Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Lindsay Schutzman)

San Francisco, CA -- Braylon Pickrel was the Urban Knights nemesis the last time these two teams met up in Phoenix, and he proved to be a major factor again in San Francisco as he recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday afternoon as the Lopes defeated the Knights 82-50. Czar Robotham had 17 points and three assists for Academy of Art.

The Antelopes had five players score in double-digits, with Pickrel leading the way. Kyle Speed had 13 points and six assists, Jerome Garrison and Justin Wesolowski each had 12 points, and Justin Foreman had 11 points in the win. But it was their defense that caused problems for the Knights early on, as they pressed early and often and held the Knights to 36.4% shooting from the field in the first half.

The Lopes built a ten-point lead early, going up 14-4 on a layup by Barret Robbins with 15.36 to go. That lead shrank to five at the 13:00 minute mark, but grew again to 16 by halftime as the two teams went into the break separated by a score of 41-25. Robotham had 10 points and two assists in the first half, but he and Mike Jorritsma (2 for 3) were the only players on the Urban Knights shooting over 50% for the half.

William Overton, Jr. started off the second half with a jumper in the paint, but Grand Canyon went on a 9-0 run from there, expanding the lead to 23. The Knights went on a run of their own after that, cutting the lead to 12 points on a tip-in by Overton, who finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Noah Koné-Nelson made another layup to bring it to twelve again with 10:19 to go, but GCU took over after that, going on a 16-1 run over the next six minutes to make it a 70-43 ballgame.

Pickrel scored four straight points after that before subbing out on the ensuing Grand Canyon timeout, but the damage was done by the junior transfer. Jorritsma and Robotham put in buckets in the final minute, but the Knights couldn't keep the Lopes off the board in the loss.

Academy of Art will play again next Saturday, honoring the sole senior on their team, Hunter Hayden on his senior day.