paint drew a steady dose of free throws to take the lead back to double digits. The Lopes scored 17 of their final 28 points at the free throw line. GCU controlled the interior with 40 points in the paint and 15 second-chance points. The Lopes looked like they might pull away and hide from UMKC in the first half, when a 21-4 run gave them a 24-8 lead midway through the half. In those 10 minutes, GCU was doing damage in the paint with four early points from Lever and freshman power forward Roberts Blumbergs coming off the bench for six of those points. The Kangaroos found their offense for the duration of the half but the Lopes’ dominance on the boards was even better than its work on the scoreboard. With a 26-8 rebounding edge, the Lopes led 47-32 at halftime with Lever posting 14 points and eight rebounds. Lever scored 10 of GCU’s 15 points during a late first-half stretch in which he showed his repertoire by scoring on a follow, a 3-pointer and a pick-and-roll dive.

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GAME 21: GCU 96, WILLIAM JESSUP 80 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: January 23, 2018 - 7:05 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz . (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “Well the good thing is we won, but that is about it. Offensively we were William Jessup 80 (15-6) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds pretty good. We had to be really good to win this game. Give a lot of credit to those guys, they came ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 21 Brennan Rakoz F 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 2 0 2 2 0 0 15 out and just dismantled us. I guess we took the night off from playing defense. Very disappointing. 03 Luis Medearis G 8-14 4-5 0-0 1 0 1 2 20 1 0 0 1 20 You know we talked about it before the game, how we were ranked nationally defensively and how 04 Brandon Lindsey G 2-7 0-2 2-2 0 0 0 3 6 2 1 0 0 19 12 Tate DeLaVeaga G 4-12 0-4 1-2 2 1 3 3 9 4 0 0 2 25 good we have been playing defense. This is a chance to take a step forward, keep the momentum, 22 Keith Phillips W 6-7 1-1 0-0 1 2 3 3 13 2 1 0 2 27 01 Luke Walker 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 4 5 0 0 2 13 but we took four steps backward tonight. I mean, shoot 65%, 10/19 from three and it’s a struggle 02 Jayvon Stone 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 2 2 0 1 13 the whole game. They played really well. Can’t guard them. Too quick for us. Our seniors have 14 Austin Dill 1-2 0-1 6-6 1 2 3 1 8 0 0 0 0 14 20 Antonio Lewis 3-11 1-3 0-0 0 2 2 0 7 1 2 0 0 19 to step up. Casey was awful in the first half, Josh had 22 points, had zero rebounds, didn’t guard 23 Oliver Amajoyi 3-5 0-0 4-4 3 4 7 3 10 0 1 1 0 18 33 Wilson LaShells 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 17 his podium. Keonta should not have of even dressed. So that is very disappointing that our three TEAM 2 2 4 seniors come out with a game like that. Casey picked it up the second half, but not good enough. Totals 30-67 7-20 13-14 11 17 28 23 80 19 9 1 8 200 Alessandro for a freshman continues to score, he has got to get better, but he is a freshman. So FG % 1st Half: 18-37 48 6%. 2nd Half: 12-30 40 .0% Game: 30-67 44 .8% 3FG % 1st Half: 5-12 41 7%. 2nd Half: 2-8 25 .0% Game: 7-20 35 .0% very disappointed. But like I said they played extremely well, played hard, took it to us.” FT % 1st Half: 2-2 100 0%. 2nd Half: 11-12 91 7%. Game: 13-14 92 .9% (on what Majerle said to the team at halftime) “I just don’t know who you guys are. You have no Grand Canyon 96 (15-6) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min pride, talked about it. I said we aren’t guarding. Shooting the ball great but not guarding. You’re 04 Oscar Frayer F 4-6 2-3 0-1 1 2 3 0 10 2 2 4 1 22 24 Keonta Vernon F 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 8 8 0 2 3 0 2 0 22 not rebounding. We talked about our rebounding, we got out rebounded 32-28, they had eleven 25 Alessandro Lever F 10-16 0-2 5-7 1 3 4 3 25 3 1 0 1 28 offensive rebounds, we had six. So they were not doing anything. Like I said it is disappointing. 02 Joshua Braun G 7-11 4-8 4-6 0 0 0 4 22 3 1 0 1 30 11 Casey Benson G 4-6 1-2 3-6 0 2 2 1 12 10 0 0 0 30 I understand sometimes a game like this, it happens, but we had talked about it three or four 01 Fiifi Aidoo 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 2 3 2 0 1 18 05 Matt Jackson 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 1 2 0 1 8 days now, about how we have to keep the momentum. We have to take a step forward and really 10 Damari Milstead 1-1 0-0 6-6 0 0 0 1 8 1 1 0 0 10 get better tonight. I have hard time sometimes, getting through I guess. I don’t know. We run 12 Roberts Blumbergs 4-4 1-1 0-0 2 6 8 1 9 1 1 1 0 18 42 Gerard Martin 2-2 2-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 6 2 2 0 0 14 through everything at practice. We get in a game and they just forget about it, defensively.” TEAM 2 0 2 Totals 34-52 10-19 18-26 6 26 32 15 96 29 12 7 5 200 (on the current senior leadership and if he is expecting anyone to take charge) “Is DeWayne FG % 1st Half: 17-27 63 .0% 2nd Half: 17-25 68 .0% Game: 34-52 65 4%. coming back? Like I told Keonta--Keonta is our leader, our emotional leader, our vocal leader 3FG % 1st Half: 7-12 58 3%. 2nd Half: 3-7 42 .9% Game: 10-19 52 .6% FT % 1st Half: 5-11 45 .5% 2nd Half: 13-15 86 7%. Game: 18-26 69 .2% and if he shows up and plays a game like that. I mean DeWayne wouldn’t of played like that.

Officials: Verne Harris, Shawn Lehigh, Ken Ditty DeWayne, it doesn’t matter if it is William Jessup or Louisville, he is going to play the same way. Technical Fouls: William Jessup-None . Grand Canyon-None . Keonta has a history of doing this and that is not what we need. Like I said Casey was terrible GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 6952 In Off 2nd Fast in the first half. Josh made shots, but he does not know where his guy is half the time. I mean Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench William Jessup 43 37 80 WJU 32 13 10 12 32 he cannot guard. So those are the three guys. I’ll just got to Alessandro every time. I can work Grand Canyon 46 50 96 GCU 34 14 6 7 25 with him, he has only been here for five, six months. Josh has been here for five years now. I Last FG - WJU 2nd-01:48,GCU 2nd-00:30 . Score Tied - 4 times told those three guys they got to play. Oscar has got to play better. Defensively he was terrible. Largest lead - WJU None, GCU by 19 2nd-02:06 Lead Changed - 4 times WJU led for 00:00 . GCU led for 38:42 . Game was tied for 01:18 . Fiifi, same mistakes with his ball handling and his passing. I have seen it for a year and a half now, it has to change. And we work on it. Like I said, we won, 96-80, good, but just a lack-luster RAPID RECAP: performance defensively and like I said, you have to give them a lot of credit. They really took it Grand Canyon did not want to go six days without a game amid conference play or 18 days to us, they played really well.” without a home game. (On what he has to see in practice this week to know they are ready for Saturday) “I don’t The Lopes also did not have to go long without a win, extending their winning streak to four have to see anything this week. We will do everything right in practice. We will go through and games Tuesday night at GCU Arena with a big offensive night that still gave coaches plenty of run the offense flawlessly. We go over 15 straight minutes flawlessly. Defensively we will get in practice fodder. GCU posted the season’s second-best scoring total to down William Jessup 96- 80 in conference break tune-up. a shell we will do everything perfectly. Everyone will be in the right spot, we will be good. When the ball goes up it is all out the window. We will work on it again for the next three to four days GCU set the program’s Division I-era records for field goal percentage (65.4) and assists (29) but I don’t know what’s going to happen Saturday. We play like this, Utah Valley is a really good with senior point guard Casey Benson dishing out a career-high 10 assists without a turnover scoring team, they will score 130. Like I said, we have been really good defensively all year so I in 30 minutes. don’t know. It shouldn’t happen again. This is a NAIA team that came in here with a four game The Lopes scored at least 80 points for the fourth consecutive game and shot better than 50 losing streak. ” percent for the third consecutive game to continue the momentum of an improving offense. Freshman center Alessandro Lever followed conference road scoring performances of 28 and (on what it is that makes the guys revert back to their old style of play) “I don’t know. I don’t 24 points by scoring 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting Thursday night. think they have the killer instinct. I don’t think they take pride. I told them about our defensive stat, that’s pride you have to wear that. They can’t take a night off. Good teams don’t take nights GCU (14-6) had allowed William Jessup (15-6) to rally in the first half but held the Warriors to 40 off like these guys did. You have struggles on offense, we’ve always had struggles on offense percent shooting in the second half to stretch a three-point halftime lead. but you can play defense hard every night. I think it starts with our senior leaders and right The Lopes posted 31 points in the game’s first 10 minutes for a 15-point lead before running into now they are not very good.” any issues. The offense was rolling with one of team’s best shooting performances, hitting seven of their first 11 3-pointers. (on transition defense) “Transition is awful. Awful. Ali is a freshman, he doesn’t know where the ball is at. Guys lose their man. Josh never knows where his man is, ever. Guys don’t get But after junior Gerard Martin’s second 3-pointer put GCU ahead 34-22, William Jewell only back, it’s just not important enough to them. We talk about it, it’s just not important to them. allowed the Lopes to take one more 3-pointer over the half’s final 8 ½ minutes. They think they can just jog back and everything is going to be OK.” GCU’s offense had unprecedented ball movement. Their first 15 made field goals came on assists, including Benson delivering five first-half assists. But despite 63 percent shooting and 16 assists (on if there is something positive to take from 29 assists on 34 baskets) “We shot the ball on 17 made field goals, the first half of Lopes offense was still flawed enough to keep William extremely well and we always pass well. We average like 16.5 assists or something so we Jewell in the game. always move the ball pretty well. I don’t take anything good away from this game. We are going to hang our hat on defense and our rebounding. Those are the three things we talk about, The Warriors rallied partly off eight Lopes first-half turnovers. But William Jewell also ended the offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding and defense. And turnovers. Second half we were first half on a tear, getting into the paint to tie the game at 43-43 with 49 seconds remaining in the half. Three Lopes free throws closed out the half for a 46-43 GCU lead. OK in turnovers but we had nine in the first half so that wasn’t very good either. Three out of four things weren’t good.”

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GAME 22: UTAH VALLEY 68, GCU 56 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: January 27, 2018 - 3:00 PM Tip Orem, Utah (UCCU Center) (on his thoughts on GCU’s effort and their play) “We came out fine and then the bench came Grand Canyon 56 (15-7) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds in and I guess just weren’t ready to play. They kind of got back in it, but we knew they were going ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 4-13 1-2 2-2 6 3 9 4 11 1 2 0 1 32 to make another run. The story of the game is the turnovers. We had 16 turnovers for 21 points. 24 Keonta Vernon F 2-8 0-0 0-0 3 4 7 4 4 2 0 0 0 17 You can’t turn the ball over against a team that really doesn’t turn teams over. You shouldn’t 25 Alessandro Lever F 9-17 1-4 3-6 2 6 8 3 22 2 4 1 0 34 02 Joshua Braun G 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 2 3 5 1 2 2 0 1 24 be making those kinds of turnovers. Offensively, it’s going to be hard for us to beat anybody if 11 Casey Benson G 3-7 1-2 2-3 1 6 7 1 9 5 3 0 0 38 01 Fiifi Aidoo 3-7 1-4 0-0 1 0 1 1 7 1 1 1 0 23 we score 56 points. We just have to do a better job and keep working at it. We’re going to get 05 Matt Jackson 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 1 1 0 0 11 better and we’re going to take care of the ball. We’re going to do a little bit better job on the ball 10 Damari Milstead 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 12 Roberts Blumbergs 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 7 screens. We weren’t active enough with our hands. We knew that was going to be a big part of 42 Gerard Martin 0-2 0-1 0-0 2 1 3 3 0 0 1 0 0 12 TEAM 1 1 2 their offense. They were just able to pick us apart because we weren’t active enough with our Totals 22-59 4-15 8-13 18 26 44 25 56 16 16 2 2 200 hands defensively and put them under a little duress. We know what we have to work on and we FG % 1st Half: 9-27 33 .3% 2nd Half: 13-32 40 .6% Game: 22-59 37 .3% have to keep getting better at it. We have to find a way to make layups. We missed a lot of those 3FG % 1st Half: 1-6 16 7%. 2nd Half: 3-9 33 .3% Game: 4-15 26 7%. FT % 1st Half: 5-8 62 .5% 2nd Half: 3-5 60 .0% Game: 8-13 61 .5% under duress and even wide open ones. Just something we have to work on.” Utah Valley 68 (16-6) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds (on Alessandro Lever scoring 22 points, his fourth-consecutive 20-point game) “He’s going ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 00 Akolda Manyang C 4-6 0-0 6-6 2 4 6 4 14 0 2 2 0 14 to be really good if he keeps working at it. He keeps working at it. He can’t get frustrated. He 02 Jake Toolson G 2-4 0-0 3-4 1 2 3 2 7 4 3 0 0 24 03 Brandon Randolph G 1-6 0-1 2-2 0 3 3 2 4 3 0 0 2 34 shows his emotion sometimes, which I’m talking to him about. It just shows how hard he works 11 Conner Toolson G 3-8 2-4 4-6 0 5 5 3 12 0 2 0 3 31 every day and he’s starting to get some confidence. He’s a load down there. It was good. I’m 25 Kenneth Ogbe G 4-10 1-2 1-2 0 2 2 1 10 2 0 0 0 34 10 Ben Nakwaasah 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 3 3 1 3 4 0 0 2 13 proud of the way Ali is playing. He’s got to continue to do that. He has to work on his defense 14 Daniel Nyman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 15 Jerrelle DeBerry 2-5 2-3 2-4 0 1 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 20 and his hands and things like that, but he’s a freshman, so that’s positive.” 21 Zach Nelson 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 9 22 Isaac Neilson 3-5 0-0 3-4 2 1 3 3 9 1 0 1 0 20 (on outrebounding Utah Valley 44-28 including 18 offensive rebounds)“Everything was fine. TEAM 1 1 2 Totals 20-47 6-11 22-30 6 22 28 16 68 14 7 3 7 200 We didn’t shoot the ball well. We shot 37 percent again. But the turnovers—they had 21 points

FG % 1st Half: 9-25 36 .0% 2nd Half: 11-22 50 .0% Game: 20-47 42 .6% off of our turnovers. We’ve just got to do a better job, especially with live ball turnovers. You 3FG % 1st Half: 5-10 50 .0% 2nd Half: 1-1 100 .0% Game: 6-11 54 .5% can’t afford to have live ball turnovers and then they go down and score. Then their pick and FT % 1st Half: 7-12 58 3%. 2nd Half: 15-18 83 .3% Game: 22-30 73 .3% rolls just killed us because we just weren’t active enough with our hands. They just picked us Officials: Tom Nally, Horace Shields, Jon Stigliano Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None . Utah Valley-None . apart. They’re a good offensive team. We knew that coming in. We held them to 42 percent Orem, Utah (UCCU Center) Attendance: 4881 shooting, which isn’t terrible. They shoot 48 or 49 percent. When you’re scoring 56 points, In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench you’re not going to get it done.” Grand Canyon 24 32 56 GCU 28 4 11 2 9 Utah Valley 30 38 68 UVU 28 21 7 0 21 (on having five players with two or more fouls in the first half) “Yeah, it affected it, but that’s Last FG - GCU 2nd-00:23,UVU 2nd-00:34 . Score Tied - 2 times what’s going to happen on the road. I thought some of the calls were very suspect, but that’s Largest lead - GCU by 12 1st-11:03, UVU by 15 2nd-02:48 Lead Changed - 1 times GCU led for 12:26 . UVU led for 25:02 . Game was tied for 02:05 . what you’re going to get in the WAC. You’ve just got to play through it. Sometimes it’s going to go both ways, but guys have to play through it. Josh had a hard time getting his hands on guys RAPID RECAP: or whatever. Once again, our defense wasn’t good enough on the pick and rolls and we just Grand Canyon came to Utah Valley with a chance to take over second place in the WAC and left missed too many easy shots to stay in the game. We had the great jump off and the lead, but the with a loss despite shutting out the Wolverines for the game’s first five minutes. turnovers just really killed us, especially the first half. That got them back in the game. We can’t turn the ball over like that.” The Lopes’ offensive struggles returned in a 68-56 loss to Utah Valley on Saturday at the UCCU Center, where the Wolverines (16-6, 5-1) broke a tie for second place in the WAC by giving the (on Oscar Frayer being active) “He was 4-for-13 and missed way too many layups—way too Lopes (15-7, 5-2) their first conference road loss. many layups. I keep telling him he has to slow down. He has to use his athletic ability, his jumping GCU shot 37.3 percent from the field and committed 16 turnovers to make a 14-2 start to the game ability, to go in there and explode up towards the rim instead of exploding away from the rim moot. Lopes freshman center Alessandro Lever led the team again for the fourth consecutive and just kind of throwing the ball up there. Oscar was fine. Offensively, he had six offensive game with 22 points and also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. He made nine of 17 shots but rebounds, which was great, but he has to do a better job of finishing around the rim.” his teammates shot 30.9 percent. After an intensely defensive first half, neither team could stop the other for the early parts of the second half. GCU rediscovered its offensive rhythm, especially with going into the post to Lever. The Lopes tied the game at 40-40 with 13:12 to go on a fast break 3-pointer from senior point guard Casey Benson but UVU kept penetrating to score on the next five trips and open up the lead. The Lopes hit another offensive funk, protecting the ball well but missing chances at the rim and open 3-pointers. As GCU fell into a 10-point hole, the foul situation made matters more difficult with Lopes fouls putting UVU into the bonus situation for the game’s final 10:53. GCU missed 10 consecutive shots to fall behind 57-46 and the lead stayed in double digits for the remainder. The game opened almost perfectly for the Lopes, who shut out the WAC’s top offense for the first 5:24 of the game. The Lopes were slow to capitalize offensively but maintained the defense long enough that a driving, 3-point play by freshman Lever put GCU ahead 14-2 after nine minutes. The Lopes removed Wolverines 7-foot center Akolda Manyang from the game in less than two minutes on fouls and dominated the boards during the 14-2 opening. The Lopes grabbed 16 of the game’s first 21 rebounds and protected the rim well even when UVU got into the paint. GCU was thriving by getting into the paint but a stretch of four consecutive turnovers flipped momentum. The Lopes went nearly six minutes without a field goal and their normally air-tight 3-point defense was punctured. The Lopes weathered the turnaround, getting their first two 3-pointers from sophomore forward Oscar Frayer and sophomore guard Fiifi Aidoo to trail 30-24 at halftime. GCU shot 33 percent from the field in the first half with 11 turnovers while UVU made only three turnovers.

‹ 50 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 23: GCU 79, UMKC 62 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: February 1, 2018 - 7:00 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz . (GCU Arena) (opening statement) “We knew they were going to be tough. They battled, they played well. UMKC 62 (6-18) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds Did a great job on the boards. Again, our turnovers kind of cost us a little bit, but overall really ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 00 Xavier Bishop * 3-11 0-5 0-0 0 1 1 3 6 1 3 0 0 29 good. Happy with how we played. Rebounding wise I thought everyone played well. So just 03 Brandon McKissic * 7-10 1-1 0-2 2 3 5 4 15 1 1 0 1 30 happy. That is one, we have another one Saturday. Good win.” 05 Jordan Giles * 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 5 0 0 2 2 0 16 10 Broderick Robinson * 7-15 2-8 0-0 1 4 5 2 16 4 2 0 3 38 30 Aleer Leek * 0-3 0-1 3-5 0 4 4 4 3 0 1 0 0 24 (on if the team got better as the game went on) “Yeah, I mean it was hard. They did a good job of, when 01 Marco Smith 3-6 1-1 3-4 1 2 3 4 10 1 1 0 1 22 we threw it in side, everybody just collapsed. That is just the part of our freshman, Alé and Rob, they 02 Isaiah Ross 5-10 2-4 0-1 0 1 1 1 12 1 1 0 1 27 15 Robert Knar 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 just have to be strong with the ball. They are going to start seeing different defenses, so that was good, 25 Steve Dulley 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 TEAM 1 1 2 especially for Alé. He made some bad turnovers, he had five. So that is good for him, he just has to start Totals 25-58 6-23 6-12 6 18 24 24 62 8 11 2 6 200 learning different people are going to start guarding him different ways. So he has to just be strong

FG % 1st Half: 10-27 37 .0% 2nd Half: 15-31 48 4%. Game: 25-58 43 1%. with the ball. I thought Casey, best game he has played here. About time, Casey. Best he has played. 3FG % 1st Half: 4-11 36 4%. 2nd Half: 2-12 16 7%. Game: 6-23 26 1%. Looked a little more aggressive, as far as looking at the basket. Just have to build on it. I thought FT % 1st Half: 4-6 66 7%. 2nd Half: 2-6 33 .3% Game: 6-12 50 .0% Keonta. Those two seniors. Josh hit two big threes in the second half. Now going down the stretch, Grand Canyon 79 (16-7) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min especially as we get to the tournament time, we are going to need the three seniors to play well, and I 04 Oscar Frayer F 3-9 0-5 1-2 2 11 13 1 7 1 0 2 1 29 think Casey and Keonta did a better job. So that was big. I’m happy for Damari. He got some extended 24 Keonta Vernon F 7-9 0-0 4-8 2 3 5 3 18 1 2 1 1 31 25 Alessandro Lever F 2-5 1-2 2-2 3 4 7 3 7 2 5 0 0 17 minutes and played really well in the second half. He has just got to get a little more confidence with 02 Joshua Braun G 3-8 2-6 0-0 0 3 3 2 8 2 1 3 0 28 handling the ball, but really good passer and he really does not have any fear, which is good.” 11 Casey Benson G 4-6 1-1 5-5 0 3 3 1 14 4 1 0 2 25 01 Fiifi Aidoo 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 5 05 Matt Jackson 1-3 0-0 2-2 2 1 3 2 4 0 0 0 0 8 (on Josh finding his shot in the second half) “Yeah you know, it has been rough on Josh, 10 Damari Milstead 4-6 1-2 2-3 0 3 3 0 11 1 1 1 0 18 12 Roberts Blumbergs 3-5 1-1 0-0 1 2 3 1 7 0 2 0 0 18 because everybody just keys in on him. I mean they do not let him get off too many times. He hit 42 Gerard Martin 1-1 0-0 1-2 2 2 4 1 3 4 1 1 0 21 two big shots, so as long as we win, we are fine, and like I said, our three seniors are going to TEAM 1 0 1 Totals 28-54 6-18 17-24 13 32 45 15 79 16 14 8 4 200 have to do it, and the other two stepped up. Josh is going to be fine, just have to keep working through it. There will come a time where he will get it going. I know he will.” FG % 1st Half: 14-33 42 4%. 2nd Half: 14-21 66 7%. Game: 28-54 51 .9% 3FG % 1st Half: 2-10 20 .0% 2nd Half: 4-8 50 .0% Game: 6-18 33 .3% FT % 1st Half: 9-13 69 2%. 2nd Half: 8-11 72 7%. Game: 17-24 70 .8% (on what he saw from Oscar in the first half to allow him to have nine rebounds)“Well Oscar should have nine boards. We are playing against a smaller team, and as athletic as he is, that Officials: Shawn Lehigh, Wilson Holland, Ryan Holmes Technical Fouls: UMKC-None . Grand Canyon-None . is his job. I mean he is 0-5 from three. He is not a shooter. I keep telling him, I don’t mind him GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 7005 In Off 2nd Fast taking shots, but he has got to get thirteen rebounds, which he did tonight. I think that is a Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench career high for him. That is exactly how he has to play. Block shots, crash the boards. When he UMKC 28 34 62 UMKC 30 16 4 9 22 Grand Canyon 39 40 79 GCU 40 14 13 6 25 has the shot, take it, but just don’t rely on being a jump-shooter, because that is not his game.” Last FG - UMKC 2nd-01:31,GCU 2nd-00:13 . Score Tied - 6 times (on what he saw out of Casey Benson tonight) “He just has to be a little more aggressive. I Largest lead - UMKC by 7 1st-12:45, GCU by 17 2nd-10:37 Lead Changed - 10 times UMKC led for 07:57 . GCU led for 29:47 . Game was tied for 02:16 mean he doesn’t really look at the basket. He has to look to shoot. I do not need him to shoot a RAPID RECAP: lot, I am not asking him to shoot a lot. I don’t care if he does not take a shot. But he has to be a threat, and tonight I thought he was more of a threat as far as looking to score a little bit more. Grand Canyon took the floor against UMKC as the bigger, brawnier team. If he does that, it puts pressure on them to start guarding him and then our guys are open. You By late in the first half Thursday night, the Lopes also established themselves as the better know we all know Casey. He has been a terrific player, he has played great competition, so he team to sweep a conference series from UMKC. just has to get to a point where he is starting to look for a shot, and that does not mean shoot, that means look for it and be a threat.” With an 11-2 surge to close the first half, GCU took command and did not relinquish it for a 79-62 victory at GCU Arena. (on how he thought the guys responded after Saturday) “Our attitude is always great. We The Lopes (16-7, 5-2) almost doubled the Roos (6-18, 1-6) on the boards and shot better than 50 have some of the greatest guys ever. They come in every day no matter how much of a jerk I percent from the field (51.9 percent) against UMKC for the second time this season. am and they play hard, stay together and do everything I ask them to do. I told them I have high expectations of them and if that ever starts bothering them the alternative is for me to lower my Sophomore forward Oscar Frayer led the glass work with a career-high 13 rebounds while the expectations. You don’t want me to lower my expectations. When I stop coaching is when I lower Lopes’ frequent top rebounder, senior power forward Keonta Vernon, paced the scoring with 18 points on seven-of-nine shooting. my expectations and then we will have a problem. I expect a lot of them, every day. I expect them to get better and that’s how I coach them. They understand that. I have great guys. They always GCU did not look like it was on its way to an efficient offensive night with a four-for-14 shooting work hard. They want to work and they want to be good. They have done a good job.” start. The Lopes turned that around for a 39-28 halftime lead by scoring in the paint off post- ups, follows and drives while only making four first-half turnovers. (on if the extended time helped Damari Milstead) “Any time there is a point guard who is a freshman it is hard to go out there and play for three minutes then come out. You can’t get a rhythm. I told him, The Lopes kept their lead in double digits throughout the second half with freshman point guard Damari Milstead responding to his bigger role well. Milstead scored a season-high 11 unfortunately that’s the life of a freshman point guard. You don’t have two or three minutes to get it points in 18 minutes. going so that’s why I tried to leave him in there with Casey a little bit so it wasn’t all on him. He could take a little break. I actually played G at the point and I thought he did a good job. I think G is a guy That combined well with senior point guard Casey Benson, who posted 14 points and four who is very smart if he slows down but he did a good job in there too. We will run it by committee. assists and played with Milstead at times. Junior forward Gerard Martin, who had four assists We will play Casey and Damari together, sometimes G. I think for Casey sometimes limited minutes off the bench, also spent time at point guard for the first time this season. is better than him playing 30-32 minutes, that’s too much. I think he can do just as well doing 25-22 GCU battled turnover issues in the second half but improved its 3-point shooting from a one- minutes as he could with 32. He is fresher, not so much wear and tear. At his position you can’t be for-nine start to the game to making five of its last nine attempts. tired all the time. If you play too much you are tired all the time.” Senior guard Joshua Braun made consecutive second-half 3-pointers when the Lopes (on how he carries over his game plan and the things that worked well tonight) “We want stretched their lead to as much as 17 midway through the second half. to keep Alé going. It wasn’t a good night for him he had five turnovers but still had seven and seven. It’s tough with him because he still has to guard smaller guys. He got in a little bit of foul trouble so he has to learn different coverages. He will see start seeing guys double and triple team him down there so he has to be strong with the ball. He made a couple of really bad passes but that’s being a freshman so we will work on that too. He’s going to be fine. ” ‹ 51 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 24: GCU 89, CHICAGO STATE 55 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: February 3, 2018 - 7:09 PM Tip Phoenix, Ariz . (GCU Arena) (on what was better in the second half) “You know sometimes when you play a team that just Chicago State 55 (2-23) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds switches defense and you press and kind of look to see what they are in. Are they in man, they ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 00 Glen Burns * 4-9 0-3 4-4 1 1 2 1 12 3 5 0 1 33 are in zone. Second half we just said spread the floor, move it. Alé get your big butt in the post, 03 Deionte Simmons * 3-6 0-0 3-3 2 2 4 2 9 0 2 0 2 20 14 Fred Sims, Jr . * 1-8 1-3 0-0 2 6 8 1 3 1 4 0 2 26 throw it to you. Work off of cutters. We just started moving the basketball, instead of worrying 21 Cameron Bowles * 0-1 0-0 2-2 0 3 3 3 2 0 2 1 0 25 32 Montana Byrd * 0-5 0-5 0-0 1 3 4 3 0 1 2 0 0 17 about are they in man or are they in zone. Are we in this play, are we in that play. Just spread 02 Jelani Pruitt 3-4 0-1 0-2 1 2 3 0 6 1 3 0 0 9 05 Alex Dubovitskiy 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 10 the floor, big guys get low. Throw it in, cut, move, go get it.” 10 Anthony Harris 1-2 0-1 5-6 0 3 3 4 7 0 1 1 0 12 23 Patrick Szpir 0-1 0-0 4-4 0 0 0 2 4 0 2 0 0 14 30 Travon Bell 3-8 2-5 0-0 1 1 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 17 (on the team moving around freely and relaxed in the second half) “Yeah, it just took thinking 31 Ken Odiase 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 35 Rob Shaw 2-5 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 4 1 2 0 1 14 out of the game. We were just thinking too much in the first-half and they played hard, and TEAM 0 4 4 Totals 17-49 3-18 18-21 9 27 36 24 55 7 24 2 6 200 Chicago State gave us a lot of problems. Second-half, just get out there, play basketball, spread the floor. They did what they were supposed to do these two games. Now we have to go on the FG % 1st Half: 7-23 30 4%. 2nd Half: 10-26 38 .5% Game: 17-49 34 7%. 3FG % 1st Half: 2-9 22 .2% 2nd Half: 1-9 11 1%. Game: 3-18 16 7%. road and continue to win.” FT % 1st Half: 11-11 100 0%. 2nd Half: 7-10 70 .0% Game: 18-21 85 7%. Grand Canyon 89 (17-7) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds (on alley oops starting to work) “Yeah, we are starting to complete a little bit. I was thinking ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 5-8 2-5 0-0 0 3 3 1 12 2 2 1 1 29 I was a little insane to keep running them cause we never completed them, but we did a good 24 Keonta Vernon F 4-6 0-0 2-4 1 7 8 3 10 0 0 1 1 14 25 Alessandro Lever F 2-4 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 4 5 4 0 1 0 10 job. Hopefully we will round into form if we ever need an ally up again.” 02 Joshua Braun G 4-10 3-7 3-3 2 0 2 1 14 1 1 1 1 30 11 Casey Benson G 3-8 2-6 1-2 3 1 4 0 9 6 2 0 0 26 01 Fiifi Aidoo 3-4 2-2 0-0 0 0 0 2 8 1 0 0 0 12 (on the defense playing well when the offense struggles)“Defense has been good. I think 03 Parker Dale 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 05 Matt Jackson 2-4 0-1 3-5 2 3 5 1 7 0 0 0 0 19 Oscar has been good, he is starting to play, he is starting to realize how he has to play, which 10 Damari Milstead 2-7 0-0 2-2 0 4 4 0 6 3 2 0 2 17 12 Roberts Blumbergs 2-9 0-2 2-2 2 4 6 3 6 0 2 0 1 17 is really good. Keonta got in foul trouble, Alessandro got in foul trouble, all our bigs got in foul 13 Ibrahima Sankare 2-4 0-0 3-3 1 2 3 0 7 1 0 0 1 8 15 Cheick Sy-Savane 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 trouble so we had to go small. I think just overall, the second-half we just moved the ball. You 21 Kerwin Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 know you kind of throw the plays out the window. You just look for mismatches and try to get 22 Nehemiah Allen 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 42 Gerard Martin 1-1 1-1 0-2 0 0 0 1 3 1 2 1 1 11 guys the ball and have them drive and kick and play basketball.” TEAM 3 0 3 Totals 30-67 11-27 18-27 15 25 40 18 89 19 11 5 8 200 (on sticking to the game plan and what it says about the team and their progress) “I think we FG % 1st Half: 11-32 34 4%. 2nd Half: 19-35 54 .3% Game: 30-67 44 .8% 3FG % 1st Half: 6-16 37 .5% 2nd Half: 5-11 45 .5% Game: 11-27 40 7%. are getting better at that. I think we have won the games we are expected to win and we have FT % 1st Half: 8-14 57 1%. 2nd Half: 10-13 76 .9% Game: 18-27 66 7%. lost some that I thought we could’ve won against really good teams. We’ve done a good job this Officials: Winston Stith, Dennis Flannery, Ryan McCarty Technical Fouls: Chicago State-Deionte Simmons . Grand Canyon-Keonta Vernon . year of taking care of business we just haven’t done a good job of stepping up in big games. GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 7244 In Off 2nd Fast Boise State, we should’ve won that one, New Mexico State here, Illinois, on and on are games Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Chicago State 27 28 55 CSU 24 4 8 2 29 we could’ve won if we played better. We will have a chance again when we go into New Mexico Grand Canyon 36 53 89 GCU 34 31 10 8 39 State they are playing really good. UTRGV is much approved so we will have a tough road trip Last FG - CHS 2nd-00:37,GCU 2nd-02:01 . Score Tied - 2 times coming up. We are excited for it. We’ve been pretty good on the road, except Utah Valley we Largest lead - CHS None, GCU by 38 2nd-01:23 Lead Changed - 2 times CHS led for 00:00 . GCU led for 39:09 . Game was tied for 00:51 . didn’t play them well either. I’m excited for a chance to go on the road and see what we’ve got.” RAPID RECAP: (on how big this road trip is) “I think it’s big, we’ve got to keep it going. We are going to be It was not enough that Grand Canyon shut out Chicago State for five minutes and kept the playing really good teams. UTRGV is really improved and we all know about New Mexico state, Cougars without a field goal for nine minutes in the first half. The Lopes blow out did not start they are the class of the league right now. It will be a good test for us there to see what we’ve Saturday night until the offense piled on Chicago State in the second half, sending GCU to a got but we have to get through the other one first. Our guys are in a good mindset, they’re 89-55 rout at GCU Arena. tough and they come with it every day. I am happy with our guys, it was a good two wins for us The Lopes (17-7, 6-2) entered the night ranked first in the nation for 3-point defense (27.8 this week.” percent opponent shooting) and first in the Western Athletic Conference for field goal defense (on what they have done to contain Fred Sims Jr.) “Just not leaving him. Put length on him (39.5 percent opponent shooting) and only improved each number Thursday. a little bit, every time he comes off the ball screen we double team him, make him take tough Chicago State shot 34.7 percent from the field and only made three of 18 tries form 3-point shots. You know he’s looking to score, that’s one guy who can really hurt you. We just try to not range. GCU has held its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting in 12 of 24 games this season. let him get comfortable, make him put it on the floor and push it towards the crowd.” The game was tied after seven minutes but keeping Chicago State from even putting a ball on the rim for seven consecutive possessions allowed the bench to stretch the lead to 11. But with a 34.4 percent shooting first half, GCU only led 36-27 at the half. The Lopes did not have their in-conference leading scorer, Alessandro Lever, for long because of foul trouble but the offense moved the ball better in the second half to rack up 24 points in the first 8:17. The Lopes opened the second half on a 22-4 run in which Chicago State made one shot. With runs of 10-0, 10-0 and 11-1 in the game, the Lopes posted their second-largest blowout of the season and fourth winning margin of 30 points or more. Cougars guard Fred Sims Jr. entered the game as the WAC’s fourth-leading scorer but missed his first seven shots and scored three points in 25 minutes of play. Sims had two points in 26 minutes when GCU won in Chicago by 28 on Jan. 18. Chicago State committed 24 turnovers, giving Grand Canyon a 31-4 advantage in points off turnovers. The blowout allowed head coach Dan Majerle to spread the minutes but the Lopes starters still made the most of their time. Senior power forward Keonta Vernon posted 10 points and eight rebounds in 14 minutes. Senior shooting guard Joshua Braun scored a team-high 14 points and is now 18 for 39 (46.2 percent) from 3-point range in the past eight games. Sophomore forward Oscar Frayer scored 12 points, including two Havocs-inducing dunks, and senior point guard Casey Benson posted nine points with six assists. GCU’s scoring ended with the first career point of walk-on freshman guard Parker Dale’s career, prompting “M-V-P” chants from the Havocs. ‹ 52 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 25: UTRGV 83, GCU 81 The Lopes scored seven points off their first three possessions of the game but then missed 13 February 8, 2018 - 7:09 PM Tip Edinburg, Texas (UTRGV Fieldhouse) of their next 16 shots to dig a 25-15 hole with the Vaqueros getting five consecutive scores at the rim within two minutes. Grand Canyon 81 (17-8) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 3-6 2-3 3-4 0 1 1 4 11 2 2 0 4 26 GCU intensified the defense and used two of Benson’s 3-pointers to quickly wipe out the 24 Keonta Vernon F 4-9 0-0 3-5 1 2 3 3 11 2 0 1 0 24 10-point deficit and dart ahead with 15 unanswered points. 25 Alessandro Lever F 4-12 0-2 14-16 3 4 7 2 22 1 1 0 0 24 02 Joshua Braun G 0-5 0-1 4-4 1 3 4 2 4 2 1 1 0 23 Benson racked up 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds, half of GCU’s individual boards, in 11 Casey Benson G 5-8 5-5 2-2 1 9 10 1 17 6 0 1 0 37 01 Fiifi Aidoo 0-5 0-2 2-2 0 1 1 4 2 0 1 0 0 18 the first half but the Lopes shot 32.3 percent to trail 40-36. The Lopes survived the first half on 05 Matt Jackson 2-3 0-1 2-2 1 1 2 2 6 0 1 0 0 8 10 Damari Milstead 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 4 the boost of 12-for-16 free throw shooting and clean play (two turnovers). They finished with a 12 Roberts Blumbergs 2-8 0-5 0-0 1 2 3 0 4 1 0 0 0 17 season-high 30 free throws made on 37 attempts. 42 Gerard Martin 1-3 0-1 0-2 0 0 0 3 2 4 0 0 0 19 TEAM 2 3 5 Benson scored 17 points, one off his career high, and grabbed 10 rebounds, matching his Totals 22-61 7-21 30-37 10 26 36 21 81 18 7 3 4 200 career high. He also had six assists without a turnover. Leading scorer Joshua Braun was FG % 1st Half: 10-31 32 .3% 2nd Half: 12-30 40 .0% Game: 22-61 36 1%. 3FG % 1st Half: 4-10 40 .0% 2nd Half: 3-11 27 .3% Game: 7-21 33 .3% limited to four points without a field goal while Vernon and Frayer each scored 11. FT % 1st Half: 12-16 75 0%. 2nd Half: 18-21 85 7%. Game: 30-37 81 1%.

UT Rio Grande Valley 83 (13-12) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 03 Terry Winn F 2-6 0-0 0-2 1 2 3 5 4 0 1 1 0 15 (opening statement) “We got what we deserved. We didn’t come to play at the beginning. 25 Xavier McDaniel Jr . F 7-9 3-3 0-0 1 4 5 5 17 0 1 0 0 17 00 Greg Bowie G 3-4 1-1 0-0 0 2 2 2 7 2 0 0 0 23 I just told the guys, ‘It’s the little things.’ I don’t know how many times I tell them. I don’t 04 Nick Dixon G 5-15 3-5 9-10 1 2 3 3 22 2 4 0 1 28 know if we just don’t have the guys to do it or what. But it’s the little things. It’s getting in a 14 Javon Levi G 2-5 0-1 3-4 0 5 5 1 7 7 0 0 0 34 10 Moe McDonald 1-6 0-2 1-2 0 1 1 1 3 2 1 0 0 17 stance. It’s getting back on defense. It’s boxing out. It’s playing the ball coverages right. We 11 Lesley Varner Jr . 2-3 0-1 0-0 1 4 5 3 4 0 1 0 0 16 13 Lew Stallworth 1-3 0-2 1-2 0 3 3 2 3 3 1 0 3 12 continue to make the same mistakes. And they’re in there acting like they care. But it takes 20 Johnny Crnogorac 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 4 2 0 1 0 0 11 me to be a madman over there and screaming and yelling. Am I the only that’s got emotion 21 Mike Hoffman 0-1 0-1 1-2 1 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 11 23 Dan Kimasa 4-5 0-0 0-1 2 1 3 1 8 0 1 0 0 11 here? We got what we deserved. They played really well. They kept breaking us down and 32 Adonis Rwabigwi 0-2 0-0 5-6 2 1 3 1 5 1 0 0 0 5 TEAM 2 3 5 getting in the paint. It’s hard. Casey shot the ball well. Ale came alive in the second half. But Totals 28-61 7-16 20-29 11 33 44 31 83 17 11 1 4 200 besides that, not a whole lot to talk about. Really disappointing. This is a time where I said FG % 1st Half: 15-34 44 1%. 2nd Half: 13-27 48 1%. Game: 28-61 45 .9% we have to go on a little bit of a roll and win this game. We know what we have Saturday. It’s 3FG % 1st Half: 3-6 50 .0% 2nd Half: 4-10 40 .0% Game: 7-16 43 .8% FT % 1st Half: 7-11 63 .6% 2nd Half: 13-18 72 .2% Game: 20-29 69 .0% just really disappointing. It’s disappointing to see the same stuff over and over.”

Officials: Brad Ferrie, Rob Rorke, Brent Dugas Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None . UT Rio Grande Valley-Xavier McDaniel Jr . . (on Xavier McDaniel Jr.’s three 3-pointers for UTRGV) “I swear to you we work on that Edinburg, TX (UTRGV Fieldhouse) Attendance: 1038 every day. It’s for 15-20 minutes. In a crucial spot, we do the wrong thing again and leave a In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench guy wide open for a 3. I can’t explain it.” Grand Canyon 36 45 81 GCU 30 14 11 2 16 UTRGV 40 43 83 UTRGV 30 8 8 4 26 (on preparing for Saturday’s game at NMSU) “We’ll watch tape tonight like we always do Last FG - GCU 2nd-01:09,UTRGV 2nd-00:51 . Score Tied - 17 times and we’ll probably go through tape tomorrow and I’ll show them like we always do. We Largest lead - GCU by 5 1st-05:26, UTRGV by 10 1st-10:09 Lead Changed - 26 times GCU led for 14:50 . UTRGV led for 17:56 . Game was tied for 07:14 . show them all the time and it’s astounding the amount of time that we work in practice RAPID RECAP: at the little things we want to do and it’s astounding that we continue to make the same mistakes. It’s disappointing.” Grand Canyon added another game that slipped away with an 83-81 loss at UTRGV. It was the tightest second half of GCU’s season. Neither team led by more than four points for the final 25 (on the rebounding deficit) “I’m just disappointed in our effort. We got outrebounded 36 minutes. That included the Lopes having to withstand a second-half stretch in which they did to 44. We outrebounded them 45 to 31 last time in our building. It’s just disappointing that not score for 3:47 and went without making a field goal for 5:06. GCU shot 36.1 percent from they just played harder, played tougher. It always seems that when we come in this gym, we the field for the game. don’t play very well. Good teams don’t do that.” The Lopes (17-8, 6-3) retook the lead three times down the stretch before grabbing it for more than two minutes when GCU senior power forward Keonta Vernon beat his man backdoor and (on playing Casey Benson 37 minutes) “Casey played well and I just felt comfortable in a sophomore small forward Oscar Frayer fed him for a 72-71 lead with 3:38 remaining. game like this that Casey stay in. Damari’s got to learn and I’ve had had the talk with him that, when he goes in, he’s got to have his hair on fire. I know it’s very, very unfair. I get it. I GCU played through freshman center Alessandro Lever, who scored 22 points, down the played. But I’m asking him to go out there and not turn the ball over and make some plays. stretch and UTRGV (13-12, 4-4) could not handle him in the post without fouling regularly. Lever Casey played well so it’s hard to take him out of the game.” converted his first 12 free throws of the game and junior forward Terry Winn fouled out trying to guard Lever with 2:21 remaining. (on Benson making five 3-pointers) “He’s got to be aggressive. Guys are playing off him The Lopes mostly had controlled the Western Athletic Conference’s leading scorer, guard Nick because they know he’s not looking to shoot. If he starts shooting the ball well and starts Dixon, with Frayer and plenty of help. Dixon only made five of 15 shots from the field but made looking for his shot, that’s better.” nine free throws, still nine fewer than what he sank when UTRGV lost at GCU last month. GCU lost the lead with 1:29 to go but responded with a Lever three-point play in the post, only to lose the lead again on a 3-pointer by UTRGV guard Xavier McDaniel Jr. with 47.8 seconds to go. The Lopes went to Lever again in the high post and he drew a foul driving but missed his first two free throws of the game with 34 seconds remaining. Junior forward Gerard Martin forced a tie-up on the rebound but UTRGV maintained the ball on the possession arrow with 30.8 seconds to go. Dixon sank two free throws to give UTRGV an 82-79 lead with 21.8 seconds to go, leaving GCU a chance to tie. Sophomore guard Fiifi Aidoo missed a 3-pointer to tie but Lever was fouled on the rebound. He converted his free throws to slice the UTRGV lead to 82-81. Vaqueros senior Michael Hoffman missed one of two free throws, leaving the lead at 83-81 with 6.5 seconds to go. Aidoo raced upcourt and fed Lever, whose post shot missed off the back rim at the buzzer.

‹ 53 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 26: NEW MEXICO STATE 74, GCU 70 3:09 to go in the half. GCU took a 40-34 lead to the half with nine Aggies turnovers and Frayer’s February 10, 2018 - 7:00 PM Tip Las Cruces, N .M . (Pan American Center) 13-point, six-rebound half. The momentum carried over to the second half when Frayer hit a 3 and scored on a fastbreak slam, set up by senior guard Joshua Braun’s steal. Grand Canyon 70 (17-9) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 7-12 4-5 5-6 5 5 10 3 23 2 2 1 0 34 The Lopes extended the lead on the strength of Lever, the freshman center who has been the 24 Keonta Vernon F 5-14 0-0 3-7 1 4 5 5 13 3 2 0 1 32 team’s top scorer in WAC play. Lever scored on four consecutive possessions with free throws, 02 Joshua Braun G 3-14 2-11 2-2 1 2 3 3 10 1 1 0 2 37 11 Casey Benson G 2-7 1-4 3-5 1 8 9 4 8 3 3 0 0 32 a post-up, a 3-pointer and a shot in the lane but he also picked up his fourth foul with 16:33 to go. 25 Alessandro Lever G 5-7 1-3 2-2 0 1 1 5 13 0 1 1 0 15 01 Fiifi Aidoo 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 5 Lever remained in the game but fouled out while working for rebounding position on an Aggie 05 Matt Jackson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 13 10 Damari Milstead 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 0 0 8 miss with 16:10 remaining in the game. That began a 10-2 NMSU run that quickly put the Aggies 12 Roberts Blumbergs 0-1 0-1 0-1 0 2 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 8 and the sellout crowd back into the game. 13 Ibrahima Sankare 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 7 42 Gerard Martin 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 4 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 9 With Lever gone, Braun picked up some of the scoring but the defense shut out NMSU for four TEAM Totals 23-61 9-26 15-23 9 28 37 26 70 14 13 3 5 200 minutes to help the Lopes to a 63-53 lead with 7:52 to go. NMSU’s Jemerrio Jones surged his

FG % 1st Half: 15-37 40 .5% 2nd Half: 8-24 33 .3% Game: 23-61 37 7%. team back ahead as part of his monster night. Jones scored 27 and the nation’s second-leading 3FG % 1st Half: 6-16 37 .5% 2nd Half: 3-10 30 .0% Game: 9-26 34 .6% rebounder recorded his third consecutive 20-rebound game. FT % 1st Half: 4-8 50 .0% 2nd Half: 11-15 73 .3% Game: 15-23 65 .2% New Mexico State 74 (22-3) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 10 Jemerrio Jones F 12-21 0-1 3-6 5 15 20 2 27 0 2 0 1 34 11 Johnathon Wilkins F 1-3 0-0 1-2 4 0 4 5 3 1 0 0 0 19 (on the team coming out and placing loose) “They played great. It was 5-on-8. That was 12 AJ Harris G 3-11 1-4 8-10 1 0 1 2 15 2 4 0 0 30 the worst officiating job I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It was unbelievable. They can’t even 13 Sidy N’Dir G 1-6 0-1 0-0 3 3 6 1 2 1 0 0 1 34 23 Zach Lofton G 4-17 0-5 7-10 0 6 6 1 15 0 2 1 1 34 let Alé play. Three fouls in four minutes in the second half, maybe one—maybe one was a 00 Keyon Jones 1-2 1-1 2-2 0 0 0 1 5 0 1 0 1 9 01 Shunn Buchanan 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 11 foul. It was unbelievable. They didn’t give us a chance. Every time I asked, they would say, ‘It 15 Joe Garza 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 wasn’t my call.’ Yep, that guy down there, dove on the ball, rolled over twice—that’s a travel. 22 Eli Chuha 2-4 0-1 1-1 4 4 8 3 5 0 1 0 0 11 35 Johnny McCants 1-4 0-0 0-2 3 3 6 2 2 0 2 0 1 15 We’ve been called for that four times. Rolled over and then they called a timeout. Worst TEAM 2 2 4 1 Totals 25-69 2-13 22-33 22 35 57 20 74 4 13 1 5 200 officiating job I’ve ever seen. Our guys played like men. I’m proud of them. They played great. They will see us again.” FG % 1st Half: 13-39 33 .3% 2nd Half: 12-30 40 .0% Game: 25-69 36 .2% 3FG % 1st Half: 1-8 12 .5% 2nd Half: 1-5 20 .0% Game: 2-13 15 4%. FT % 1st Half: 7-11 63 .6% 2nd Half: 15-22 68 .2% Game: 22-33 66 7%. (on this game getting them geared up for a potential rematch at the WAC Tournament in Officials: Rick Hartzell, Casey McClellan, Rick Randall Vegas) “We’ve got to get through some other people, don’t get me wrong, but our guys now Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-Alessandro Lever . New Mexico State-None . Pan American Center Attendance: 12989 understand how hard we have to play. They came out here and played really, really hard in a In Off 2nd Fast hard environment. Like I said, five against eight.” Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Grand Canyon 40 30 70 GCU 0 8 5 0 3 New Mexico State 34 40 74 NMSU 0 16 12 0 12 (on if this was the effort he has been looking for from his team all year) “We’ve had

Last FG - GCU 2nd-03:09,NMSU 2nd-01:49 . Score Tied - 6 times stretches like this, but our guys just played hard. We still have got to rebound the ball better. Largest lead - GCU by 13 2nd-16:20, NMSU by 7 1st-15:55 Lead Changed - 3 times We have to make free throws, but yeah, we played really, really hard. That’s how we’ve got GCU led for 27:56 . NMSU led for 07:24 . Game was tied for 04:40 . to play, no matter what arena we’re in and who you’re playing against. Whether it’s home or RAPID RECAP: away, or New Mexico State or Chicago State, it doesn’t matter. That’s how you have to play basketball. Our guys got a taste of it. I told them last night at practice, “Playing defense is Grand Canyon Grand Canyon had a mountain to overcome Saturday night at New Mexico fun. Rebounding is fun. Competing is fun. Losing is not fun. Well, I think they had a lot of fun State against the Western Athletic Conference’s best and hottest team, a sellout crowd and its tonight. They’re out there competing. If they didn’t have fun tonight, then they should just leading conference scorer fouling out with more than 16 minutes remaining. quit playing basketball because that was fun, except for those guys in stripes.” The Lopes gave one of their guttier efforts of the season but had too much to overcome in a 74-70 loss to the Aggies in front of 12,989 fans at Pan American Center. (on holding Zach Lofton to just 15 points and the defensive effort) “Jones hurt us. He’s a heck of a player, man. He’s a heck of a player. Just gets rebound after rebound. Tonight, GCU (17-9, 6-4) held NMSU (22-3, 9-0) to 36 percent shooting from the field but the Aggies he scored. The guy had 20 rebounds and 27 points. He’s an unbelievable player. There’s scored 22 points at the free throw line on 33 tries with Lopes starters Alessandro Lever and Keonta Vernon fouling out. sometimes nothing you can do about it. We held Lofton to 4-for-17. Oscar had a great night. Alessandro had an unbelievable night for the 13 minutes he was in the game. He was The Lopes made one field goal in the game’s final seven minutes, much like how they went unbelievable. Oscar played great. I thought everybody was fine. Everybody got in there. cold from the field to fade in a home loss to NMSU. This time, the Lopes remained in position Ibrahima, for not playing all year, getting in there and I thought he was solid. I’m proud of to win with Frayer scoring three points on free throws off his aggressive drives. That pulled our guys. It’s just a shame. They didn’t give us a chance. Not a chance. I usually say one or GCU to within 71-70 with 1:39 to go. GCU missed its final four shots, including two 3s to tie in the two things, but that unbelievable. I’ve never been involved—and I’ve played for 30 years final seconds. NMSU fittingly went ahead 71-70 on A.J. Harris’ follow score, one of NMSU’s 56 rebounds to GCU’s 39 boards. now—never seen anything like it. Every time I asked one of them, ‘Why are you talking to me?’ ‘Well you’ve got a striped shirt on, don’t you?’ ‘Well that wasn’t my call. That wasn’t Sophomore forward Oscar Frayer led GCU with a career-high 23 points and grabbed 10 my call.’” rebounds while Lever and Vernon each added 13 points before fouling out. Lever only played 14 minutes. (on where the team goes from here) “We’re going home. That’s where we’re going.” The Lopes played NMSU well to a first-half tie in Phoenix but fared even better in Saturday (on how encouraging it is to see how well they played) “I’m happy we played like this. I night’s first half because of a stout defense and Frayer’s hot shooting. am. Still, we lost. We went 0-2 on this trip. It doesn’t make Thursday night excusable at all. I GCU fell into a 12-5 hole with an early cold spell but then played more efficiently on offense with hope our guys learn from this. I hope they understand what it takes. We’re going to have to the boost of three Frayer 3-pointers. He made two of the 3s during a 12-0 Lopes run and hit his go to Bakersfield. That’s going to be a hard place to play. Then we’ve got three home games. third in a four-minute span for a 20-15 lead. So hopefully we’ll continue to play like this. We’ll gear up and then we’ll be ready. It’s really NMSU dominated on the boards and relied on paint scoring because Frayer was leading the disappointing. I’m proud of my guys. Oh man, I put them through a test last night. To be defensive effort on Aggies senior guard Zach Lofton, the WAC’s second-leading scorer. Lofton honest, I didn’t know which way they were going to go. I was going to be good cop, bad cop, made two of nine shots for five points in the first half, when the Lopes held the Aggies to 33.3 I decided. I blacked out and I was bad cop again. At the end of practice, ‘You’re with me or percent shooting from the field. against me.’ ‘We’re with you,’ and they showed it. I’m really proud of them.” Lopes senior power forward Keonta Vernon scored six consecutive points and senior point guard Casey Benson added a floater for a 33-26 lead that prompted an NMSU time out with

‹ 54 › MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

GAME 27: CSU BAKERSFIELD 71, GCU 58 Bakersfield’s switch to zone defense helped keep the Lopes off the line for most of the final February 17, 2018 - 7:00 PM Tip Bakersfield, Calif . (Icardo Center) seven minutes.

Grand Canyon 58 (17-10) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds GCU had its best chance to rally when it cut the lead to 48-40 with 10:18 to go, when Ndoye ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 3-4 2-3 3-6 0 5 5 3 11 1 2 0 1 29 fouled out. But the zone kept the Lopes to the perimeter to miss their next three shots and 24 Keonta Vernon F 2-5 0-1 3-6 0 2 2 5 7 0 2 0 1 16 Bakersfield took the lead back into double digits with a small lineup. 25 Alessandro Lever F 3-8 1-4 2-2 1 5 6 3 9 2 2 0 0 26 02 Joshua Braun G 1-7 0-4 4-6 1 3 4 0 6 0 1 0 1 29 11 Casey Benson G 0-2 0-1 1-3 0 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 21 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: 01 Fiifi Aidoo 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 6 05 Matt Jackson 4-5 1-1 1-2 1 1 2 3 10 1 1 1 0 13 10 Damari Milstead 1-4 1-2 3-4 1 0 1 1 6 2 2 0 0 19 (on his overview of the game) “They got in us early and we had a hard time getting the ball 12 Roberts Blumbergs 1-4 0-2 0-2 0 1 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 20 past half-court to get into our sets. They were just tougher than us. We finally woke up and 13 Ibrahima Sankare 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 42 Gerard Martin 1-4 0-3 4-6 1 3 4 2 6 0 0 0 1 18 started playing a little bit better but we shoot 56 percent from the free throw line and get TEAM 1 1 2 Totals 16-44 5-22 21-37 6 24 30 23 58 8 13 1 6 200 outrebounded. Our seniors didn’t do anything at all. It’s just a tough way to go. FG % 1st Half: 6-22 27 .3% 2nd Half: 10-22 45 .5% Game: 16-44 36 4%. (on GCU’s first-half offense) “Nothing good. Can’t make free throws. Can’t make shots. 3FG % 1st Half: 0-10 0 .0% 2nd Half: 5-12 41 7%. Game: 5-22 22 7%. FT % 1st Half: 9-15 60 .0% 2nd Half: 12-22 54 .5% Game: 21-37 56 .8% Couldn’t get into our sets. Keonta gets in foul trouble. Ale makes a stupid foul on a rebound

CSU Bakersfield 71 (11-15) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds to get his second. Freshman mistake. Casey’s got to be able to handle the pressure.” ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 10 Justin Davis F 4-8 1-3 6-6 2 10 12 4 15 2 2 0 2 34 (on the play of the three seniors) “There’s been a lot of talk from these guys. It’s time they 15 Fallou Ndoye C 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 5 0 0 1 1 0 11 00 Jarkel Joiner G 4-12 0-4 1-1 0 3 3 2 9 3 1 0 1 34 start playing. We don’t have anybody who can score. Alé is about the only guy who we can 01 Brent Wrapp G 1-3 1-1 2-4 1 4 5 2 5 7 2 0 2 32 23 Damiyne Durham G 6-18 0-9 5-5 1 5 6 2 17 2 2 0 0 38 throw the ball to score. It’s a tough deal.” 02 Rickey Holden 5-7 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 3 11 1 0 0 1 18 11 Justin McCall 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 (on the overall struggles of the team) “Defensively, we weren’t very good. Rebounding, we 21 Greg Lee 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 5 2 0 0 0 0 8 22 Moataz Aly 3-4 0-0 3-4 1 4 5 4 9 0 3 1 0 19 weren’t very good. It’s just the little things. The free throw percentage was terrible. We’re 24 Bray Barnes 1-2 0-1 1-1 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 4 TEAM 2 1 3 1 just struggling right now. I couldn’t tell you why.” Totals 25-56 3-20 18-21 9 33 42 28 71 15 12 2 6 200 (on the upcoming home stretch) “It’s hard because I don’t think home court is going to FG % 1st Half: 12-28 42 9%. 2nd Half: 13-28 46 4%. Game: 25-56 44 .6% 3FG % 1st Half: 2-11 18 2%. 2nd Half: 1-9 11 1%. Game: 3-20 15 .0% rectify this. The way we’re playing, we’re going to get beat at home. Utah Valley is playing FT % 1st Half: 8-9 88 .9% 2nd Half: 10-12 83 .3% Game: 18-21 85 7%. great. Seattle is playing great. And we’re playing these guys again. They’ve got to decide Officials: Jimmy Casas, D G. . Nelson, Ken Ditty they want to play. We’ll keep working and see how it goes.” Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None . CSU Bakersfield-None . Bakersfield, CA (Icardo Center) Attendance: 3002 In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Grand Canyon 21 37 58 GCU 16 10 2 0 24 CSU Bakersfield 34 37 71 CSUB 32 14 9 8 25

Last FG - GCU 2nd-00:10,CSUB 2nd-00:20 . Score Tied - 0 times Largest lead - GCU None, CSUB by 20 1st-03:41 Lead Changed - 0 times GCU led for 00:00 . CSUB led for 39:11 . Game was tied for 00:49 .

RAPID RECAP: The road continues to be a rough place for Grand Canyon to be. The Lopes lost their third consecutive game, all away from Phoenix, and fell to 3-7 on the road this season with a 71-58 loss to Cal State Bakersfield at Icardo Center on Saturday night. GCU (17-10, 6-5) remains in fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference, going on a three- game losing streak at the point when a run to the conference lead would have been possible. The Lopes dug a 20-point hole in the first half with anemic offense and wound up shooting 36.4 percent for the game. GCU has shot less than 40 percent in each of the three consecutive losses. On Saturday, the marksmanship was just as poor from the 3-point line (five for 22, 22.7 percent) and the free throw line (21 for 37, 56.8 percent). Bakersfield (11-15, 5-7), the WAC’s lowest shooting team, improved to 7-3 at home by shooting 44.6 percent from the field with 32 points in the paint. Sophomore forward Oscar Frayer led the Lopes with 11 points while junior reserve forward Matt Jackson added 10 points in 13 minutes. Bakersfield’s Justin Davis posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds at 6 feet 4. The first half could not have gone much worse for GCU, which fell behind by 20 with 3:41 to go until halftime before saving itself with a defensive stretch. The Lopes shut out Bakersfield for the final 3 ½ minutes to get the Roadrunners’ lead to a more manageable 34-21 at the half. The Lopes wound up scoring 11 unanswered points with the start of the second half but the offensive struggles for the game’s first 16 minutes made for a night of trying to rally. GCU missed 15 of its first 21 shots and made six turnovers in the game’s first eight minutes. The Lopes starters only scored six points in the first half while the team missed all 10 of its 3-point tries. Bakersfield’s fouling helped GCU improve offensively in the second half but the comeback was a crawl because the Lopes often converted only one free throw per trip. The Lopes fouled out Bakersfield big men Fallou Ndoye and Greg Lee in the second half’s first 10 minutes but GCU only made 18 of its first 33 free throws. That kept the Roadrunners’ lead mostly in double digits because the Lopes only made 21 of 37 free throws. GCU quickly reached the bonus situation with 13:42 remaining in the half but ‹ 55 › BROADCAST NOTES

2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Earned first start of season in win over Morgan State on Dec. 27, going 0 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 18, 2x, last vs. Arkansas-PB, 12/22/16 17-18 18/2 4.4 1.7 2.7 0.3 0.2 50.9% 91.7% 37.5% for 9 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. REB 7, vs. San Diego Christian, 1/17/17 SHAQ Career 48/8 4.6 2.0 2.5 0.6 0.1 48.4 85.9 43.8 »» Tied season-highs for points (11) & assists (5) at Boise State on Dec. 13. AST 9, vs. Arkansas-PB, 12/22/16 »» In first appearance of GCU career, scored 18 points and dished out 8 CARR MISCELLANEOUS STL 3, 4x, last vs. Chicago State, 2/23/17 assists on the road at No. 1 Duke last season. Guard PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Transferred from College of Southern Idaho where he was a teammate Sr . • 6-2 • 170 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, 2x, last vs. Morgan State, 12/27/17 of fellow Lope, Keonta Vernon, in 2014-15. North Las Vegas, Nev . 17-18 3 4 7 2 2 MIN 40, vs. Arkansas-PB, 12/22/16 »» Shot 47.1% from the field and 83.0% from the line in his first season. Total 9 8 1 1 14 8 2 »» Favorite athletes to watch: Kyrie Irving, John Wall. 2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Scored 10 points in 2:04 span against Longwood on Dec. 21. 1 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 16, vs. Bethesda, 1/31/17 17-18 27/4 4.4 1.3 1.8 0.8 0.3 40.7% 73.7% 29.5% »» Tied a career high with 3 3-point makes as a part of an 11-point effort in REB 5, 3x, last vs. CSU Bakersfield, 2/4/17 FIIFI Career 55/6 4.5 1.7 1.0 0.7 0.2 37.1 69.8 29.2 the season opener vs. Florida A&M. Tied for team lead in points. AST 3, 5x, last vs. William Jesssup, 1/23/18 »» Key contributor in GCU’s win over San Diego State on Dec. 7, 2016, AIDOO MISCELLANEOUS STL 3, 2x, last at Utah Valley, 2/18/17 scoring 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and 3-for-5 from range. Guard PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Helped lead his Finnish national team to a 7th-place finish at World So . • 6-2 • 200 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, vs. Coppin State, 11/25/16 University Games. Over 8 games, shot 50.9% and averaged 9.0 ppg. Helsinki, Finland 17-18 3 2 2 5 3 MIN 36, vs. Alcorn State, 12/20/16 »» Attended the Helsinki Basketball Academy where he was coached by Total 17 7 9 4 5 12 6 former Atlanta Hawk and Utah Ute, Hanno Mottola. 2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Tied a career-high with 3 blocks in win over UMKC on Feb. 1. 2 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 34, vs. Utah Valley, 1/16/16 17-18 27/27 12.8 3.8 2.3 1.4 0.8 38.8% 73.8% 36.6% »» Ranks 12th in WAC history with 245 career 3-point makes. Needs three REB 11, vs. New Mexico State, 1/9/16 JOSH Career 115/108 14.5 4.7 1.2 0.8 0.6 43.3 81.4 38.9 more to pull into 11th place (Dante Swanson, Tulsa, 1999-03). AST 6, at Chicago State, 1/28/17 »» Had a first-half career-high when he scored 22 points vs. Little Rock on BRAUN MISCELLANEOUS STL 4, vs. New Mexico, 12/23/14 Nov. 18 on 8-for-8 shooting (5-for-5 from 3-point range). Guard PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Hit four 3-pointers in Nov. 13 game vs. Robert Morris to become GCU’s R-Sr . • 6-4 • 205 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 3, 6x, last vs. UMKC, 2/1/18 all-time leader in career 3-pointers (199), passing Richard Davis (197). Anthem, Ariz . 17-18 17 7 9 4 5 12 6 MIN 43, 2x, last at Boise State, 12/13/17 »» Named Preseason WAC Player of the Year by both coaches and media. Total 81 31 5 2 5 43 14 5 21 28 »» Two-time CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American winner. 2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Scored a career high 1 point against Chicago State, went 1-for-2 from 3 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 1, vs Chicago State, 2/3/18 17-18 3/0 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0% 50.0% 0.0% the freethrow line. 1, vs Chicago State, 2/3/18 PARKER Career 3/0 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 0.0 REB »» Pulled down one rebound in the win over Chicago State DALE MISCELLANEOUS AST -- »» Made GCU debut in win over Grambling State on Dec. 9 to a large Guard STL -- ovation from the Havocs. PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Won an Australian High School National Championship. Fr . • 6-4 • 205 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK -- »» At The Scots College, led his team in scoring, 3-point percentage, and Sydney, Australia 17-18 MIN 2, vs. Grambling State, 12/9/17 Total rebounding.

2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Scored a career-high 23 points at New Mexico State on Feb. 10. 4 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 23, at New Mexico State, 2/10/18 17-18 26/21 9.6 5.2 1.7 1.8 0.9 47.5% 54.4% 35.3% »» Had a career-best 13 boards vs. UMKC on Feb. 1, along with several REB 13, vs. UMKC, 2/1/18 OSCAR Career 57/46 8.7 4.8 1.0 1.2 0.7 43.3 60.7 29.9 highlight-worthy dunks and an impressive block. AST 3, 5x, last vs. Little Rock, 11/18/17 »» Tied a career-high with four blocks vs. William Jessup on Jan. 23. FRAYER MISCELLANEOUS STL 4, 3x, last at UTRGV, 2/8/18 »» Had putback slam at Illinois that went viral; featured on SportsCenter, Forward PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... BleacherReport and SB Nation and amassing 2.3M+ views. So . • 6-6 •190 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 4, 2x, last vs. William Jessup, 1/23/18 »» Started season 7-for-13 from 3-point range (.538). Oakland, Calif . 17-18 15 1 2 1 5 6 2 14 5 MIN 42, at Chicago State, 1/28/17 »» Led GCU in blocks (24) in his freshman campaign. Total 26 1 4 2 6 10 2 22 18 »» High school teammate of Damari Milstead at Moreau Catholic. 2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Scored in double figures in back-to-back games (12/18 vs. MVSU, 12/21 5 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 13, vs. Utah Valley, 1/16/16 17-18 25/0 3.0 2.4 0.9 0.7 0.1 39.4% 62.5% 28.1% vs. Longwood) for second time in career (last: March 2016). REB 7, 2x, last vs. Mississippi Valley St., 11/23/15 MATT Career 80/16 4.1 2.7 0.8 0.3 0.2 39.9 65.8 32.8 »» In season opener, saw first action since March 23, 2016 at Coastal AST 5, vs. Great Falls, 12/6/14 Carolina. Sat out 2016-17 season with injury. MISCELLANEOUS JACKSON STL 2, 5x, last at Chicago State, 1/18/18 »» Considered one of the team’s “high basketball IQ” players by Majerle. Forward PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» As a sophomore in 2015-16, started 10 games, helping GCU to a 27-7 BLK 2, vs. South Carolina State, 3/14/16 R-Jr . • 6-8 • 230 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK finish and second place in the WAC. 17-18 4 1 4 2 Melbourne, Australia MIN 30, vs. Great Falls, 12/6/14 »» Played for Australia during the 2012 U17 World Championships, averag- Total 9 1 7 10 ing 4.9 points per game over eight contests. 2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Set a new career-high with an 11-point performance in a win over 10 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 11, vs. UMKC, 2/1/18 17-18 19/0 4.4 0.9 0.9 0.4 0.1 51.2% 84.2% 58.3% UMKC on Feb. 1, also setting career-bests in minutes (18) and recording REB 4, vs Chicago State, 2/3/18 DAMARI Career 19/0 4.4 0.9 0.8 0.4 0.1 51.2 84.2 58.3 his first block. AST 3, 2x last vs Chicago State, 2/3/18 »» Made first four 3-point field goals of career. MILSTEAD MISCELLANEOUS STL 2, 2x last vs Chicago State, 2/3/18 »» High school teammate of Oscar Frayer at Moreau Catholic. Guard PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Led the Mariners to a state championship during his Conference Player Fr . • 6-2 • 160 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 1, vs. UMKC, 2/1/18 of the Year season as a senior. Hayward, Calif . 17-18 1 1 3 MIN 18, vs. UMKC, 2/1/18 »» Arrived on campus in early summer where he put on a “healthy” fresh- Total 1 1 3 man 15, taking advantage of GCU’s sports performance offerings. 2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Posted second double-double of career with 17-point, 10-rebound 11 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 18, vs. St. John’s, 12/5/17 17-18 27/27 9.5 4.1 7.2 1.0 0.2 37.2% 74.8% 35.6% game at UTRGV on Feb. 8 to go along with 6 assists. REB 10, 2x, last at UTRGV, 2/8/18 CASEY Career 140/78 5.7 2.4 2.8 0.7 0.0 40.4 73.2 36.6 »» Has a 7.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in last four games. AST 10, vs. William Jessup, 1/23/18 »» From Nov. 13 to Nov. 20, scored in double-digits for three consecutive BENSON MISCELLANEOUS STL 4, vs. UC Riverside, 12/2/17 games for the first time in his career. Guard PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Led the nation in assist-to-turnover (4.88-to-1) ratio as a sophomore. Sr . • 6-3 • 185 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 1, 5x, last vs. Mississippi Val. St., 12/18/17 »» Returns to Arizona where he was a high school standout, winning 2014 Tempe, Ariz . 17-18 13 2 16 2 2 3 19 5 2 MIN 38, at Boise State, 12/13/17 Gatorade Player of the Year and winning three state championships. Total 26 2 28 2 2 3 19 5 2 »» His brother, T.J. Benson, is a GCU assistant coach.

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2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Held GCU Division I record for points by a true freshman for one game 12 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 25, vs. UTRGV, 1/13/18 17-18 27/7 5.9 3.3 1.4 0.6 0.4 37.4% 75.5% 22.5% after a 25-point performance in win over UTRGV on Jan. 13. REB 8, 3x, last vs. William Jessup, 1/23/18 ROBERTS Career 27/7 5.9 3.3 0.9 0.4 0.3 37.4 75.5 22.5 »» Had best game of early career against Norfolk State on Nov. 20, posting AST 6, vs. Norfolk State, 11/20/17 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in 31 minutes. BLUMBERGS MISCELLANEOUS STL 3, vs. Grambling State, 12/9/17 »» Played on Latvian U16 national team. Left home at 16 to join B-league Forward PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... club in Germany. Efficient producer at 2016 U18 Euro Championship. Fr . • 6-10 • 220 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, vs. Morgan State, 12/27/17 »» Chose GCU over Creighton, Seton Hall and Xavier. Ventspils, Latvia 17-18 4 1 1 2 3 1 4 3 MIN 31, vs. Norfolk State, 11/20/17 »» “Arguably the top available 2017 center prospect” according to Total 4 1 1 2 3 1 4 3 247Sports at time of April 2017 signing. 2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Career high game against Chicago St. with 7pts, 3reb and 1ast in 8min 13 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 7, vs Chicago State, 2/3/18 17-18 9/0 1.4 0.9 0.1 0.3 0.1 50.0% 71.4% 0.0% »» Scored first points of GCU career in win over Grambling State on Dec. 9. REB 3, vs Chicago State, 2/3/18 IBRAHIMA Career 9/0 1.4 0.9 0.1 0.6 0.1 50.0 71.4 0.0 »» Selected to play for the Senegal U19 team, competing in the 2013 FIBA AST 1, vs Chicago State, 2/3/18 SANKARE MISCELLANEOUS World Championships in Prague. Team matched up with Australia and STL 1, 3x, last vs Chicago State, 2/3/18 fellow Lope Gerard Martin during pool play. Forward PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Scored 43 points in the final game of his high school career at Malick Sy BLK 1, vs. Mississippi Val. St., 12/18/17 R-Fr . • 6-7 • 200 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK HS in Senegal. Won the championship, won the team’s MVP and was the 17-18 1 Thiès, Senegal MIN 8, vs Chicago State, 2/3/18 team’s leading scorer as a junior. Total 1

2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Has knocked down all 3 3-point attempts this season, connecting from 15 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 3, 4x, last vs. Morgan State, 12/27/17 17-18 5/0 1.8 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 37.5% #DIV/0! 75.0% distance in 3 of his 4 appearances. REB 1, vs. Grambling State, 12/9/17 CHEICK Career 7/0 1.7 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 33.3 0.0 57.1 »» Appeared for GCU in two games in his debut season in 2016-17. AST -- SY-SAVANE MISCELLANEOUS »» Transferred from Suffolk County where he averaged 27.5 points 5.2 STL 1, vs. Grambling State, 12/9/17 rebounds per game. Guard PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Was named a 2015-16 NJCAA Division III All-American. BLK -- Sr . • 6-3 • 180 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK »» Father, Ousmane, played professional soccer. 17-18 Harlem, N Y. . MIN 4, vs. Grambling State, 12/9/17 »» Also played volleyball in high school. Total

2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Has scored in double-digits seven times, and pulled down a career-best 21 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 12, 4x, last at New Mexico State, 1/12/17 17-18 16/0 1.2 1.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 61.5% 42.9% 0.0% 10 rebounds vs. CSU Bakersfield on 2/4/17. REB 10, vs. CSU Bakersfield, 2/4/17 KERWIN Career 79/31 3.1 2.6 0.1 0.2 0.3 58.2 41.1 0.0 »» As a freshman at GCU, started in 25 of 32 games he played in, scoring a AST 1, 3x, last vs. Longwood, 12/21/17 SMITH MISCELLANEOUS season high 12 points against St. Edward’s. Forward STL 2, at UTRGV, 1/14/17 »» Scored 16 points and had 14 rebounds in first game of his senior year PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Aunt, Sebrena, played basketball for Louisiana Tech and Northwestern R-Jr . • 6-9 • 220 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, 5x, last vs. Longwood, 12/21/17 (LA) before playing professionally in Spain. Dallas, Texas 17-18 1 2 MIN 33, at New Mexico State, 1/12/17 Total 7 1 1 7 2 12

2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Scored two points in win over Longwood on Dec. 21. 22 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 2, 2x, last vs. Longwood, 12/21/17 17-18 5/0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 50.0% 50.0% 0.0% »» Saw first action of 2017-18 season in a win over Grambling State on REB 2, vs. Coppin State, 11/25/16 NEHEMIAH Career 11/0 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.0 66.7 33.3 0.0 Dec. 9. AST -- ALLEN MISCELLANEOUS »» From Lake Oswego, Ore., home to Klay Thompson and Kevin Love. STL 1, vs. Bethesda, 1/31/17 »» Played in six games in 2016-17 with a total of 18 minutes. Forward PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Scored his first collegiate basket against Arkansas-Pine Bluff . BLK -- So . • 6-5 • 170 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK »» Father, Dale Allen, played basketball at Hillsdale College in Michigan. Lake Oswego, Ore . 17-18 MIN 5, vs. San Diego Christian, 1/17/17 Total

2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Led GCU in scoring with 18 in win over UMKC on Feb. 1. 24 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 24, at Chicago State, 1/28/17 17-18 27/27 8.7 6.9 1.9 1.0 1.9 49.5% 55.2% 0.0% »» In the WAC’s Top 10 in a variety of categories: rebounding (4th, 7.5); REB 15, 4x, last vs. UTRGV, 1/13/18 KEONTA Career 92/66 8.3 6.4 0.9 0.8 0.7 51.1 53.8 20.0 field goal pct. (10th, 49.0); blocks (4th, 1.5). AST 4, 2x, at Chicago State, 1/18/18 »» Posted 14th career double-double (13p/15r) against UTRGV on Jan. 13. MISCELLANEOUS VERNON STL 4, 2x, last at CSU Bakersfield, 3/4/17 »» Became first GCU player in Division I era and fourth all-time to shoot a Forward PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... perfect 8-for-8 from the field in a win over Grambling State on Dec. 9. BLK 4, 2x, last vs. Mississippi Val. St., 12/18/17 Sr . • 6-6 • 240 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK »» Last season, Vernon’s 217 total rebounds for the year led the Lopes, 17-18 10 4 3 3 13 4 6 18 Tulare, Calif . MIN 46, at Chicago State, 1/28/17 averaging 7.0 per contest. Total 31 2 15 14 7 37 5 22 34 »» Teammate of Shaq Carr’s at College of Southern Idaho in 2014-15. 2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Has scored 20+ points in five of last nine games. 25 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 28, at Chicago State, 1/18/18 17-18 27/20 10.0 4.1 1.9 0.3 0.5 48.3% 73.8% 28.3% »» Earned GCU’s first WAC Player of the Week honor for games on the REB 10, 2x, last at UMKC, 1/20/18 ALESSANDRO Career 27/20 10.0 4.1 1.3 0.2 0.3 48.3 73.8 28.3 road at Chicago State and UMKC. AST 4, at Louisville, 12/23/17 »» Broke GCU Division I scoring record for a true freshman with 28 LEVER MISCELLANEOUS STL 1, 4x, last vs. UTRGV, 1/13/18 against Chicago St. on Jan. 18, topping Blumbergs’ 25 from prior game. Center PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... Was 15 points better than his previous career high set at Illinois. Fr . • 6-10 • 230 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, vs. Longwood, 12/21/17 »» Fouled out after just 15 minutes of playing time at NMSU Feb. 10. Bolzano, Italy 17-18 10 5 2 1 5 7 1 2 5 MIN 28, vs. William Jessup, 1/23/18 »» Earned first career start in win over Grambling State on Dec. 9. Total 10 5 2 1 5 7 1 2 5 »» Played for the Italian U18 national team. 2017-18 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Knocked down 4-of-5 shots in win over Morgan State on Dec. 27. 42 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 17, vs. Central Michigan, 12/03/15 17-18 27/0 3.4 2.7 1.8 0.9 0.3 39.0% 44.0% 29.1% »» Was named to the WAC’s All-Defensive team after finishing in the REB 10, vs. Seattle U, 1/21/17 GERARD Career 92/57 4.4 3.1 2.1 1.0 0.3 36.6 44.4 31.6 conference’s top 10 in steals per game (1.4) last year. AST 7, 3x, last vs. Seattle U, 1/21/17 »» Had career-best 7 steals and 6 rebounds against SIUE last November. MARTIN MISCELLANEOUS STL 7, vs. SIUE, 11/28/16 »» A member of gold medal-winning sides for the U16 and U18 state team. Guard PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Usually first off the bench, considered by Majerle as one of team’s top R-Jr . • 6-7 • 225 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, 3x, last vs. Little Rock, 11/18/17 defenders and high basketball IQ players. Manly, Australia 17-18 1 2 1 5 2 MIN 40, 3x, last at Chicago State, 1/28/17 Total 9 1 1 7 8 18 16

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