Lever time valued for UNI visit

Thursday, Dec. 12 \| 7 p.m. \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (4-7)	VS	NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS (9-1)

WATCH: FOX 10 Xtra, ESPN3, GCULopes.com \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

Grand Canyon junior Alessandro Lever is not the charter member of the Lopes' 1,000-point club in the Division I era. Joshua Braun and DeWayne Russell opened that club three seasons ago.

Lever just expedited getting there, becoming the first GCU player to score 1,000 points in fewer than 2,000 minutes played. Just as Lever values his time, GCU is learning how much it values it, too, as it prepares for another quality GCU Arena visitor Thursday night. Northern Iowa enters the 7 p.m. game at 9-1 after winning Tuesday at No. 24 Colorado.

Time is essential with Lever because the Lopes need him to avoid foul trouble to maximize his court time and not use too much time with the ball when he is double-teamed.

GCU is 0-11 when Lever has fouled out in his career and 46-22 when he does not exit early. The Lopes outscored Liberty 40-33 with Lever on the floor Sunday but lost a second-half lead when Lever fouled out after 22 minutes of action.

"He's been good, but guys are going to keep attacking him and he's got to do a better job of not picking up fouls," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "He's got to be a little more resistant and go straight up with his hands up when guys go up. He has to stay out of foul trouble because we haven't been as good without him. A lot of our stuff goes through him in the post. We're not shooting the ball very well, so it's hard to score when he's off the floor."

Lever fouled out of the second and third games of the season but avoided fouls better in recent weeks until a combination of a teammate's mistake, a questionable call and his errors kept him out of nearly half of Sunday's game, when he still scored 14 points. Lever is the only WAC player averaging at least 13 points with at least 45% shooting.

"I put myself in foul trouble again and I should stop doing that," Lever said. "I am working on it in practice to put myself in better situations. I've got to learn from my mistakes and be more responsible on defense. I need to take contact with my chest instead of putting my arms out and, when I jump, jump with two arms out instead of keeping one arm down."

After facing the No. 2 team in the Mid-Major Top 25 on Sunday, the Lopes will take on a Northern Iowa team that was ranked third in that poll before it beat Colorado.

The Panthers (9-1) play with discipline to rank eighth in the nation for least fouls per game (13.4) and 22nd for least turnovers per game (11.2). Their only loss came to West Virginia (60-55), and they also defeated South Carolina (78-72) this season.

Northern Iowa sophomore guard A.J. Green, the son of Panthers assistant coach Kyle, scored 27 points when GCU won 73-63 in Cedar Falls last season with 17 points from Lever. Green has led Northern Iowa in scoring this season despite shooting struggles but went 5 for 10 on 3-pointers against Colorado on Tuesday.

Panthers junior guard Trae Berhow went 5 for 6 on 3s in that win at Colorado and ranks sixth nationally for 3-point shooting percentage (55.2%).

"They've got guys a lot of guys back and guys who can really shoot it and they're good defensively," Majerle said. "Green is really good."

Lope tracks

GCU has not been outrebounded since the Nov. 23 game against Fordham.
The Lopes' previous opponents this season have a cumulative record of 66-42 (.611).
GCU freshman point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. ranks fourth in the nation for minutes played (398).
Lopes junior swingman Carlos Johnson is averaging 5.5 attempts from 3-point range after averaging 2.9 per game last season.
After averaging 16 turnovers at the Paradise Jam, the Lopes have made 11 turnovers in each of the past three games.
Northern Iowa will play its first-ever game in Arizona.
The Panthers have reached the NCAA tournament eight times and won tourney games in 2010, 2015 and 2016.
Northern Iowa is one of 18 teams in the nation with a winning percentage of .900 or better.
GCU play-by-play announcers Barry Buetel (TV) and Michael Potter (radio) face a broadcasting challenge with GCU starting guard Isiah Brown and Northern Iowa starting guard Isaiah Brown. GCU's Brown is averaging 15.3 points in the past four games.

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Thursday, Dec. 12 | 7 p.m. | Phoenix, Ariz.

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Players Mentioned

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Joshua Braun

Isiah Brown

Carlos Johnson

Alessandro Lever

DeWayne Russell

Grand Canyon University Athletics