Lopes look to build on opening win

Saturday, Nov. 28 \| 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| GCU Arena

	BENEDICTINE MESA REDHAWKS (0-0)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (1-0)

WATCH: FOX 10 Xtra (Ch. 45 / Cable 9), GCULopes.com \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

Grand Canyon hit the hardwood running with no exhibition, winning a season opener against Grambling State that whet a winning appetite but revealed needed repairs.

The Lopes need games after eight players made GCU debuts in Wednesday's win. So when Park needed to cancel as Saturday's visitor, GCU avoided the void by scheduling crosstown NAIA program Benedictine Mesa for a 6 p.m. tilt at GCU Arena.

"It's just fun that season has started," said GCU first-year head coach Bryce Drew, who coached his first game since March 2019 after working as an ESPN analyst last season. "You see a lot of games on TV. It gets you fired up to play again. There are a lot of things that we need to do a lot better and we can do a lot better. This will be another opportunity for us to take a step forward and improve."

The Lopes defeated Grambling 69-53, an encouraging final considering that Arizona beat the Tigers by a similar margin two days later (74-55) in Tucson.

The game removed newcomers' first-game jitters and provided some practice fodder for GCU coaches to improve how the Lopes handle screens on defense and implore quicker ball movement on offense.

"I just want to see improvement," Drew said. "I want to see improvement come Saturday. I want to see improvement the next week. There's a lot of things that we can do better, that we need to do significantly better."

Rebounding was not among the concerns. It remains a focus, but the Lopes started off well in the board department, controlling a 48-30 advantage on the glass.

That was led by 7-foot center Asbjørn Midtgaard, who grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.

"Every coach and every team will tell you that there's a direct correlation between who wins the rebound battle and who wins the game," Midtgaard said. "If I can get as many rebounds as I can, we'll win the game."

Midtgaard is one of nine players nationally to have a 15-rebound game this season, but he did it in the least time. He is getting the opportunity of his career at GCU, where his 25 minutes against Grambling marked a career high after three previous seasons at Wichita State.

Midtgaard's massive presence freed up senior power forward Alessandro Lever, who scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half.

"They've got to guard him down there so it takes a lot of pressure off me," Lever said. "I can be playing more on the perimeter and playing more side, high-low, diving to the basket. All the other bigs … give us a lot of depth so we can run a lot more on the court."

The game will mark a season opener for Benedictine Mesa, a team of mostly Phoenix-area players who are getting a rare opportunity to play in a televised game (FOX 10 Xtra, Ch. 45 and Cable 9).

"We still have a lot to learn," Midtgaard said. "We will get better during the season. We are ready for that. We know that. The first step is knowing. We're not in here saying we're the perfect team."

Saturday, Nov. 28 | 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) | GCU Arena

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Players Mentioned

Alessandro Lever

Grand Canyon University Athletics