Men's Basketball Closes Current Road Swing at Grand Canyon

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Entering their fifth game and seventh day on the current road trip, the Alcorn Braves (3-4) will continue their push into Arizona on Tuesday with a non-conference tilt at Grand Canyon (5-2) in GCU Arena. Slated for broadcast on ESPN+, the Braves and Lopes are set for an 8:00 p.m. CT tip-off for the fourth meeting in the series.

THE GAME: Alcorn State Braves (3-4) at Grand Canyon Lopes (5-2)
WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 8:00 p.m. CT
WHERE: GCU Arena (Phoenix, Ariz.)
TICKETS: $5 General Admission
WATCH LIVE VIDEO: Broadcast on ESPN+ ($6.99/month or $69.99/year)
LIVE STATS: GCU Athletics
LISTEN LIVE: GCU

IN THE RANKINGS
Alcorn is not ranked in the latest Associated Press or USA TODAY Coaches Poll Top 25 poll. Grand Canyon is not ranked in the latest Associated Press or USA TODAY Coaches Poll Top 25 poll. Neither team received any votes in these preseason polls.

Grand Canyon is ranked No. 13 in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

Receiving two (2) No. 1 picks, Alcorn was picked No. 2 in Preseason Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Predicted Order of Finish. Although GCU was fifth in last year's conference standings, the Lopes were selected as the preseason No. 1 with eight top votes in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Coaches' Preseason Poll. Guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. was chosen as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Alcorn Men's Basketball this year by following the Braves' hoops social media platforms. You can follow @BravesMBB on Instagram and @Alcorn_St_MBB on Twitter.

SERIES VS. GRAND CANYON
It's not a series that you would geographically expect, but this is the fourth meeting between the Braves and Lopes. Grand Canyon leads the series 3-0, with the last meeting coming in 2016-17 with a 63-53 GCU win in Phoenix.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THESE TEAMS
ALCORN
After a grueling three games in four days, with Thanksgiving wedged in between at the Jim Forbes Classic in El Paso, the Braves headed to Tempe to face Arizona State with just one day of downtime before squaring off with the Sun Devils.

The Braves claimed an early lead on a five-point push by Dominic Brewton and Dekedran Thorn and held the advantage into the final four minutes of the first half. However, a 12-2 Arizona State run heading into the break sent Alcorn to the locker room with a nine-point deficit, despite leading for nearly seven minutes late into the period.

Although Thorn put forth his best efforts to keep the Braves close, the Sun Devils extended their lead out to 40-28. One more push with Thorn at the heart of it and the Braves chipped the deficit down to only six, then Brewton and Trevin Wade worked Alcorn into striking distance at 45-41. But another 12-2 ASU run at mid-half sealed it, and another 16-9 margin to end the game secured 76-54 result in ASU's favor.

According to the Current Strength of Schedule (SOS) from Warren Nolan, the Braves are working against the No. 2 toughest non-conference schedule in the nation.

On the season rankings to date, the Braves have proven strong on the offensive glass, ranking 28th in the nation with 13.57 offensive rebounds per contest. Alcorn also leads the SWAC and ranks 39th nationally in 3FG% Defense, holding opponents to 27 percent shooting from the perimeter. Alcorn has been helped to some big wins and close games by having talent in the wings, ranking 50th nationally in bench points with a 29.75 ppg average.

GRAND CANYON
The Lopes have seen four of their seven games to date in Phoenix, a sharp contrast with the Braves – who haven't hosted a home game this season. After falling to Wichita State (55-43) and defeating Northern Iowa (69-67) in the Hall of Fame Classic at Kansas City's T-Mobile Center, the Lopes returned home for a smooth-sailing night against NAIA-foe Benedictine Mesa. Led by sophomore guard Chance McMillian, six GCU players scored in double figures and the Lopes dismantled the Redhawks 110-53 on Saturday night.

The Lopes shot 59.7 percent from the floor and 42.8 percent from the perimeter behind McMillian as the top scorer with three from long range and 7-for-10 from the field. Aside from McMillian, guard Ellis Walter scored 15, guard Kobe Knox had 14, guard Ray Harrison with 13, forward Gabe McGlothan scored 12 and Italian guard Isaiah Shaw rounded out the group with 11.

In total, the Lopes had 52 rebounds versus Benedictine Mesa – a 27-board advantage.

On the season, Gabe McGlothan is 34th nationally at 9.4 rebounds per game with over eight in the past six games. The Lopes rank second in the WAC and 11th nationally in Field Goal Percentage Defense, holding teams to 35.3 percent shooting. GCU also ranks 17th nationally in rebounds per game with a 42.29 average, leaning heavily into the defensive glass with a 30.14 average.

LAST SEASON FOR THESE TEAMS
Alcorn completed the 2021-22 season as the SWAC Regular Season Champion with a 17-17 overall record and 14-4 SWAC mark, reaching the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) for the third time (previously 1979 & 1985). The Grand Canyon Lopes were 23-8 last season with a 13-5 Western Athletic Conference record – bumped out of the WAC tournament in the second round by New Mexico State.

Alcorn Head Coach Landon Bussie is in his third season and has a record of 26-34 with the Braves (26-34 career). Grand Canyon Head Coach Bryce Drew Kyle Keller is in his third season with GCU and has a record of 45-17 (209-125 career). GCU is 29-5 at home under Drew.

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR THESE TEAMS
ALCORN
Soph. Guard Dominic Brewton: 13.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.3 spg, .398 FG%
Soph. Guard Byron Joshua: 9.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.7 spg, .317 FG%
Grad Guard Trevin Wade: 8.3 ppg, 1.8 apg, 1.8 spg, .388 FG%
Jr. Forward Dekedran Thorn: 6.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 10 3pt FG

GRAND CANYON
Jr. Guard Jovan Blacksher Jr.: 11.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.7 spg, .379 FG%
r-Jr. Guard Gabe McGlothan: 9.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg, .509 FG%
Soph. Guard Ray Harrison: 9.0 ppg, 2.3 apg, .369 FG%,
Soph. Guard Chance McMillian: 9.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, .431 FG%, .478 3FG%
Jr. Guard Josh Baker: 8.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, .452 FG%, .421 3FG%

CATCH THE BRAVES LIVE AT THE WHITNEY IN 2022-23
Season Tickets for the 2022-23 Alcorn men's and women's basketball teams at the Davey L. Whitney Health and Physical Education Complex are now available for purchase at https://alcornsports.myimpacttickets.com/basketball. Season tickets for the home SWAC competitions are $76.25, while single-game admission is $12.65 in advance.

UP NEXT
The Braves may head back to campus from this stretch, but won't be home for long. Alcorn will follow-up Sunday (Dec. 4) in Knoxville at Tennessee, and will head to Carbondale for Southern Illinois on the following Saturday, Dec. 10. The first opportunity to catch the Braves in the Davey L. Whitney Complex is Jan. 2 in the SWAC opener vs. Jackson State.

Follow Alcorn State Men's Basketball on Twitter (@Alcorn_St_MBB) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Alcorn State Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BravesSports), Instagram (@AlcornSports) and YouTube (Alcorn State Sports).