Tight, talented team takes on WAC

Saturday, January 4

Bakersfield, Calif. / Icardo Center

8 p.m. (Phoenix time)

Grand Canyon

CSU Bakersfield

1/3/2020 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

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GCU puts 6-0 WAC opener record to test at CSU Bakersfield

By: Paul Coro

Saturday, Jan. 4 \| 8 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Bakersfield, Calif.

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (5-9)	VS	CSU BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS (6-9)

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Some Grand Canyon players did not know the movie reference when head coach Dan Majerle took a locker room photo of his Lopes team before winning its last 2019 game and referred to "Hoosiers," a classic basketball flick made more than a decade before his players were born.

But his Normal Dale-tinged message, minus the sweater vest, connected about a six-player team that won the 1952 Indiana high school state championship.

This 10-player GCU team believes it can win its first WAC championship, a quest that starts Saturday night with a conference opener at CSU Bakersfield.

"It's kind of a rallying cry for our guys," Majerle said of the smaller roster. "They know what we've got and they're excited about it. I can't complain. Our guys have been great. They've got really good attitudes. They've been working hard so I'm excited. It'll be fun."

Unlike Hickory in the movie, GCU is no underdog in the WAC. The Lopes are coming off four consecutive 20-win seasons and boast the Preseason All-WAC duo of Carlos Johnson and Alessandro Lever. The difference this season has been a 5-9 nonconference record and players lost to injury or ineligibility but the holiday break and clarity rejuvenated the team for its fresh start in WAC play.

GCU ended on its best performance in a Dec. 21 win against Eastern Illinois, took a hiatus and then held some two-a-day sessions to prepare for conference play.

"Conference is like another season," said Lever, the junior center who is shooting a team-best 54.4% and averaging team highs for points per game (15.2) and rebounds per game (5.4). "We can say it starts over. If we play the way we know we can play, good results are going to come. There's more confidence in the team after the win against Eastern Illinois. If we keep the energy and toughness we showed, I think we can do very well."

Due to rotating illnesses and ailments, the Lopes practiced with nine players for most of its two-week break (longest since 2008) but open at full strength against CSU Bakersfield (6-9). GCU moved to 9-3 in the Division I era against the Roadrunners by sweeping last season's series, when Jarkel Joiner led Bakersfield with 28.0 points per game. He transferred to Mississippi, leaving 6-foot-5 junior guard Taze Moore as this season's leading scorer at 11.5 points per game after he went scoreless in last week's 73-58 loss at No. 22 Texas Tech.

In head coach Rod Barnes' ninth season, Bakersfield has developed a hard-nosed reputation with aggressive, changing defenses. This season's team, which has 11 players, ranks 11th in the nation for most fouls per game (21.6).

"We have to not pay attention to the contact and match their energy and toughness," Lever said.

GCU is operating with less margin for error than most people, particularly with foul trouble. The Lopes have handled that well with 16.1 fouls per game, the second-lowest WAC average.

"We know this is what we've got so we know who's got to do what and we're making it work," GCU freshman point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. said. "It was tough so far but we know we're 0-0 in conference play and this is what matters. We have to go out there and win it."

The addition of junior guard Mikey Dixon for the past two games bolstered the Lopes' offense. As the team's best shooter at various levels of the court, Dixon takes the heavy scoring burden off Lever and Johnson. The 6-2 St. John's transfer scored 25 points in his first two GCU games but figures to shoot more efficiently in conference play.

"Carlos is starting to play better," Majerle said. "Ale has been great. It helps that Mikey is back. He's starting to find himself and trying to figure out how he has to play. It's tough when you've been out for a year but he's starting to figure it out. He's going to be a big piece.

"I think our guys are in a great frame of mind."

Lope tracks

GCU has gone 6-0 in WAC openers.
The Lopes rank 33rd nationally for fewest turnovers per game (11.6) despite having a freshman starting point guard.
Blacksher ranks 39th nationally for minutes played per game (35.8).
Majerle said Dixon or junior Isiah Brown can play point guard when Blacksher is on the bench.
Bakersfield is 77-25 (.755) on its Icardo Center blue court during Barnes' tenure.
The Roadrunners rank No. 14 in the nation for offensive rebounds per game (13.7).
Bakersfield shot 41.2% from 3-point range in the past three games, going 2-1.
This is GCU's final WAC visit to Bakersfield, which will move to the Big West Conference next season as Dixie State and Tarleton State join the WAC.

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.