Holiday win lights up GCU Arena

Saturday, December 22

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Mississippi Valley State

Mississippi Val.

Grand Canyon

12/22/2018 10:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score PHOTO GALLERY

Dominant defensive stretches, Lever's 26 points down Delta Devils

By: <a href="http://gculopes.com/index.aspx?path=coro">Paul Coro</a>

For nearly 10 consecutive minutes of the first half, Grand Canyon did not allow a field goal Saturday night.

For almost six consecutive minutes of the second half, GCU did not allow a field goal.

The Lopes were not always ideal defensively but their dominant stretches against Mississippi Valley State were as dominant as sophomore center Alessandro Lever was in the post during the second half. The combination made for an 85-64 blowout in front of 7,255 festive fans at GCU Arena, where GCU has won 12 consecutive regular-season home games.

Lever opened the second half by pounding the paint for 15 of GCU's first 20 points and the Lopes used an 11-0 run that blew open the game for good at 54-34. Lever scored 26 points, the most of any GCU player this season, on 10-of-17 shooting after a 17-point game in Wednesday's win at Northern Iowa for his best consecutive games of the season.

Lever had 19 of his 26 points and four of his five rebounds in 11 second-half minutes. That followed a first half in which his starting unit dug an early hole and the Lopes were outscored by 11 with him on the floor and outscored Mississippi Valley State by 18 without him.

"The wake-up message was pretty much to him at halftime," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said of Lever.

Lever answered the bell, as Majerle stayed true to the decision he made to feed Lever more regularly. That worked to beat Northern Iowa with a 24-11 close and Lever dominated Mississippi Valley State 7-foot starter Aleksa Koracin and 6-8 backup Emmanuel Ejeh in the post.

"I was struggling a bit in the first half," Lever said. "I had four turnovers in the game. I should never have that many. I'm still making mistakes in the post that I shouldn't. In the second half, I played better in the post. I sealed better. All game, they tried to get me the ball and for all the big men in the post."

GCU (7-5) outscored Mississippi Valley State 42-20 in the paint but got a perimeter barrage from junior swingman Oscar Frayer, who made five 3-pointers to match his career high from a December 2016 win against San Diego State.

But it was another game in which the reserves had to atone for the starting unit. Mississippi Valley State led 16-7 until a unit of reserves with sophomore point guard Damari Milstead went on a 15-0 run. It began with their switching activity creating turnovers on eight of 11 Delta Devils possessions during that stretch. Mississippi Valley State went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal to trail 31-18 after three consecutive Frayer 3-pointers but the Delta Devils closed the gap to 34-27 by halftime.

"That's exactly what they're supposed to do," Majerle said of the bench's defensive energy. "They're supposed to come in and provide as a spark and change the game with their hustle and how they play."

Lever's 26-point game was backed by 16 points apiece from Frayer and junior guard Carlos Johnson, who continues to be a more prolific and efficient player since moving to the bench. He scored half of his points at the free throw line because he attacks the rim with drives and transition finishes.

"It's a better feel for me," Johnson said. "Me and coach talk about it all the time. Get downhill for me. Me coming off the bench, it lets me see how the flow of the game is going. I don't see it when I'm starting. I see it when I'm coming off the bench and I can just play better.

"Coach has been preaching to me all week, 'Get downhill, be comfortable, play your game.' That's what I'm getting back to. I'm not forcing anything. I'm just going to get downhill, draw fouls, get to the rim, make free throws. That's easy money for me. That's what I've been born to do."

Mississippi Valley State (2-11) tried to hang with GCU by rotating 14 players during the main portion of the game but had one reserve, Kaleb Allison, foul out in nine minutes. The Delta Devils had one of their better shooting games at 44.6 percent.

GCU freshman guard Tim Finke continued to be the team's best rebounder, grabbing a team-high six boards in 21 minutes, and kept the team lead in 3-point shooting at 40 percent for the season. Sophomore forward Roberts Blumbergs made more progress toward earning a rotation spot back, tallying six points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.

The Lopes take a Christmas break before resuming practice before next Saturday's game at San Diego, a 9-3 team that is 7-0 at home and beat the Lopes at GCU Arena last season.

"We can't afford to slip back into bad habits," Majerle said. "We want to improve on good habits and we didn't do that in the first half, especially that first group. So, as a coach, you're very disappointed in that. I understand that some guys want to get home. Some guys are leaving tonight or tomorrow morning and get a little bit of a break. And you have a tendency to look past teams. If we want to be really good we can't do that, so that was a little disappointing."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.