Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Tuesday, October 30
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
0
97
vs
60
Montana State Billings
0
1
2
F
Mont. St. Billings
32
28
60
Grand Canyon
41
56
97
Win shows corps can score more
10/30/2018 9:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes pound MSU Billings 97-60 with 58 percent shooting
To prove that it has a better offense, Grand Canyon made its points known Tuesday night.
The Lopes lived up to the game at GCU Arena being an exhibition, putting on a scoring display that was rarely seen last season. Grand Canyon rocked Montana State Billings 97-60 in the season's warm-up act, one week ahead of a regular season-opening test at NCAA tournament regular South Dakota State.
The GCU team that relied on one of the nation's top defenses last season unveiled a deeper roster of scoring threats Tuesday. The Lopes, using 15-0 and 19-0 runs, posted more points than they did in all but one game last season and shot better from the field (58.1 percent) than they did in all but one game last season.
Sophomore center Alessandro Lever is the touted standout but GCU is more of a contender with balanced scoring, like it had Tuesday with Lever and senior power forward Michael Finke each scoring 16 points on combined 14-for-21 shooting while starting wings Carlos Johnson and Oscar Frayer added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
"Our first five … our first seven … 11 can all go," Frayer said. "We see it every day at practice. Everybody's bringing it and working hard."
The depth of the Lopes, even with senior Gerard Martin out for injury, showed with how the reserves widened leads in each half. Senior point guard Trey Drechsel, a graduate transfer from Western Washington, was the first GCU player off the bench after the team's sluggish start and helped spur the Lopes at both ends. He was a plus-32 in his 21 minutes, which included starting the second half and leading the team with seven rebounds.
"That's a fifth-year senior," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said of Drechsel, a 6-foot-6 former shooting guard. "Where he came from, that's a good school and that's some good competition and I'm proud of the way he's played. He's had to pick up a lot as a point guard and he's done a good job."
GCU opened a 27-10 lead, starting with its aim to establish the inside game first with Lever and Finke. After missing its first six 3-pointers, the Lopes made nine of 18 shots from 3-point range for the remainder of the game with seven of the 10 rotation players connecting.
GCU let its lead slip to 41-32 by halftime with defensive lapses but Majerle's locker-room message was not lightened for exhibition. The Lopes responded by creating turnovers on four of MSU Billings' first five possessions, starting with Frayer grabbing one of GCU's 11 steals.
"We got chewed out at halftime and then we came out and did what we're supposed to do," Johnson said. "We've got way more potential to play harder than what we've been playing."
GCU kept creating defensive havoc with ball pressure, particularly from the second unit. The turnovers and intensified offense got the Lopes to the rim on five consecutive possessions to spring a 19-0 run in the second half.
"We can score, that's for sure," senior power forward Matt Jackson said. "We probably switched strengths. Defensively, we need to work at it. It was the first game. We'll get all the nerves out and get better.
"Second half was night and day. We were getting turnovers, getting out on fastbreaks. Offense will always come. We have to lock in defensively and it flows right into offense."
Amid that 19-0 stretch that took the lead to 74-43 with nine minutes remaining, GCU went from its first unit's conventional defensive style to the switching aggression of the reserves.
"It really throws the offense off of what they're used to when you start switching, and it kind of takes them out of their plays," Majerle said. "And they moved the ball really well so we have two really different groups that can play two different types of defense."
The defense spurred more transition opportunities than GCU commonly had last season. The Lopes outscored the Yellowjackets 18-2 in fastbreak points.
Each GCU starter scored in double figures with sophomore point guard Damari Milstead having a bounce-back second half to finish with 10 points and a team-high three steals.
Finke, playing with freshman brother Tim, showed an array of offensive ability by hitting a post hook, two 3-pointers, a layup, a slam and a pump-fake, step-in jumper.
He was one of eight Lopes, including three walk-ons, who played their first game at GCU Arena, which was full of regular-season life after the Havocs lined up around campus to resume the Purple Pregame Party.
"The fan atmosphere is ridiculous," Finke said. "You hear so much about it but being able to witness that in an exhibition game is unbelievable."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
The Lopes lived up to the game at GCU Arena being an exhibition, putting on a scoring display that was rarely seen last season. Grand Canyon rocked Montana State Billings 97-60 in the season's warm-up act, one week ahead of a regular season-opening test at NCAA tournament regular South Dakota State.
The GCU team that relied on one of the nation's top defenses last season unveiled a deeper roster of scoring threats Tuesday. The Lopes, using 15-0 and 19-0 runs, posted more points than they did in all but one game last season and shot better from the field (58.1 percent) than they did in all but one game last season.
Sophomore center Alessandro Lever is the touted standout but GCU is more of a contender with balanced scoring, like it had Tuesday with Lever and senior power forward Michael Finke each scoring 16 points on combined 14-for-21 shooting while starting wings Carlos Johnson and Oscar Frayer added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
"Our first five … our first seven … 11 can all go," Frayer said. "We see it every day at practice. Everybody's bringing it and working hard."
The depth of the Lopes, even with senior Gerard Martin out for injury, showed with how the reserves widened leads in each half. Senior point guard Trey Drechsel, a graduate transfer from Western Washington, was the first GCU player off the bench after the team's sluggish start and helped spur the Lopes at both ends. He was a plus-32 in his 21 minutes, which included starting the second half and leading the team with seven rebounds.
"That's a fifth-year senior," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said of Drechsel, a 6-foot-6 former shooting guard. "Where he came from, that's a good school and that's some good competition and I'm proud of the way he's played. He's had to pick up a lot as a point guard and he's done a good job."
GCU opened a 27-10 lead, starting with its aim to establish the inside game first with Lever and Finke. After missing its first six 3-pointers, the Lopes made nine of 18 shots from 3-point range for the remainder of the game with seven of the 10 rotation players connecting.
GCU let its lead slip to 41-32 by halftime with defensive lapses but Majerle's locker-room message was not lightened for exhibition. The Lopes responded by creating turnovers on four of MSU Billings' first five possessions, starting with Frayer grabbing one of GCU's 11 steals.
"We got chewed out at halftime and then we came out and did what we're supposed to do," Johnson said. "We've got way more potential to play harder than what we've been playing."
GCU kept creating defensive havoc with ball pressure, particularly from the second unit. The turnovers and intensified offense got the Lopes to the rim on five consecutive possessions to spring a 19-0 run in the second half.
"We can score, that's for sure," senior power forward Matt Jackson said. "We probably switched strengths. Defensively, we need to work at it. It was the first game. We'll get all the nerves out and get better.
"Second half was night and day. We were getting turnovers, getting out on fastbreaks. Offense will always come. We have to lock in defensively and it flows right into offense."
Amid that 19-0 stretch that took the lead to 74-43 with nine minutes remaining, GCU went from its first unit's conventional defensive style to the switching aggression of the reserves.
"It really throws the offense off of what they're used to when you start switching, and it kind of takes them out of their plays," Majerle said. "And they moved the ball really well so we have two really different groups that can play two different types of defense."
The defense spurred more transition opportunities than GCU commonly had last season. The Lopes outscored the Yellowjackets 18-2 in fastbreak points.
Each GCU starter scored in double figures with sophomore point guard Damari Milstead having a bounce-back second half to finish with 10 points and a team-high three steals.
Finke, playing with freshman brother Tim, showed an array of offensive ability by hitting a post hook, two 3-pointers, a layup, a slam and a pump-fake, step-in jumper.
He was one of eight Lopes, including three walk-ons, who played their first game at GCU Arena, which was full of regular-season life after the Havocs lined up around campus to resume the Purple Pregame Party.
"The fan atmosphere is ridiculous," Finke said. "You hear so much about it but being able to witness that in an exhibition game is unbelievable."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
MSUB
GCU
FG%
.413
.588
3FG%
.238
.375
FT%
.600
.615
RB
31
36
TO
19
8
STL
2
11
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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