CHICAGO -- After the Lopes dashed off to a 17-0 lead to begin the game yesterday afternoon, Grand Canyon University ultimately defeated the Chicago State Cougars 90-59 in the Jones Convocation Center.
CSU made their first field goal nearly nine minutes into the contest when
Patrick Szpir (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) drained a free throw for his first of nine points on the day, marking a season-high for the junior.
Once the Cougars got going,
Travon Bell (Chicago, Ill./Mather) (Chicago, Ill./Mather) would bank in a layup to make it 23-7 with 8:50 remaining in the half. With Bell's basket, CSU cut their deficit to 16 points, but it was as close as the Cougars would get to the Lopes for the remainder of the match up.
Rob Shaw (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) closed out the half for Chicago State, as he drained back-to-back jumpers for the green and white to make it a 51-23 point game heading into the break.
The Lopes showed dominance on defense through the first 20-minute frame as CSU was held to 39.1 percent shooting and committed 10 turnovers.
The Cougars came out ready to work in the second half with Szpir pulling up for a made jumper to kick off the action. Bell followed suit with a bucket from beyond the arc as CSU seemed to gain some momentum.
Down 60-28, Bell netted his second three-pointer of the night and then dished off an assist to Shaw, who was streaking through the paint, to complete a five-point run.
With 13 left to go in regulation, CSU was down 68-39 when Shaw pulled down a defensive rebound and got the ball off to
Cameron Bowles (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood). Bowles charged through the paint with a purpose and drew a foul while sinking the contested layup. The sophomore made the free basket from the charity stripe to take advantage of the and-one opportunity and fire up the Cougars.
Chicago State went on to out shoot the Lopes 46.9 to 46.4 percent during the second half, but the early deficit proved to be too much for CSU to overcome as the Cougars eventually fell 90-59 to their second-placed WAC foe.
Shaw finished the night with the team-high 16 points, marking the 14th time this season in which he has scored in double figures.
Anthony Harris (Gary, Ind./Griffith (Ind.)) (Gary, Ind./Griffith (Ind.)) also reached double figures, tallying 12 points off 4-of-11 shooting from the field. He also grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
After last week's two-game home-stand, the Cougars will hit the road next to take on Utah Valley on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. (CST). Full coverage for the game can be found
here.
