Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UNLV on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 80
M Basketball
at UNLV
L 78-80
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Travis Neely
GCU confident for WAC title game
3/10/2018 1:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes look to avenge NMSU losses for NCAA bid
LAS VEGAS – Once Joshua Braun woke up on Grand Canyon's first Western Athletic Conference championship game day, the Lopes fifth-year senior's first thought was about making a dream come true.
"Winning the thing," Braun said.
The Lopes will be a part of next week's NCAA tournament if they beat New Mexico State in the WAC Basketball Tournament title game, which will be broadcast by ESPNU at 8 p.m. Phoenix time from Orleans Arena.
For Braun, GCU head coach Dan Majerle and the Lopes coaches, this moment has been a five-year expectation that each subsequent player embraced.
"We've talked about it almost every day," Majerle said. "This is not a shock. They expect to be here and are handling it well."
The Lopes (22-10) need no more motivation than a potential title and NCAA tournament berth but it does not hurt that the opponent is top-seeded New Mexico State (27-5), which beat GCU twice this season.
The last defeat came Feb. 10 in a fashion that had the Lopes leaving Las Cruces, N.M., saying, "We'll see them again." All-WAC first-team honoree Alessandro Lever fouled out four minutes into that loss' second half, just as he had helped build the Lopes lead to 13.
"I'm confident," Majerle said after the team's Saturday morning shootaround at a Las Vegas high school. "We're playing really well. This is what I expected. We were preseason favorites. We wanted to win the WAC. We wanted to go to the tournament. That's what we've been preparing to do for five years. I'm proud of our guys because we were struggling at 6-5 (in WAC play) and now we've won five in a row. I've always told them the key is to play your best basketball at the end of the year and we've done that."
The Lopes lost 70-59 to the Aggies at home on Jan. 11, when NMSU outrebounded GCU 50-25. The Lopes led in the second half but then missed 10 consecutive shots. They also had a chance to pull out the game at NMSU, even without Lever, but missed nine of their last 10 shots in the 74-70 loss.
GCU sophomore swingman Oscar Frayer was brilliant in that road game with a career-high 23 points, 10 rebounds and his defense on All-WAC guard Zach Lofton, who went four for 17 from the field. Lofton made six 3-pointers and scored 31 points in NMSU's 84-79 WAC semifinal win against Seattle on Friday night.
Beyond making Lofton's shots difficult, the Lopes have to corral WAC Player of the Year Jemerrio Jones on the boards. He ranks second in the nation for rebounds per game (13.0) despite being only 6 feet 5. He averaged 17.5 boards in two games against GCU.
"We knew they're the cream of the crop," Majerle said of NMSU. "Our guys are excited. We're going to have to play a really good game like we did yesterday to win."
Lever had fewer scoring opportunities in the first two meetings than he has posted in most WAC games. The 6-foot-10 freshman is averaging 22.6 points and 7.0 rebounds during the current five-game winning streak.
This is the Lopes' first Division I postseason after four years of playing in the WAC during a Division I transition period. But they still boast experience with senior point guard Casey Benson.
Benson, a graduate transfer from Oregon, will play in his fourth consecutive conference championship game – all in Las Vegas. He is 1-2 so far but looking for his own career dream finish with his brother, T.J., as Lopes assistant coach.
"This is where you want to be," Benson said. "Getting here is not enough. We want to win it. We've got to leave it all out there to go to the NCAA tournament."
The game pits two of the nation's top teams for field goal percentage defense with NMSU in fifth (39.2) and GCU in 10th (39.9). The Lopes remain the Division I leader in 3-point defense with opponents shooting 26.9 percent on 3s after holding WAC leader Utah Valley to three-of-19 shooting from 3-point range Friday.
"This is where we're supposed to be and now we've got to finish the job," Braun said. "I've been excited about it and looking forward to it for a long time. We've got to be prepared for it and be ready to go out on top.
"We've been inching closer and closer ever since I've been here so I feel like this is the one."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
"Winning the thing," Braun said.
The Lopes will be a part of next week's NCAA tournament if they beat New Mexico State in the WAC Basketball Tournament title game, which will be broadcast by ESPNU at 8 p.m. Phoenix time from Orleans Arena.
For Braun, GCU head coach Dan Majerle and the Lopes coaches, this moment has been a five-year expectation that each subsequent player embraced.
"We've talked about it almost every day," Majerle said. "This is not a shock. They expect to be here and are handling it well."
The Lopes (22-10) need no more motivation than a potential title and NCAA tournament berth but it does not hurt that the opponent is top-seeded New Mexico State (27-5), which beat GCU twice this season.
The last defeat came Feb. 10 in a fashion that had the Lopes leaving Las Cruces, N.M., saying, "We'll see them again." All-WAC first-team honoree Alessandro Lever fouled out four minutes into that loss' second half, just as he had helped build the Lopes lead to 13.
"I'm confident," Majerle said after the team's Saturday morning shootaround at a Las Vegas high school. "We're playing really well. This is what I expected. We were preseason favorites. We wanted to win the WAC. We wanted to go to the tournament. That's what we've been preparing to do for five years. I'm proud of our guys because we were struggling at 6-5 (in WAC play) and now we've won five in a row. I've always told them the key is to play your best basketball at the end of the year and we've done that."
The Lopes lost 70-59 to the Aggies at home on Jan. 11, when NMSU outrebounded GCU 50-25. The Lopes led in the second half but then missed 10 consecutive shots. They also had a chance to pull out the game at NMSU, even without Lever, but missed nine of their last 10 shots in the 74-70 loss.
GCU sophomore swingman Oscar Frayer was brilliant in that road game with a career-high 23 points, 10 rebounds and his defense on All-WAC guard Zach Lofton, who went four for 17 from the field. Lofton made six 3-pointers and scored 31 points in NMSU's 84-79 WAC semifinal win against Seattle on Friday night.
Beyond making Lofton's shots difficult, the Lopes have to corral WAC Player of the Year Jemerrio Jones on the boards. He ranks second in the nation for rebounds per game (13.0) despite being only 6 feet 5. He averaged 17.5 boards in two games against GCU.
"We knew they're the cream of the crop," Majerle said of NMSU. "Our guys are excited. We're going to have to play a really good game like we did yesterday to win."
Lever had fewer scoring opportunities in the first two meetings than he has posted in most WAC games. The 6-foot-10 freshman is averaging 22.6 points and 7.0 rebounds during the current five-game winning streak.
This is the Lopes' first Division I postseason after four years of playing in the WAC during a Division I transition period. But they still boast experience with senior point guard Casey Benson.
Benson, a graduate transfer from Oregon, will play in his fourth consecutive conference championship game – all in Las Vegas. He is 1-2 so far but looking for his own career dream finish with his brother, T.J., as Lopes assistant coach.
"This is where you want to be," Benson said. "Getting here is not enough. We want to win it. We've got to leave it all out there to go to the NCAA tournament."
The game pits two of the nation's top teams for field goal percentage defense with NMSU in fifth (39.2) and GCU in 10th (39.9). The Lopes remain the Division I leader in 3-point defense with opponents shooting 26.9 percent on 3s after holding WAC leader Utah Valley to three-of-19 shooting from 3-point range Friday.
"This is where we're supposed to be and now we've got to finish the job," Braun said. "I've been excited about it and looking forward to it for a long time. We've got to be prepared for it and be ready to go out on top.
"We've been inching closer and closer ever since I've been here so I feel like this is the one."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballGCU Men's Basketball vs. Fresno State - Postgame Radio with Bryce Drew
Wednesday, March 11
GCU Men's Basketball vs. Fresno State - Postgame Radio with Brian Moore Jr.
Wednesday, March 11
What's Ahead for the Mountain West Tournament?
Monday, March 09
GCU Men's Basketball vs. Fresno State - Postgame with Dusty Stromer, Brian Moore Jr.
Sunday, March 08