Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, March 9
Las Vegas, Nev.
7 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. PT
Grand Canyon
22-10, 9-5WAC
75
vs
60
Utah Valley
22-10, 10-4WAC
1
2
F
Grand Canyon
41
34
75
Utah Valley
27
33
60
Win puts Lopes in WAC title game
3/9/2018 11:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU's defense took down Utah Valley in semifinal
LAS VEGAS – Grand Canyon saved its best winning streak of the season for when it mattered most.
If the Lopes take this five-game winning streak to six on Saturday, they will be dancing in the NCAA tournament next week.
GCU advanced to the WAC Basketball Tournament championship game by living up to its defensive reputation Friday night with a 75-60 semifinal victory against Utah Valley at Orleans Arena.
The Lopes (22-10) will play top-seeded New Mexico State (27-5) at 8 p.m. Phoenix time Saturday at Orleans Arena with the winner getting the WAC's automatic NCAA tournament berth.
GCU stifled the WAC's top offense, holding Utah Valley (22-10) to 18 points fewer than its season scoring average. The Wolverines shot only 35.5 percent from the field and made three of 19 3-point shots against GCU, which ranks first in the nation for 3-point defense.
The Lopes never trailed, digging in defensively down the stretch to send the large purple contingent into celebration and GCU head coach Dan Majerle into the Havocs section for a jumping celebration with students.
"I think I sprained a hammy but I'll be all right," Majerle said.
After leaning on young players for the first-round win, the Lopes got a boost from the senior duo of Joshua Braun (15 points) and Keonta Vernon (14 points) for the semifinal win.
Majerle designed the opening play for Braun, who was coming off a scoreless game. He converted and contributed seven of the points as GCU tore out to a 27-9 lead. Amid that start, freshman Alessandro Lever (15 points) made 3-pointers on three consecutive trips with Majerle turning in celebration to the Havocs section each time.
When Lever had to go to the bench with two fouls, Vernon re-entered and helped the Lopes sustain the lead for a 41-27 halftime advantage.
When Utah Valley pulled within five with 6:15 to go in the game, Vernon scored eight consecutive points by making consecutive jump shots, hitting two free throws and adding a layup on Braun's assist.
"You're open for a reason," Majerle joked to Vernon during the postgame press conference.
"Like I said, God was on my side," Vernon said.
"He stepped up and made some big shots," Majerle said. "That's what you want from your seniors."
Utah Valley, which had shot 48.6 percent for the season, missed nine of its last 11 shots as the Havocs chanted "We're going to the 'ship!" The Wolverines wound up at 11-for-35 shooting (35.5 percent) in each half against a physical Lopes defense.
"We took a big punch in the second half and really sustained it and made some big plays down the stretch," Majerle said. "I'm very, very proud of our guys for sticking with it. This is what we've been playing for."
Utah Valley is a big, experienced team but the Lopes outrebounded them 46-36 and kept two of their double-digit scorers, Jake and Conner Toolson, to a combined seven points.
Braun had scored one point in the first two games against Utah Valley but made five of 12 shots on Friday night.
"The guys were just encouraging me to be aggressive," Braun said. "That was the big thing. I appreciate them and love these guys. The stood right there with me so I just wanted to be aggressive and have fun and do well for these guys and have fun with me. Coach Majerle always encourages me to go down swinging so that's just what we did."
In its first WAC Tournament, the Lopes are in the position they expected to be when the season started – playing for a conference title. The Lopes lost two meetings against New Mexico State during the season but each game was tightly competitive. The Aggies beat Seattle 84-79 in its Friday semifinal.
"It's huge," Vernon said of the opportunity to play for the WAC championship. "We play for each other. It's finally here. This is the moment we've been waiting for. Coach Majerle has been on us since Day 1 about it. If you knew some of the things that he said to us about it, you'd be a little freaked out. This is the moment we've been waiting for and I believe we're ready for it."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
If the Lopes take this five-game winning streak to six on Saturday, they will be dancing in the NCAA tournament next week.
GCU advanced to the WAC Basketball Tournament championship game by living up to its defensive reputation Friday night with a 75-60 semifinal victory against Utah Valley at Orleans Arena.
The Lopes (22-10) will play top-seeded New Mexico State (27-5) at 8 p.m. Phoenix time Saturday at Orleans Arena with the winner getting the WAC's automatic NCAA tournament berth.
GCU stifled the WAC's top offense, holding Utah Valley (22-10) to 18 points fewer than its season scoring average. The Wolverines shot only 35.5 percent from the field and made three of 19 3-point shots against GCU, which ranks first in the nation for 3-point defense.
The Lopes never trailed, digging in defensively down the stretch to send the large purple contingent into celebration and GCU head coach Dan Majerle into the Havocs section for a jumping celebration with students.
"I think I sprained a hammy but I'll be all right," Majerle said.
After leaning on young players for the first-round win, the Lopes got a boost from the senior duo of Joshua Braun (15 points) and Keonta Vernon (14 points) for the semifinal win.
Majerle designed the opening play for Braun, who was coming off a scoreless game. He converted and contributed seven of the points as GCU tore out to a 27-9 lead. Amid that start, freshman Alessandro Lever (15 points) made 3-pointers on three consecutive trips with Majerle turning in celebration to the Havocs section each time.
When Lever had to go to the bench with two fouls, Vernon re-entered and helped the Lopes sustain the lead for a 41-27 halftime advantage.
When Utah Valley pulled within five with 6:15 to go in the game, Vernon scored eight consecutive points by making consecutive jump shots, hitting two free throws and adding a layup on Braun's assist.
"You're open for a reason," Majerle joked to Vernon during the postgame press conference.
"Like I said, God was on my side," Vernon said.
"He stepped up and made some big shots," Majerle said. "That's what you want from your seniors."
Utah Valley, which had shot 48.6 percent for the season, missed nine of its last 11 shots as the Havocs chanted "We're going to the 'ship!" The Wolverines wound up at 11-for-35 shooting (35.5 percent) in each half against a physical Lopes defense.
"We took a big punch in the second half and really sustained it and made some big plays down the stretch," Majerle said. "I'm very, very proud of our guys for sticking with it. This is what we've been playing for."
Utah Valley is a big, experienced team but the Lopes outrebounded them 46-36 and kept two of their double-digit scorers, Jake and Conner Toolson, to a combined seven points.
Braun had scored one point in the first two games against Utah Valley but made five of 12 shots on Friday night.
"The guys were just encouraging me to be aggressive," Braun said. "That was the big thing. I appreciate them and love these guys. The stood right there with me so I just wanted to be aggressive and have fun and do well for these guys and have fun with me. Coach Majerle always encourages me to go down swinging so that's just what we did."
In its first WAC Tournament, the Lopes are in the position they expected to be when the season started – playing for a conference title. The Lopes lost two meetings against New Mexico State during the season but each game was tightly competitive. The Aggies beat Seattle 84-79 in its Friday semifinal.
"It's huge," Vernon said of the opportunity to play for the WAC championship. "We play for each other. It's finally here. This is the moment we've been waiting for. Coach Majerle has been on us since Day 1 about it. If you knew some of the things that he said to us about it, you'd be a little freaked out. This is the moment we've been waiting for and I believe we're ready for it."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
GCU
UVU
FG%
.431
.355
3FG%
.375
.158
FT%
.731
.542
RB
46
36
TO
15
12
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
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