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November 27, 2006 Bellingham, WA (November 24) – Grand Canyon University shot 56.8 percent from the field on their way to defeating Saint Martin’s 80-60, on Friday at the Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Men’s Basketball Classic at the Sam Carver Gymnasium. Saint Martin’s had a 14-7 lead six minutes into the game until Grand Canyon went on a 16-2 run to go up 22-16 with 6:28 left in the first half. The Antelopes never trailed again. Grand Canyon had a 33-25 lead at halftime. The Saints tried their best to stay in the game but the Antelopes never let them get closer then six points in the second half. “They came out and shot really well the first half. We got some open looks and we missed them. We couldn’t buy a hoop in the first half,” said head coach Keith Cooper. “They got up by eight and we had to play catch up the rest of the game. We were able to turn them over but if we didn’t they seemed to get some pretty open shots.” Guard Jake Linton and forward Brendan Campbell both posted 15 points for the Saints. Campbell had a game high nine rebounds while Linton added seven assists. Stephon Harris also added 11 points of his own. “It was a tough night shooting the ball. They’re long and pretty athletic,” added Cooper. “We had some good looks and just couldn’t knock them down.” Bellingham, WA (November 25) – Saint Martin’s battled a tough Northwest team but came up just short of a win as they fell to the Eagles 91-83 on the final day of the Chuck Randall Classic. The Saints led for much of the first half and were up 25-20 with 7:58 left in the period. Northwest then came back with a -2 run in the last two minutes to take a six point lead, 43-37, going into the break. Northwest maintained their lead throughout the entire second half at one point going up by 17 with just under six minutes left to play. Saint Martin’s used a full-court press to mount an impressive rally, pulling within four, 87-83, with 31 seconds left. The Eagles then sank two sets of free throws and sealed their victory. “Northwest is a good team, they are 7-2 for a reason and we knew that going in,” said Cooper. “We played okay in the first half. We kept pressuring and trapping in the second half to pull within four. We gave ourselves a chance late which is all we can ask for against a good team.” The Saints were led by Jake Linton who had a game high 25 points. Brendan Campbell posted 15 points and brought down nine rebounds. Tyler Nixon and Michael McIver both put up 11 points for the Saints. Nixon had eight rebounds while McIver had seven. Linton also received all-tournament honors for his performance. “I’m proud of how hard our kids played and how they never quit; they battled right to the end,” said Cooper. The Saints travel to Hawaii this weekend for a two game series versus Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade.
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