PHOENIX, Ariz. – A cold shooting night led to an early Little Rock deficit, one the Trojans couldn't climb out of as Little Rock drops a 76-51 decision to Grand Canyon. With the loss, Little Rock falls to 0-3 on the season with Grand Canyon improving to 3-0.
Little Rock struggled to find a consistent rhythm all evening, shooting just 27.3 percent from the floor (15-of-55) and hitting just three of its 18 three-point attempts (16.7 percent). By contrast, Grand Canyon shot 51.1 percent from the floor and hit eight of its first 14 three-point attempts while going 20-for-28 from the free throw line.
Andre Jones was the only Trojan to finish in double figures, finishing with 11 points, with
Camron Reedus and
Ben Marcus each registering eight points. Marcus tied for the team lead with five rebounds, matched by
Oliver Black's five to go along with his five points, with
Cameron Corcoran adding a career-high seven in the second half.
In the paint, an area where Little Rock thrived its first two games of the season, the Trojans were outscored 32-18. Grand Canyon's paint dominance continued with eight blocks on the night as six different Lopes recorded a swat.
Knowing the importance of a fast start against an energetic crowd, Marcus took matters into his own hands early, scoring Little Rock's first six points as the Trojans raced out to the early 6-2 lead. But Little Rock's shooting went cold and Grand Canyon heated up as the Lopes led by as many as 21 in the opening half, taking a 42-23 lead into the intermission.
The Trojans hit just eight of their 31 shots in the opening 20 minutes while going 0-for-7 from three-point range, contrasted by 14-of-25 shooting for Grand Canyon, which included going 6-of-11 from three-point range.
It didn't play out any better in the second half, however, as Little Rock found itself trailing by as many as 31, ultimately falling by the 76-51 margin. The Trojans shot 29.2 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes but one bright spot was seeing nine different Little Rock players score, a handful of which saw their first significant action in Trojan uniforms.
Grand Canyon was led by preseason WAC Player of the Year Joshua Braun's 29 points, hitting nine of his 11 shots and five-of-seven from three point range. Casey Benson was the only other Lope to finish in double figures with 10.
Little Rock wraps up its three-game road swing in California, traveling to San Diego to meet the Toreros in the second game of their involvement of the Grand Canyon Classic. Tip-off in San Diego is set for 9 p.m. CT Monday, November 20.
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