Lopes give scare to No. 6 Nevada

Sunday, December 9

Phoenix, Ariz.

3:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

5-4

Nevada

10-0

Nevada

Grand Canyon

12/9/2018 7:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score PHOTO GALLERY

GCU led 11-0 early, trailed by 1 with 2:55 to go

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

A close loss to a national power no longer feels like a win for Grand Canyon but it can feel like a success.

Readiness. Check. GCU hopped on No. 6 Nevada for an 11-0 lead Sunday.

Support. Check. Lopes faithful made the Air Force Reserve Jerry Colangelo Classic's second game feel like GCU Arena.

Level of play. Check. GCU challenged a top-10 opponent better than it ever has, taking a second-half lead on Nevada and trailing by one point with 2:55 to go before losing 74-66 at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

The Wolf Pack (10-0) was coming off a Friday night win against No. 20 Arizona State of a nearly identical final score, 72-66, and needed its loads of experience and toughness to put away the Lopes (5-4) and hush seven full sections of GCU fans.

"I'm tired of saying our team plays well when we lose," Lopes head coach Dan Majerle said. "That's just not who we are, whether it's the No. 6 team or whoever it is. We have high expectations of where we want to be as a program. Yeah, we played well but I didn't think we were going to come in here and lose by 30. I knew we were going to give them a game."

GCU shocked Nevada by coming out in a 2-3 zone defense, a scheme that Majerle despises but knew could help the Lopes slow what has been the nation's most efficient offense. It worked to limit Nevada to 43.1 percent shooting from the field and keep up on the boards but the Wolf Pack's persistent attacks led to a 24-6 advantage in free throw scoring.

Nevada needed that after an 11-0 GCU start sent the purple-partisan crowd into delirium upon a Wolf Pack time out 5:07 into the game.

"They had a great student section," Nevada senior Jordan Caroline said. "It really felt like an away game even thought it was a neutral site, quote unquote."

GCU led 14-2 on the strength of making its first four 3-point tries. The Lopes enjoyed their best 3-point shooting game of the season, going 10 for 21 on 3s with senior point guard Trey Drechsel hitting all four of his 3-point tries for most of his team-high 16 points.

"We were really locked in," Lopes senior power forward Michael Finke said. "That's just something we have to bring every game. Lately, we've been starting out the first half really bad and relying on that second group to come in and really turn up the pace for us. We know today that we wanted to send a message from the start and I thought we did that. Our defense was really good. Our zone threw them off."

Nevada recovered, especially once guard Jazz Johnson entered the game to better attack GCU's zone. The Lopes missed nine consecutive shots after taking the 14-2 lead and wound up trailing when Johnson helped the Wolf Pack repeatedly score in the paint. Nevada stretched its lead to 30-24 but GCU gave an important answer before halftime when senior power forward Matt Jackson;s jumper beat the buzzer to cut the Wolf Pack lead to 34-32.

GCU took its last lead when sophomore center Alessandro Lever, who fouled out in 18 minutes with 13 points, made a 3-pointer for a 39-38 edge with 17:05 remaining. The Lopes later fell behind by seven points twice but kept pushing back with the help of sophomore point guard Damari Milstead, who had 11 points, four assists and five turnovers in his first career start.

The Lopes cut Nevada's lead to 62-61 with 2:55 to go when Lever made two free throws but followed that with no points on three good chances – a Milstead miss in the lane, a Lever miss on the front end of a bonus free throws and a Lever miss in the post.

GCU was in a similar position earlier in the half when it was on a 6-0 run and had three chances to take the lead but missed on junior Oscar Frayer's open 3-pointer, junior Carlos Johnson's baseline jumper and senior Gerard Martin's driving attempt.

"Down the stretch, I thought we had great shots," said Majerle, coaching GCU for the second time in a building where he is in the Suns Ring of Honor. "That's the next step. You've got to make shots, especially good ones. I thought we executed well and got to the basket. The difference in that game -- it was right there – was they came down and hit big shots, got to the free throw line and got fouled. We came down and didn't make shots and that's what basketball is, taking care of opportunities and making big shots."

Once GCU pulled within one point with 2:55 to go, Nevada scored on its next six possessions with all but one being on free throw trips. Caroline's strong body and will led Nevada with 22 points and 14 rebounds while senior Caleb Martin added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

"Give Grand Canyon a ton of credit," Wolf Pack head coach Eric Musselman said. "I thought Coach Majerle did a phenomenal job of having his guys emotionally ready. Technically, they were really good in their zone. I thought they did a great job communicating defensively."

The Lopes' fans again were the hit of a doubleheader crowd of 10,172 fans and the game's ESPNU audience. The Havocs began lining up outside the downtown Phoenix arena at 7 a.m. and were curling around the building and along Jefferson Avenue an hour later. Gonzaga and Tennessee fans who remained after the seventh-ranked Volunteers' upset of the top-ranked Bulldogs were watching the Havocs as much as the game, as were others like Suns players T.J. Warren and Nevada bench players.

"I put the team in a predicament that was playing in front of a student section like this is not easy and playing against a team that is so well-coached in a short amount of time," Musselman said.

This is just another contest in GCU's toughest non-conference scheduling yet. The Lopes were coming off the Wooden Legacy tournament and a win against Boise State and will head next week to Texas and Northern Iowa.

"I'm disappointed that we lost," Majerle said. "I understand that's a really, really good team. Overall, I'm proud of our guys and that's something we can build on."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.