5 Things to Know: March 15-21

Each week, schedules overlap between meets, games and matches that dot the calender for the 22 Lopes Division I athletic squads, often leaving a college sports fan missing out on plenty of highlights. With that in mind, GCULopes.com will give you the best fast reads each Tuesday, quick hits of what's coming up soon and the top nuggets you may have recently missed.

	Uncharted Territory No pressure Lopes. The hard part is over. On Monday night, the only nationally televised postseason basketball game showed the nation what the Havocs and GCU fans have known all year: The Lopes are for real and the atmosphere in the GCU Arena is top-notch. Grand Canyon knocked off an eager South Carolina State squad 78-74, earning its first Division I postseason win in school history behind Joshua Braun's 16 points and Grandy Glaze's 15 points and 11 rebounds for yet another double-double. How many double-doubles is that this year for Glaze? We've lost track. But one number we do know that's important is 3. That's how many years the Lopes have been transitioning to Division I -- and how many postseason tournaments they've been part of. Now, they turn their focus on 2, the number of consecutive postseason wins they're looking for this weekend in the second round of the CIT. That's one heckuva high bar the Lopes have set.
	Saturday Superstars Three Grand Canyon teams -- baseball, men's volleyball and softball (2) -- combined for four wins on Saturday, and did so with authority. On the diamond, the baseball squad broke out the big-boy bats, pounding out 17 hits, including six doubles, for its best offensive game of the year. After struggling in the series opener, the Lopes drubbed Cal Poly 16-3 in Game 2 and set up a series-clincher on Sunday, which has become old hat with Jake Repavich on the mound. The power barrage translated to a .414 batting average on the day. GCU's softball squad nearly matched the effort, sweeping a pair of tournament contests against San Diego, 5-1, and Toledo, 10-2. The Lopes received another strong effort from leadoff hitter Shea Smith, who went 4 of 7 with four RBI, helping GCU hit .396 as a team. When the offense is rolling like that, it makes it pretty easy for pitchers Taylor Nowlin, who earned WAC Pitcher-of-the-Week honors, and Bailey Bergman to attack opposing hitters more aggressively. Speaking of being aggressive, the men's volleyball team turned the tide on McKendree in less than 24 hours. After falling on Friday, the Lopes trounced the Bearcats 3-0 on Saturday as the squad hit an impressive .493 on the match. Gerrard Lipscomb was on point, hitting a sizzling .529 with 11 kills against just two errors on 17 swings.
	Sight for Sore Eyes Acutally, that title may not be right. It probably should be "An oasis in waiting." That's the vibe the new GCU soccer stadium is starting to give off. The soon-to-be home for the Lopes' men's and women's soccer programs, the stadium is the next step in pushing Grand Canyon onto the national stage. One look around and it's easty to imagine the atmosphere this venue will provide. At least that's what the administration and coaches are banking on, and it's hard to expect otherwise considering last year's support the students and community provided. With a year under coach Schellas Hyndman on the men's side and a new catalyst at the helm of the women's program with coach Derek Leader, once you add in the new digs, the expectations for the programs are building as fast as the stadium.
	Ready to Defend Defense isn't typically a key part of the plan for a swimming and diving meet like it is a basketball, baseball or soccer game, but we've got a feeling coach Steve Schaffer is going to be talking to his Lopes all this week about defending like crazy. Defending their title, that is when GCU heads to Texas for the CSCAA National Invitational starting on Monday, March 21. That's where the men's program will be gunning to defend its title and pick up a third straight year-ending championship, while the women's squad eyes its second title in a row. Schaffer's squads have put up several impressive times, blowing up the record books with swims that included pool records and NCAA 'B' cuts. Now, let's see what they can really do with the final meet of the season on the line.
	Bench Power Few people forgot the names Braun, Russell and Glaze over the three weeks since the Lopes had played at home, but GCU's bench players made sure their names were also top of mind on Monday night in the first round of the CIT. Dominic Magee, Matt Jackson and De'Andre Davis combined for 32 points in GCU's 78-74 win against South Carolina State for the program's first Division I postseason victory. While Joshua Braun and DeWayne Russell started out hot, it was Matt Jackson's four baskets and 10 points in the first 11 minutes of the game that set the tone for the Lopes. Magee also made his return count as he was playing for the first time in a month (ankle injury) and provided some added explosion in the offensive scheme. His quickness and ability to get to the rim paved the way for nine points, while Davis added 11 points and three assists. In a game when making free throws was anything but a given, the added scoring surge from the bench was a relief.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Bailey Bergman

Joshua Braun

De'Andre Davis

Grandy Glaze

Matt Jackson

Dominic Magee

Taylor Nowlin

Jake Repavich

DeWayne Russell

Shea Smith

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