Loss to Fordham sends message

Saturday, November 23

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

1 p.m. (Phoenix time)

Grand Canyon

2-5

Fordham

4-1

Grand Canyon

Fordham

11/23/2019 5:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

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Lever's 19 points, 10 boards went for naught at Paradise Jam

By: Paul Coro

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – The Grand Canyon shootaround and walk-through at a local high school gymnasium went really well Saturday morning.

When that focus and those game plans transfer to when the Lopes are facing an opponent, GCU will be better off but that did not occur Saturday evening as the Lopes faded into a 70-58 loss to Fordham at the Paradise Jam.

The Lopes made 11 second-half turnovers, setting up the Rams (4-1) to pull away to a 17-point lead and never face a serious second-half threat.

"It's very frustrating to watch our guys play the way they play," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "I'm embarrassed. I'm frustrated. It's hard. We spent an hour today in the gym at shootaround, working on certain things. We did none of that tonight. It comes down to that word that I've been saying for a month now – discipline."

Discipline, toughness and selflessness were principles that the Lopes established for their season but GCU has not found its footing, particularly with a short rotation as it waits for Oscar Frayer and Mikey Dixon to turn eligible next month.

The Lopes (2-5) will get a chance to salvage the trip on Monday, when they play Illinois State (2-3) at 11 a.m. (Phoenix time) in the University of the Virgin Islands' Sports and Fitness Center.

The off-day in the tropics will not be as enjoyable Sunday after GCU let an attainable win against Valparaiso get away Friday and played worse Saturday.

"I have to do a better job," Majerle said. "I know that. We've just got to keep fighting. I thought we took a step forward (Friday). This was a huge step back."

Lopes junior center Alessandro Lever bounced back from a rough finish Friday to score 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and grab 10 rebounds for the first time in nearly a full year (he last did it on Nov. 25 vs. LaSalle). Senior swingman Carlos Johnson added 17 points but the rest of the Lopes managed only 22 points on 7-of-22 shooting (31.8%).

GCU followed a Tuesday win with four turnovers with losses undone by 18 turnovers vs. Valpo and 16 turnovers vs. Fordham, including seven by freshman point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr.

"If you were to bring them out and you had a paper, they would draw it down and tell you exactly what they can do, what they're supposed to do," Majerle said. "When we get in the game, it's a free-for-all."

The Lopes' lack of ball movement and attention to offensive set details showed in having their lowest regular-season assist total (five) in their seven-year Division I era.

GCU went 3 for 18 on 3-pointers, marking the fourth time in seven games that the Lopes shot 25% or worse.

The Lopes held their last lead at 28-25 with 6:25 remaining in the first half, following a stretch in which GCU scored on 10 of 15 possessions by working its offense for shots at the rim on most of them.

GCU was handling Fordham's size well on the boards to stay close but a string of missed 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions began the decline. A Rams 10-0 run put their lead at 49-38. When GCU made one last response to make the score 49-44, five consecutive possessions ended scoreless because of four turnovers and a missed fastbreak layup.

The Lopes staff will continue to attempt to hear more defensive communication and see more adherence to the design of the offense. If they do not, the players will hear more from Majerle and see less game time.

"It's not anger," Majerle said. "I've got passion. I want to win. Everybody puts their heart and soul into this. I've got passion. It's not anger. What gets me angry is that there's not that passion that flows back at me."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.