LAKEWOOD, NJ (Nov. 15, 2025) - In front of an excellent crowd in their home opener, Georgian Court Men's Basketball treated their home fans to show, picking up a 74-70 win over Saint Michael's. The Lions outscored the Purple Knights by nine in the second half after trailing by five at the break and held off an SMC rally for their first win of the season, improving to 1-1.

How it Happened
• Both teams shot nearly identical. The Lions hit 40.6% overall and the Purple Knights 40.4%. From three, GCU was at 28.6% and SMC 30.4%.
• Saint Michael's had an advantage at the foul line where they were 21-25, hitting 84%. The Lions were just 12-19 sitting at 63.2%.
• Where Georgian Court made up the difference was in the turnover department. GCU forced 18 SMC turnovers and turned those into 17 points. The Lions lost the ball just 11 times, giving up 11 points off turnovers.
• Rebounding numbers were also close. The Lions led 39-38, but had a big advantage on the offensive glass, 20-13. That led to 28 second-chance points, more than twice as many as the Purple Knights.
• Inside the paint, GCU scored 34 of their 74 points. The Purple Knights scored 20 in the lane.

1st Half
• Donavin Crawford started the scoring with a three-pointer and GCU was off and running.
• Tied at 12 through eight minutes, the Purple Knights hit consecutive threes from Abdur-Rahman De Leon.
• Georgian Court kept it close, but a three-point play from Nolan Marold gave SMC a 10-point lead.
• They pushed that to 11 with 5:31 left in the half before the Lions started to chip away.
• Still trailing by 10, Cam Edmonds sank a three while getting fouled and completed the four-point play, cutting the lead to six with 63 seconds remaining in the first.
• Crawford sank his second three of the half and SMC ended the frame with a tip-in at the buzzer and led 37-32 after 20 minutes.

2nd Half
• That lead quickly evaporated to start the second half. Edmonds with a layup and the foul and Anthony Rivera an offensive rebound and layup tied the game at 40 just 90 seconds into the half.
• Edmonds answered an SMC three with one of his own for a 47-45 lead, and even though SMC came back to tie, they never regained the lead.
• GCU was up six, 51-45, when the Purple Knights scored six straight to tie. The final three coming on three at the line as Raph Dumont was fouled on his three-point attempt.
• Waters gave the lead right back with a jumper and then an offensive board and a layup for a 55-51 lead with 12:23 left.
• NE10 All-Rookie team member Rico Byrd sat for the first 29 minutes before finally entering and provided a spark for the Purple Knights. Twice he tied the game at 61 with two at the line and at 63 with a layup.
• Georgian Court kept battling. Up two, Amar Lane crashed the boards hard and deftly tipped the rebound home as GCU went back up four, 72-68 with less than two minutes to play.
• Byrd made it a two-point game again, but missed the and-one with 15 seconds left. Lane was quickly fouled on the rebound and put the game away hitting two at the line.
• On the Purple Knights final possession, Rivera came up with a steal and that was enough for a 74-70 win.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Cam Edmonds finished 7-19 for 25 points and hit 7-10 at the line.
• Jaycen Santucci recorded a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double.
• Anthony Rivera scored 10 with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Amar Lane scored six, four in the final two minutes.
• Donavin Crawford was 2-6 from three and scored eight points.
• Tesneem Ajeigbe blocked four shots and grabbed four rebounds. 

For the Purple Knights
• Zock Littleton scored 15 minutes and hit 3-6 from deep.
• In just 11 minutes, Rico Byrd was 4-6 for 13 points and drew four fouls.
• Raph Dumont was 7-7 at the foul line and scored 10.
• Greg Kenny grabbed eight rebounds and added six points.

News and Notes
• It was another milestone game for Cam Edmonds. He is now the school record holder in free throws made. He stands at 309 and counting.
• No Lion has ever started their GCU career with two four+ block games. Tesneem Ajeigbe is now the first.
• This is the sixth GCU home opening win in program history. 

Up Next
• The Lions nonconference slate continues Wednesday at GCU play at Bloomsburg Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 pm.