Grand Canyon beats Rio Grande for second conference win
Jan 14, 2017, 9:02 PM
EDINBURG, Texas (AP) — Keonta Vernon scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Grand Canyon beat Rio Grande 79-66 on Saturday night.
Vernon was 8 of 12 from the floor for the Antelopes (11-7, 2-1 Western Athletic Conference). DeWayne Russell added 18 points and seven assists, Joshua Braun had 16 points and five rebounds and Gerard Martin had 14 points and five boards.
Martin drained a 3-pointer midway through the second half, sparking a 10-0 run that gave the Antelopes a 57-49 lead with 9:11 to play. Two more Martin 3s stretched it to 77-63 with 3:24 remaining and Rio Grande never threatened after that.
Vernon followed a dunk with a jumper early in the first half to help Grand Canyon to a 16-6 start. They led all the way to the break, hanging on to a 33-32 edge.
Antonio Green led the Vaqueros (9-12, 1-3) with 23 points.
