5-8
Grand Canyon
9-5
Cal Poly Men's Basketball Falls Down the Stretch at Grand Canyon
12/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PHOENIX – Junior forward Luke Meikle scored a career high 22 points, but the Cal Poly men's basketball program – despite thrice tying the scoreline with Grand Canyon during the second half – couldn't overtake the Lopes for the final 28 minutes on Wednesday evening and fell inside GCU Arena, 71-64.
Sophomore guard Donovan Fields added 14 points while senior guard Ridge Shipley finished with 12 for Cal Poly (5-8), which tied Wednesday's matchup for the eighth time at 48-48 with six-and-a-half minutes remaining. First-time opponent Grand Canyon (9-5), however, held Cal Poly to just two field goals during the next five minutes and converted 12 of their final 16 free throw attempts down the stretch to outdistance the Mustangs.
Cal Poly, which shot 90.0 (9-for-10) percent from the free throw line, outrebounded Grand Canyon 38-30, with sophomore forward Aleks Abrams grabbing a game high nine.
Cal Poly continues their six-game road trip and closes 2016 with a 10 a.m. PT matchup at Princeton on Saturday, Dec. 31.
Cal Poly forced Grand Canyon into three turnovers inside the opening 86 seconds, but after taking an initial 4-0 lead, the Mustangs were outscored 11-2 during an ensuing three-and-a-half minute span.
The Mustangs quickly tied the matchup through a Shipley layup and three-pointer from sophomore forward Kuba Niziol and, facing a 20-16 deficit seven minutes prior to the break, Cal Poly compiled a 7-0 run in 95 seconds to take the lead once more.
With five total lead changes in the first half, the two sides traded the advantage once more down the stretch with a three-pointer from Lopes guard Gerard Martin placing Grand Canyon up 31-27 at halftime.
Grand Canyon extended early second-half leads to six points three times before a layup from guard DeWayne Russell pushed the home advantage to 43-36 with 12 minutes to play.
A 6-0 run punctuated by a layup from junior guard Victor Joseph brought the Mustangs within one point of Grand Canyon. After Lopes guard Fiffi Aidoo knocked down a free throw, Shipley tied the matchup at 44-44 through a layup with nine-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Twice more Cal Poly tied the matchup with a layup from senior guard Kyle Toth drawing the Mustangs level for the final time at 48-48.
