Lopes too much for Cowboys

Box Score PHOENIX, Ariz.- Your Cowboys opened the season against Division 1 opponent Grand Canyon University Lopes. The Lopes used their size and experience to beat the Cowboys 84-53.

The Cowboy came out from the tip on defense and a quick foul by Kaylen Shane set the tone for both teams. The Lopes were first on the board with a layup by Joshua Braun. The Cowboys would tie the game at two just a minute later. The Lopes would then go on a ten point three minute run to lead 14-5 stopped by a Cowboy timeout.

Coming out of the timeout the Cowboy's Ruben Macias cut the lead Lopes lead to six. After a 1:36 of game time that didn't see a bucket but saw four fouls between the teams, the Lopes Uros Ljeskovic put them back up eight. The Cowboys would go on their own 7-0 run to cut the Lopes lead, 20-19. Unfortunately that is the closest that the Cowboys could get to the Lopes for the rest of the game.

The Lopes then went on a 27-12 run in the last 8:30 of the half including a last second lay-up by Dewayne Russell to take the 41-31 lead going into half time.

In the first half the Cowboys were lead by Kendrick Nichols with 11 points and 4 rebounds, Jonathan Mines with 7 points, and 2 rebounds, and Marlon Johnson with 2 points and 5 rebounds. The Cowboys were in foul trouble as Andre Hardy, Marlon Johnson and Kaylen Shane had three fouls apiece. Between the two teams there were 33 fouls called. The biggest problem for the Cowboys was the fact that they gave up 26 points in the paint.

The second half started out rough for the Cowboys as the Lopes won the first round 5-2 to lead 52-33 with 15:58 remaining in the game. The second round would not be much better for the Cowboys as the Lopes would win that round 14-3 to take a 28 point lead a the 11:55 mark, 64-36.

The Cowboys would try to find a way to get back in the game but the shots wouldn't fall as the Cowboys opened the second half shooting 3-15 in the first 11:28.

The Lopes would go on to win by a final score of 84-53. The Cowboys will return to action next Thursday the 13^th in Durango to take part in the RMAC/Lone Star Shootout. Game time is set for 3 p.m. against Eastern New Mexico. Live stats will be available.

Leaders
Points	Jonathon Mines 14
Rebounds	Marlon Johnson 8
Assist	Ron Lawton 2

Thought from Head Coach Craig Snow:
"It was a great experience for our program in an unbelievable environment. I think some games your come expecting to play a certain way. I feel like we didn't finish the ball really well inside. We put them on the line too much. We had a tough stretch, at the 10-minute mark in the first half they went on a little bit of the run and kind of got the game out of reach. Playing catch up is hard epically on the road, first game against a really good team. At the end of the day Grand Canyon is a team that presents so many problems for us because of the physicality of the guards. Coach Marjerie does a great job of exploiting mismatches and they had quite a few. We play these games for a verity of reasons and the experiences. We got a lot better from it. We guarded the three-point line extremely well. They were 4-20 we did a good job of chasing them off. That will be very important in conference play. We have to do a better job offensively of taking better shots and then defensively stopping the ball in transition. We allowed Russell to get out in transition and the points in the paint are a big factor. We have to have better inside presents. We have to finish the ball better. Overall it was a great experience and I think that it really helped us see some weakness that we need to get better at. It shows some things that we did pretty well. You know the score might not indicate it but our half court defense looked well when we were able to get it set. Whenever we moved the basketball and shared the ball I felt that our offense was ok but you know it is the first exhibition game its against a Division 1 opponent that was picked to finish second in their conference and it was on the road. Overall it was a great experience for us and we will get better from it"

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Players Mentioned

#0 Jonathon Mines: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#35 Kaylen Shane: C; 6' 10"; Senior

#10 Andre Hardy: F/C; 6' 9"; Freshman

#11 Marlon Johnson: F; 6' 10"; Junior

#22 Ron Lawton: F; 6' 5"; Junior

#23 Kendrick Nichols: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#31 Ruben Macias: G; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#0 Jonathon Mines
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#35 Kaylen Shane
: 6' 10"; Senior
: C

#10 Andre Hardy
: 6' 9"; Freshman
: F/C

#11 Marlon Johnson
: 6' 10"; Junior
: F

#22 Ron Lawton
: 6' 5"; Junior
: F

#23 Kendrick Nichols
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#31 Ruben Macias
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G