Seniors play clutch in slammin' win

Saturday, March 2

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

18-10 (10-4)

CSU Bakersfield

16-12 (7-7)

CSU Bakersfield

Grand Canyon

3/2/2019 11:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score PHOTO GALLERY

Finke scores 24 in 2nd half, beats Bakersfield on 3-point play

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

Grand Canyon senior Michael Finke dunked through a CSU Bakersfield player for the game-deciding 3-point play.

The slam happened because GCU senior Matt Jackson pulled away a loose ball after Bakersfield got away with kicking a Lopes pass.

GCU senior Trey Drechsel snatched a rebound from the WAC's top offensive rebounder in the final seconds and made two free throws to secure the win.

GCU senior Gerard Martin, out with a season-ending injury, took one last victory lap around GCU Arena when Saturday night's culmination of senior moments pulled out a 73-69 victory against CSU Bakersfield in the Lopes' final regular-season home game.

"I thought our seniors were unbelievable – really, really good," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "I'm very proud of our guys. They made some big plays down the stretch. Very composed. I'm happy for them. They deserved that win. They played hard and they played well."

Finke's scoring tear continued when he scored 24 of his team-high 26 points in the second half, including 14 consecutive GCU points when the Lopes (18-10, 10-4 WAC) rallied from a nine-point hole with 12:28 remaining. Four of Finke's top five career scoring games have come since Feb. 14 with Saturday's monstrous second half following the 27-point second half he posted in his career-high 38-point outing Wednesday.

"It was a great look (by Johnson) and I knew I had to go up aggressive on that," Finke said of the decisive slam. "I didn't have much time to think. But from all my practice in those situations, if you lay it up, it's probably getting blocked. You've got to go up strong and finish. It was a great feeling. It's probably the loudest I've ever heard a gym I've been in. Usually, I don't hear the crowd but I heard them right here. Goosebumps."

Finke was 0 for 4 from the field on Saturday before he made his final seven shots. With GCU trailing 51-44 and 10:25 remaining, Finke started a 12-0 Lopes run with a post-up score. During that run, Finke began his string of 14 consecutive Lopes points off post-ups, free throws and 3-pointers, including one shot so deep that it left Majerle looking stunned.

"I was glad, go down swinging, go down with your best pitch," Majerle said. "I never, ever fault a guy for being aggressive and having confidence in himself."

Finke, who also grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds, later added a pair of free throws for a 63-56 lead with 4:49 to go but Bakersfield rallied behind WAC leading scorer Jarkel Joiner. The sophomore guard scored 29 points and 11 of Bakersfield's final 16 points, including a 3 that put the Roadrunners (16-12, 7-7 WAC) ahead 69-68 with 30.8 seconds to go.

With GCU out of time outs, sophomore point guard Damari Milstead bounced a pass toward Jackson on the baseline but Bakersfield's Justin Edler-Davis kicked the ball without it being called. Jackson pulled the loose ball away from Edler-Davis and passed out to junior Carlos Johnson, who drove toward the lane and dished to Finke as Johnson avoided Bakersfield forward Damiyne Durham's attempt to take a charge in the lane.

Joiner tried to close on Finke but the 6-foot-10 power forward absorbed the foul as he slammed. His free throw put GCU ahead 71-69 with 17.6 seconds to go. Joiner missed a go-ahead shot against Milstead and Drechsel, the WAC's No. 2 defensive rebounder, outbattled Bakersfield's James Suber, the WAC's No. 1 offensive rebounder, to seal the victory.

"That was amazing," Jackson said. "Did you hear how loud it got in there? No better way to go out. It was unbelievable. The fans were crazy. I'm so grateful for it all."

The win kept GCU in a second-place tie with Utah Valley (21-8, 10-4 WAC), which won 64-63 at California Baptist on Saturday night. The Lopes play at Utah Valley on Thursday before ending the regular season Saturday at Seattle.

GCU shot 33 percent in the first half and survived off free throw points when it did not make a field goal for a seven-minute stretch. Early turnovers dug a 16-8 hole but GCU led 28-26 until Joiner closed the first half with five consecutive points, including a buzzer-beating 3.

Like Wednesday, another huge Finke night was supplemented by more scoring from Johnson, who made 5 of 9 shots and added eight of his 19 points on free throws.

The Lopes started their three healthy seniors Saturday after honoring the quartet with their visiting families in a pregame ceremony.

Drechsel continued his shooting resurgence, going from one made 3-pointer in the first 12 WAC games to two in each of the past two conference games. Drechsel scored 12 points for his best outing since Jan. 19 and grabbed six rebounds to give the guard 14 consecutive games of at least five rebounds.

"Nights like this make you realize how much basketball really means to you," said Drechsel, a graduate transfer from Western Washington. "But I was kind of saying the whole night, 'This stuff has got to mean a lot to you.' It goes by fast. I think that was kind of how I felt tonight. I want to leave this place with my best foot forward."

GCU survived its lowest-scoring first half in a home game this season (28 points) by scoring 45 in the second half. It was needed as Bakersfield (16-12, 7-7 WAC) went from missing its first nine 3-point tries to making seven of its last 12 shots beyond the arc.

The Roadrunners ranked second in the nation with 14.5 offensive rebounds per game but were limited to 11 on Saturday. The Lopes took a series sweep against Bakersfield despite being outrebounded in both games.

The home win was a fitting conclusion for GCU seniors who went 12-2 at home this season. The Lopes are 61-10 (.849) at GCU Arena over the past four seasons.

"With Michael and Trey it's hard because you only have them for a year but you appreciate everything they've done for you in the short time but we have a long way to go with those too," Majerle said. "With Matt and Gerard, I was tearing up with those guys. It was five years of seeing them when they were young and knowing what they have gone through with their fight. Gerard, not being part of it tonight, playing, but he is still a huge part of what we do. Those two guys mean the world to me and our program and this campus."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.