Small strides make for big finish

Tuesday, November 19

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-3,0-0WAC

Montana State

4-2,0-0Big Sky

Montana St.

Grand Canyon

11/19/2019 10:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Lopes use 17-0 run, Jenkins' 20 to top Montana State

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon set its compass before the season for a postseason destination but veered quickly off course.

Its first win faced the Lopes in the right direction on Saturday night. Tuesday night's win kept GCU moving the right way. A clutch 17-0 run and a clean offensive game of only four turnovers combined to beat Montana State 69-56 in front of 6,862 fans at GCU Arena.

The Lopes leave for the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Thursday but hit a basketball paradise down the stretch Tuesday night, when they turned around a 54-48 hole by rolling off 17 unanswered points in a four-minute, 26-second offensive wave.

GCU (2-3) won despite shooting 37.3% against the No. 21 field goal percentage defense in the nation because it valued the ball better. Whether the Bobcats (4-2) played man or zone defense, the Lopes took better care of the ball to attempt 13 more field goals and six more free throws.

GCU's four turnovers matched the program's Division I low, set twice in 2016 in wins against New Mexico State and Marist.

"I'm just happy that we fought through some adversity, and this group hadn't done a lot of that yet," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "Maybe this is a growth spurt for us as far as not hanging our heads, battling through, being tough, everybody doing what they have to do and getting the taste of wins. I'm happy. It is fun to watch these guys play like that."

When their feet and the ball moved continuously, the Lopes created better perimeter shots, penetrated the lane and drew fouls on an 18-for-21 free-throw shooting game.

Much of that was steadied by the mature play of freshman point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., who set a GCU Division I freshman record with 10 assists while only making one turnover. He is the only freshman in the nation this season to have at least 10 assists with one or no turnovers in a game against a Division I opponent. No Lopes player had delivered 10 assists since Casey Benson did it as a senior on Jan. 23, 2018.

Blacksher and junior center Alessandro Lever (five assists) were responsible for most of the playmaking, helping senior power forward Lorenzo Jenkins to a career-high 20 points and retracking senior swingman Carlos Johnson from a one-point first half to a 15-point second half.

"I feel like it's slowing down," said Blacksher, who delivered a no-look, around-the-back fastbreak assist during the second-half comeback. "I remember my first practice actually. I didn't even get a shot up because it was so fast. Now I'm getting used to it and seeing the floor more."

With six Lopes occupying 191 of 200 player minutes in throwback uniforms, the four new ones are becoming more acclimated and that has showed most in Jenkins. The 6-foot-7 Colorado State graduate transfer bounced back from his first single-digit scoring game of the season on Saturday to make 5 of 9 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free throw line on Tuesday.

"I just wanted to be more aggressive for my team and open up opportunities to score and I feel like we're a better team when I'm aggressive, when everyone is aggressive really," Jenkins said.

Lever either scored or drew double teams during most of GCU's strong offensive stretches but the Lopes also did not make a field goal for a first-half stretch of eight minutes and 39 seconds, much of which occurred with Lever out. GCU also played the final 6:29 of the first half without Johnson after his second foul but Lever and Jenkins teamed to cut the Montana State lead to 30-28 by halftime.

The Lopes trailed for an eight-minute stretch of the second half, prompted by a string of settling for missed perimeter shots. Johnson found his 3-point stroke on the right wing and a Lever steal built momentum by sending junior guard Isiah Brown off to a fastbreak layup. By the time the 17-0 run ended with a Brown steal and Blacksher free throws, GCU led 65-54 with 2:02 remaining.

"I told our guys, 'That's the toughness we need and what we have been looking for,' " Majerle said. "As my mom would say 'pleased as punch.' "

Montana State was coming off a 3-0 run in the UNC Greensboro Spartan Invitational but was playing its fourth game in five nights. Johnson, Blacksher and junior J.J. Rhymes took turns defending Bobcats star Harald Frey, who was limited to 14 points and made more turnovers (five) than assists. With Montana State making 17 turnovers, the Lopes recorded their best turnover margin (plus-13) of their Division I era.

The Lopes will need that defensive discipline Friday when they open Paradise Jam play against Valparaiso, a 3-1 team that ranks 28th in the nation for assists.

"Our coaching staff is doing a really good job with keeping us disciplined," Blacksher said. "We just have to stay disciplined, stay solid, stay a team and we're going to come out fine."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.