Thursday night New Mexico State proved once again why they’ve had a stranglehold on the Western Athletic Conference as they started fast and finished strong, pulling away from cold-shooting Grand Canyon 70-59 at GCU Arena.
The Aggies (14-3, 2-0) were the more aggressive team from the outset, out-rebounding the Lopes 50-25, including 14-7 on the offensive end. GCU dropped to 11-6, 1-1.
The lack of effort drew the ire of head coach Dan Majerle whose visible frustration was evident from the moment he stepped into the post-game interview room.
“I’m at a loss of words really,” he said with disgust. “We’ve hung our hat on defense and rebounding all year and we didn’t do any of that. When you get out-rebounded 50-25 on your home floor there’s something wrong.”
The Lopes 44.5% shooting before intermission dipped to 25.7% in the second half as the Aggies capitalized on the opportunity and pulled away late for a big conference road win.
GCU’s senior starting backcourt of Josh Braun and Casey Benson combined to shoot just 6-16. Fellow senior Keonta Vernon had a double double finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Eric Sorenson
