Blacksher named WAC Player of Week

For the first time in his career, Grand Canyon sophomore guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. was named the WAC Player of the Week.

With the Lopes' competition level raised over the weekend, Blacksher put together the two highest-scoring games of his career in a three-day span. In games against Nevada and Arizona State, Blacksher accumulated 43 points, nine assists, four steals and only five turnovers in 76 minutes of action. Blacksher shot 51.8% from the floor, 62.5% from 3-point range and 90.9% from the foul line.

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

"I wanted to get off a lot of ball screens," Blacksher said following Friday's win over Nevada. "I wanted to get to the paint to get my teammates open and get little floaters and pull-ups. I was able to hit a couple of 3s, so that was big for me."

Blacksher opened the weekend with a career-best 22-point performance Friday night against Nevada. Blacksher made 7 of 14 shots and committed one turnover in 37 minutes.

In Sunday's near upset of No. 23 Arizona State, Blacksher approached another career high with 21 points while playing all but one minute. He matched his career high with four steals while adding five assists.

"He took good shots and made big play after big play for us," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said after the ASU game. "This is only going to make Jovan better. We're proud for where Jovan is at, but we're also excited to see where Jovan is going to be throughout this year and the rest of his career here."

In the third week of college basketball action, GCU claimed its first weekly honor of the season. Alessandro Lever and Carlos Johnson each claimed two WAC Player of the Week honors last season.

The Lopes are back on action on Tuesday night at GCU Arena.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Carlos Johnson

Alessandro Lever

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