Majerle: 'It just wasn't our time'

Saturday, March 10

Las Vegas, Nev.

8 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. PT

Grand Canyon

22-11, 9-5WAC

New Mexico State

28-5, 12-2WAC

Grand Canyon

NM State

Photo by: Travis Neely

3/11/2018 1:18:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Lopes optimistic after WAC title game run

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

LAS VEGAS – The devastation was still fresh when Grand Canyon head coach Dan Majerle, senior Keonta Vernon and freshman Alessandro Lever had to leave a hushed, heartbroken Lopes locker room late Saturday night to make the walk down a long, empty Orleans Arena hallway toward the WAC Tournament championship postgame press conference.

The Lopes just had fallen one step short of an automatic NCAA tournament berth when they were held up at a point where they could hear the New Mexico State celebration on the arena floor and see the trophy presentation on a laptop in the area where Vernon sat on the floor, Lever put his hands in his face and Majerle paced.

Their goal was to be that WAC champion but their five-game winning streak endedwith a 72-58 loss for the Aggies' WAC tourney title repeat. Although Vernon went out with an all-WAC Tournament team effort, the team's run in its first WAC Tournament appearance was a reminder to what the seniors built, what was accomplished to win more than 20 games for a third consecutive season and how they do not want to be celebration viewers or listeners again.

"They set the tone," Majerle said of the seniors. "Now it's up to Alessandro and the rest of the guys to continue that. They know what's expected for them. We're expecting to win the WAC. We're expecting to win the tournament. And we're expecting to go to the NCAAs. We expect to be a top-25 team. If we don't expect to do that, then I ain't going to be here and those guys understand that. Is that a lofty goal? Of course it is. But that's just the way it is so this is a great step."

What should you expect from @GCU_MBB moving forward? @DanMajerle has a perfect answer. @GCU_Lopes @GCU_AD @GCUHavocs #12Sports pic.twitter.com/jhp9zEOcnS
— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) March 11, 2018

The Lopes season is likely not done with a postseason tournament opportunity to come but the short window for the seniors to reach the NCAA Tournament in the Lopes' first Division I eligibility year was closed Saturday. GCU (22-11) led NMSU (28-5) for most of the game's first 18 minutes in a grinder between two of the nation's top 10 defenses for opponent field goal percentage.

The Aggies closed the first half on a 19-4 run over 4:06 and never let go of the lead. The Lopes cut a 14-point hole to six. The Aggies took it back to 11. The Lopes got within three. The Aggies pushed it back to 12. The Lopes used consecutive three-point plays by senior point guard Casey Benson and Lever to trail 60-54 with 4:29 remaining but gave up 11 unanswered points to lose to NMSU for the third time this season.

"We just didn't do enough," said Vernon, who posted a 17-point, eight-rebound game and carried the Lopes' offense for 11 of their first 16 points. "Like Coach Majerle said in the locker room, we had a lot of communication issues. We let a good one get away from us. We needed this one."

Vernon and Lever, who scored 20, were named to the All-WAC Tournament team but that was no consolation to Lever, who was speechless to a postgame question because he said he was having a hard time thinking about anything but the game.

Majerle stepped forward to address the state of the program, especially following a season in which Lever was named to the All-WAC first team despite moving into the starting lineup during his first season.

"We've got one of the best student fan bases in all of the country," Majerle said. "We have a growing university. The sky's the limit for this team. We've got great young players coming back. I know the program is in great shape and I'm lucky to be here.

"Next year, it is going to be the same thing. We're going to grind it out and we're going to work hard every day. We're going to get after it and I'm going to demand them and he (Lever) is going to get better every day and we're going to continue to recruit and we're going to be a top-25 program, period. That's it. They know what that's all about it. If they don't want to be here, they'll leave. But a guy like him, that's what we wants. That's why he came here. He sees it. He sees the university. He sees the program. He sees the campus. He sees what we're trying to do. He sees our facilities. So I recruit guys knowing that I expect a lot out of them. And I ain't stopping and they know I'm not stopping. I'm going to get guys like Alessandro and we're going to keep going on the backs of a guy like Keonta, who brought it every day in practice and never missed a day of practice. That's what we're going to do and Alessandro is going to be front and center for the next three years."

Lever averaged 22.2 points and 6.3 rebounds over the Lopes' final six games, including the Lopes' incredible comeback in the WAC Tournament's first round and a definitive defensive performance in the semifinal.

The Lopes defended to their reputation again Saturday but paid for the live-ball turnovers that Majerle warned them not to make. A turnover tally of 13 was not overly high but the type of turnovers led to easy NMSU points. The Aggies outscored the Lopes 22-2 in points off turnovers.

NMSU also shot 17 more free throws than GCU, negating how the nation's No. 1 3-point defense held NMSU to six-for-20 shooting from beyond the arc and how sophomore Oscar Frayer again defended Aggies top scorer Zach Lofton well. Lofton only made eight of 34 shots in his last two games against GCU.

"Every point was really, really hard to come by," Aggies head coach Chris Jans said. "That run that closed the second half gave us a little breathing room and momentum going into halftime. They punched us back but we were able to get a lead and finish them out."

Appearing in his fourth consecutive conference championship game after transferring from Oregon, Benson finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals before exiting the game with emotions pouring out as he hugged a coaching staff that includes his older brother, T.J.

Majerle told an inconsolable locker room of players that they should be proud of their season.

"It just wasn't our time," Majerle said. "But I'm very proud of our guys and the way they conducted ourselves and the way they played all year long and fought through some adversity. I'm really proud of them for how they played for our first year eligible.

"For the younger guys, you've got to kind of walk before you can run. For us to be able to experience it this year, we know what it's going to be like next year."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.