GCU Athletics

LAKEWOOD, NJ (Nov. 13, 2026) - Georgian Court Men's Basketball starts the season 1-0 for the first time in program history. The Lions came back from down as much as 11 to defeat the University of the District of Columbia 73-70 in a thrilling opening day tilt.

How it Happened
• Turnovers played a big role in the Lions win. GCU forced 23 UDC turnovers and turned those in 20 points. The Lions lost the ball just 12 times, nearly half as much as the Firebirds.
• The Firebirds outshot Georgian Court, going 24-52 (46.2%) from the floor and 5-17 (29.4%) from three. Georgian Court was 22-60 (36.7%) overall and 7-23 from deep (30.4%).
• The Lions also made a living at the foul line, going 22-28. UDC hit 17-24 at the stripe.
• UDC had the edge on the glass with 41 rebounds to the Lions 30 and outscored GCU 32-28 in the paint.
• The Lions weren't just thieving, causing 23 turnovers with 12 steals. They were swatting as well, with six blocked shots, twice as many as the Firebirds. 

1st Half
• Georgian Court scored the first five points in the game and kept the Firebirds scoreless for nearly the first three minutes.
• UDC answered with five straight of their own before Cameron Piggee hit his first of four three-point baskets.
• A pair of free throws sparked a 13-0 UDC run in the middle of the half. That put the Firebirds up 11, 24-13.
• Georgian Court went four minutes without scoring, going 0-5 with two turnovers.
• Kam Waters ended the drought with a three-ball and the Lions were locked in after that.
• Georgian Court scored 21 points over the final 7:57 and limited the Firebirds to just nine. 
• On the Lions final possession, Elijon Nix's driving layup at the buzzer was good and gave GCU a 34-33 lead at the break.

2nd Half
• Coming out of the half, the teams traded baskets on their opening possession's with Amar Lane putting down a thunderous dunk for the Lions.
• The Firebirds got hot again and scored eight points in 1:19 and regained a nine-point lead, 51-42, on consecutive three-pointers.
• It was still a nine-point UDC lead with 8:08 left to play in the game, 59-50.
• Time was running out, but Lane shifted the momentum with a steal, dunk, and-one to bring the Lions within four, 61-57 with 5:59 left to play.
• Down the stretch, Piggee hit a pair of clutch three-pointers to keep the Lions alive. The first was from way out and off the glass to cut the lead to two, 62-60 with just over five minutes left. The next came at 2:41 and followed a UDC and-one play and made it a one-point game, 67-66, Firebirds.
• Following Piggee's three, Jaycen Santucci came up with a steal and Elijah Williams finished to give the Lions the lead back, 68-67, with 2:12 to play.
• Over the final three minutes, the Lions defense gave up just three points, all at the free throw line, and caused two turnovers.
• With 20 seconds left, UDC had a chance to tie at the free throw line trailing 71-69. The Firebirds hit the first but missed the second and never scored again as the Lions claimed victory, 73-70.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Cameron Piggee was 4-7 from three for 13 points.
• Kam Waters added 13 making three from behind the arc with three rebound and two steals.
• Elijah Williams was perfect, 6-6 at the line, and scored 10 in his GCU debut.
• Tesneem Ajeigbe added nine points on 4-5 shooting with four boards.
• Jaycen Santucci scored eight with seven rebounds.
• Amar Lane filled the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds, four blocks and a steal.

For the Firebirds
• Brazil Hutchinson scored a game-high 15 points on 5-7 shooting with four rebounds and three assists. 
• Four other Firebirds scored exactly 10 points. Nehemiah Johnson was a rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
• Willie Rivera, Jr. scored 10 with eight rebounds and five assists.

News and Notes
• This was the Lions first ever win on opening day.
• The game featured 12 lead changes along with six ties.
• Never one to shy away from subs, Georgian Court saw 10 hit the floor before the under 16-minute media timeout.
• The Lions improved to 2-2 all-time against the University of the District of Columbia.
• Four different Lions made their GCU debuts: Cameron Piggee, Elijah Williams, Niko Barnes and Waseem Ajeigbe. 
• Seven Lions played at least 19 minutes and no Lion played more than Jaycen Santucci's 29.

Up Next
• The Lions opening weekend continues tomorrow afternoon. They host Assumption starting at 3:30 pm.