PHOENIX, Ariz. - Grand Canyon University, an NCAA Division II school and member of the Pacific West Conference, improved its season record to 6-2 and won its third consecutive game with a 78-67 non-conference victory over crosstown rival Arizona Christian University, Monday, November 26, at the GCU Arena in Phoenix. ACU, a NAIA Division I member, counts the game as an exhibition and does not count the result or statistics against its season records.
ACU (3-1) plays next against University of California-Santa Cruz at the University of Redlands' 65th Annual Lee Fulmer Classic, Saturday, December 8, at 6 p.m., Arizona time.
Junior guard Mason Jones (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View H.S./Eastern Oregon Univ.) led all scorers in the game with 17 points and 2 three-pointers and also had three assists and two steals, and junior center Daniel Cornelius (Phoenix, Ariz./Phoenix Christian H.S.) added 12 points, six rebounds and one steal and made eight of his nine free throws. Junior guard Greg Womack (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS/Univ. of Maryland-Eastern Shore) finished with 10 points and 2 three-pointers, and junior guard Jordan Block (Pancho Cucamonga, Calif./Claremont H.S./Pasadena City College) scored seven points and had two rebounds, two assists and one steal in his reserve role. Freshman forward Jackson Helms (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley H.S.) contributed six points, all in the second half, and four rebounds before fouling out late in the game, and junior guard Charles King (Houston, Tex./Stephen F. Austin H.S./Phoenix College) added six points, one three-pointer, two assists and two steals.
Senior guard A.J. Koch (Tucson, Ariz../Flowing Wells H.S.), averaging 14 points per game, was held to two points in the second half and had two rebounds, two assists and three steals. Freshman forward Mike Navar (Chino, Calif./Chino Hills H.S.) gave ACU five points, two rebounds and one blacked shor
6-9 center Killian Larson totaled 11 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot for Grand Canyon, and 6-10 forward Braylon Pickerel finished with 11 points, one three-pointer, and seven rebounds. Off the bench, guard Justin Foreman led GCU with 12 points, six rebounds and one steal and made 4 of his five shots. Guard Jerome Garrison contributed 10 points, one three-pointer, five rebounds and three assists, and reserve guard Brad Carroll added 10 points, two assists and one steal off the GCU bench.
ACU made 21 of 53 field goals (.396), 5 of 14 from three-point range (.357) and 20 of 27 free throws (.741), including 12 of 16 in its second-half comeback effort. The Firestorm passed 10 assists, blocked one shot, stole the ball nine times, and committed 14 turnovers in the game, seven in each half. ACU went from a 33.3 per cent first-half shooting percentage to 47.8 in the second half (11-23) and led 18-4 in free throws made until the last three minutes of the game during which GCU closed the gap to 20-17.
GCU made 26 of 56 shots (.464), but dropped off from 57.6 per cent in the first half to 30.4 per cent in the second half (7-23), and made 9 of 21 three-pointers (.429) and 17 of 25 free throws (.680). One key to the game was Grand Canyon's decisive 47-24 rebounding lead with 18 offensive rebounds. GCU committed 23 turnovers, blocked two shots and recorded seven steals.
ACU trailed just 15-13 at the 12:30 mark of the first half, but GCU put together a 20-6 run and led 35-19 with 5:02 remaining. The Antelopes built their lead to 47-30 with 1:46 left, their widest advantage of the first half, and led 47-32 at intermission. Grand Canyon shot .575 from the field (19-33) and made 7 of 13 from three-point range (.538) and survived 12 first-half turnovers with its hot shooting and also out-rebounded ACU, 25-11, in the first 20 minutes. Larson led the Antelopes with nine points, 10 rebounds and three assists, and Pickerel added nine points and four rebounds in the first half.
ACU shot just .333 from the field (10-30) and made 4 of its 10 three-pointers in the first half, and was led by Mason Jones with 10 points and 2 three-pointers. Womack added eight first- half points with 2 three-pointers. ACU committed seven first-half turnovers.
ACU sliced GCU's second-half lead to nine points, 67-58, on Womack's lay-up with 3:54 to go in the game, its first single-digit deficit since the 8:08 mark of the first half, and further cut the deficit to 67-61 with 2:39 remaining. GCU made 10 of its 13 free throws after that to preserve the victory. Three free throws by Carroll in a span of 20 seconds and two each by guard Joshua Lowery and Pickerel by ACU gave GCU a 74-62 lead with 49 seconds left. After ACU's Charles King nailed a three-pointer with 42 seconds left, making the scorc, 74-65, Garrison made two free throws for the Antelopes, and Jones answered with an off-balance jumper for ACU, lowering the deficit to 76-67 with 29 seconds showing on the clock. Foreman nailed two final free throws with 15 seconds left for the final 78-67 margin of victory.
