A record 7,493 fans turned out to GCU Arena in Phoenix on Saturday to watch Grand Canyon's basketball team host the No. 14 Louisville Cardinals, coached by two-time NCAA champion Rick Pitino.
Behind a deafening crowd led by the "Havocs" student section, the Antelopes hung tough with Louisville, who won the 2013 national championship, for a full 40 minutes.
It's fair to say GCU's performance, along with the enthusiasm from the fans, caught Pitino's attention.
"I don't know a whole lot about Grand Canyon except for us doing (coach Dan Majerle) a favor in coming out here, and I probably would've lost my job if I lost ... but you've got something special here. Really special," Pitino said after his Cardinals escaped with a 79-70 win.
"When you have this type of enthusiasm, it made us a much better team tonight. Much better. Whether we go to Duke, Kentucky -- nothing was as tough as that environment tonight."
Wow, @gcuhavocs. Just wow. #PaintTheValleyPurple pic.twitter.com/B4qe8qZFS0
— GCULopes (@GCU_Lopes) December 4, 2016
Grand Canyon actually led at halftime thanks to this buzzer-beating 3-pointer by guard DeWayne Russell.
Are we the only ones having fun? Didn't think so. Lopes lead No. 14 Louisville 37-36 at the break on this #SCTop10 shot from DeWayne. pic.twitter.com/yMDxVkUWlb
— GCU Men's Basketball (@GCU_Hoops) December 4, 2016
Russell, a 5-foot-11 senior from Peoria High School, scored a ridiculous 42 points Saturday night -- the second-most ever against Louisville -- and his performance was also singled out by Pitino.
"That was the best guard performance I've seen against one of my teams since I've been coaching for 40-something years," Pitino said.
Check out the video. Pitino's praise for the Antelopes really is incredible.
Stop what you're doing and listen to this. #LopesRising #GoLopes pic.twitter.com/q3Paaoulqv
— GCU Men's Basketball (@GCU_Hoops) December 4, 2016
