Big rally propels GCU to WAC semis

Thursday, March 8

Las Vegas, Nev.

1 p.m. MT / 12 p.m. PT

Grand Canyon

21-10, 9-5WAC

UMKC

10-22, 5-9WAC

Kansas City

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Travis Neely

3/8/2018 6:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Lopes shake off early 16-point hole to nip UMKC 77-74

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

LAS VEGAS – Grand Canyon did not wait this long to be dissuaded by specks of poor play in what has been a five-year process to Thursday's first Division I conference tournament win.

The Lopes waited for the opportunity to play in the Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament since joining the WAC in 2013. A nightmarish start Thursday was not going to ruin a five-year goal of vying for the NCAA tournament dream.

GCU trailed 7-0 after two minutes. Fell back 20-4 after 6:28. Never led until the second half. Trailed by three with less than 2 ½ minutes to play. And beat Missouri-Kansas City 77-74 Thursday to advance to a 7 p.m. (Phoenix time) Friday semifinal against second-seeded Utah Valley (22-9) at Orleans Arena.

GCU and UVU split the season series, ending with a heated Lopes 60-59 home win two weeks ago.

There was a mix of jubilation and relief once the Lopes (21-10) used an 8-2 finish to close out the type of tight games it lost five times earlier this season. The season and its goal continues, even if third-seeded GCU had to sweat out beating a UMKC that it had routed by 17 twice this season.

The victory marked GCU's largest comeback (16) in a victory since it rallied from 19 down to win at Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Feb., 6, 2016.

"Unbelievable," Lopes head coach Dan Majerle said. "I can't even put it into words. I almost broke down when that buzzer went off because we've been waiting on this for so long and the effort that the whole university has put into this – our student body, the president, our team – it would've been tough if we would've lost this one. We gutted it out and this is a big statement for our guys to be able to play this type of game and to face this kind of adversity with so much on the line to take that next step forward."

The Lopes' young players were not rattled by the pressure late-game moments. GCU freshman center Alessandro Lever scored 29 points, one off his season high, for his eighth game of at least 20 points in the past 13 games.

Lever made 13 of 17 free throws as GCU hammered the small-ball Roos (10-22) with the 6-foot-10 Italian's post game.

"When I started the game, I was pretty nervous," said Lever, a first team All-WAC pick. "As a team, we didn't play hard enough when we started."

When GCU was not cold from the 3-point line (three for 21), the Lopes attacked with their size and drives. UMKC fouled 31 times with top Roos scorer Jordan Giles fouling out in 15 minutes of play. Lopes senior power forward Keonta Vernon also fouled out in 14 minutes.

GCU swingman Oscar Frayer grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, nearly as much as UMKC's starting lineup posted cumulatively (17). That helped the Lopes score 19 of their points on second chances.

"We knew they were small coming in so we had to go out there and be aggressive on the boards," the 6-foot-7 sophomore said.

Freshman point guard Damari Milstead was another key young contributor for GCU. When the Lopes trailed 20-4 after 6:28, Milstead entered the game and helped feed Lever for nine points while also pressuring the ball to spark a 14-2 rally over three minutes.

When GCU led 75-74 with 21.1 seconds remaining, Milstead also showed how he was WAC play's leading free throw shooter by hitting two free throws for a 77-74 lead. The Roos missed a 3-pointer to tie and Frayer secured his 15^th rebound and the Lopes win.

UMKC, a prolific deep-shooting team, went seven for 22 (31.8 percent) on 3-pointers against GCU's nationally top-ranked 3-point defense. The Roos made seven of their first 10 shots when Majerle said the Lopes opened with "nervous energy" but UMKC shot 38.6 percent for the remainder of the game.

The Roos led 72-69 until they missed three of their final four shots and committed consecutive turnovers – a Milstead steal and an offensive foul.

"We knew that, with their smaller guys, they were going to break us down," Majerle said. "We just had a hard time stopping them, so credit to our guys to keep going and find a way to win."

The Lopes are on a four-game winning streak but this victory was most emotional with Majerle saying he could not take a postgame look at GCU President Brian Mueller and Majerle's mentor, Jerry Colangelo, in the purple-heavy crowd.

"I swear to God, I would start crying," Majerle said. "Mr. Colangelo is standing up. He's seen at so many big games, it's ridiculous. This program means a lot to him. He is the reason why I'm here."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.