PHOENIX, Ariz. – Grand Canyon knocked down 14 3-pointers to earn an 85-60 win over the Norfolk State men's basketball team in the Grand Canyon Classic on Monday night at GCU Arena.
 
The Lopes hit 14-of-26 for the game from long range and outscored the Spartans 28-10 in points off turnovers to run their record to 4-0 on the season. A 33-7 run that spanned both halves proved to be the ultimate difference for GCU.
 
NSU (0-4) got a career-high 18 points from sophomore Steven Whitley, who shot 6-of-10 from the field with two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Fellow sophomore Nic Thomas added 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, and freshman Mastadi Pitt came off the bench to add 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
 
Oscar Frayer sank 4-of-6 from long range and 6-of-10 overall to lead Grand Canyon with 19 points to go with six boards. Casey Benson (15 points, 4-of-4 from deep, eight assists) and Roberts Blumbergs (14 points, 2-of-5 from deep, eight points, six assists) also had big nights.
 
It did not take long for the Lopes to catch fire from 3-point range. They knocked down a trio of treys in the first five and a half minutes to build a seven-point edge, but NSU countered with a 10-2 run to go up by one at 15-14 at the 8:34 mark. After a floater by Thomas made it 17-16 in favor of the Spartans, the Lopes knocked down three more 3-pointers during a 12-2 run that extended the lead to nine with three and a half minutes left in the half.
 
The run ultimately stretched to 21-5 during the last eight minutes of the first stanza for the Lopes, giving them a 37-22 edge at the break. Frayer and Blumbergs combined for 23 points.
 
The Lopes then came out of the locker room and went on an immediate 12-2 spurt to push the lead to 25. Thomas converted a tough layup in traffic and sank a 3-pointer to stem the tide, and junior Alex Long then made a couple of jumpers. A little later, Whitley scored seven in just a span of a few minutes as NSU easily surpassed its production from the first half.
 
Thomas scored seven of NSU's next eight points to trim the deficit to 17 with less than seven minutes to go. The Lopes, however, scored 12 of the next 14 points to get their lead back above 20 for good.
 
The Spartans made just 32 percent in the first half but better than 50 percent in the second to finish 21-of-50 (42.0 percent) for the game.
 
Grand Canyon did even better in the second half, converting nearly 56 percent to finish the game 27-of-55 (49.1 percent). The Lopes held just a 33-30 edge on the glass but outscored Norfolk State 12-0 in second-chance points.

Keonta Vernon added nine points and eight boards for GCU.
 
NSU will complete the tournament next weekend at Little Rock. The Spartans face Robert Morris at 6 p.m. on Friday and then the host Trojans on Sunday at 4 p.m.