Lopes look to make noise on tough 2-game trip

Sunday, Dec. 20 \| 5 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| T-Mobile Arena

	SAN FRANCISCO DONS (5-4)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (4-1)

LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

For the first five games of the season, GCU Arena piled on the motivation.

The arena darkened each game night as the introduction video played on the big screen to hype the Lopes. Every lower-bowl seat was covered with a Havocs student or a cutout person or character, as GCU band and cheer sounds filled any void left beyond what 325 students could not muster.

Come Sunday and Tuesday, the T-Mobile Arena vent intake might be audible as Grand Canyon plays another tough two-game, three-day stretch, but without the help of the friendly home confines. GCU faces well-tested San Francisco (5-4) at 5 p.m. Sunday and Colorado (4-1) at 9 p.m. Tuesday in the neutral-site Far West Classic. Both Lopes games will air on 1580 The Fanatic (95.9/99.3 FM) with the latter being televised on Pac-12 Network.

"You hate traveling, especially with COVID," Drew said. "It's so nice to play at home in our environment. We told our players that it'll really be our first time in a quiet gym. Our gym has felt pretty normal, like a normal basketball game. This will be the first time they're going in an environment that could be stone silent in there for a lot of the game."

The two-game set can serve as a first trip trial for when WAC play begins with two games at Tarleton on Jan. 8-9.

But San Francisco is a team that knocked off then-No. 4 Virginia earlier this season under second-year Dons head coach Todd Golden, who won a state championship at Phoenix Sunnyslope High School in 2002 and played at Saint Mary's. Like GCU, San Francisco beat Nevada but did it more handily, 85-60, on the road Dec. 2.

San Francisco lost its past two games, but one was to California at the buzzer Sunday and the other was 74-64 at Oregon on Thursday.

"They've played a really tough schedule so their record is definitely not indicative of how well they've been playing," Drew said.

"They're a very veteran team. They know who they are. They've played a lot of games because they know who they are and they're very experienced. I think they're the second-best team in the West Coast Conference with how they're playing right now so it'll be a very tough test for us."

The Dons make 11.4 shots per game from 3-point range to rank 10th nationally while only committing 12.1 turnovers per game.

"They obviously shoot the ball extremely well from outside," Drew said. "All five positions will spread it out, probably more than any team we'll play this year.

"They're just really good. Their two guards are excellent. The wings and the bigs know their roles. They don't overhandle. They know their spots on the floor, where they're supposed to get. The two guards are very fast with the ball and very good scorers. You don't beat Virginia if you're not a good team and you're not very disciplined and well-coached."

It will also be a reunion for some Lopes players with former GCU guard Damari Milstead, a reserve guard for the Dons. He is averaging 6.7 points, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 20.4 minutes per game with 40.8% shooting.

GCU responded well to a 10-day layoff before its Nevada win, boding well for how the Lopes will fare after a week off and Saturday's bus ride to Las Vegas.

"This is going to be our first time being away from home this season and GCU has done an amazing job to make our home games feel like our environment and we appreciate that support," Lopes senior power forward Alessandro Lever said. "But T-Mobile Arena is going to be empty so now we are going to be on our own. We need to be focused and motivate ourselves to be ready for these games. It will be a great test for us."

Lope tracks

Lever's go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining against Arizona State was a big shot in history too. He passed Joshua Braun for the GCU Division I-era record with 505 made field goals. He trails Braun by 317 points for the program's DI-era career scoring record. He is 24 points away from fourth place on GCU's all-time scoring leaderboard.
Lever ranks 33rd nationally among active Division I players for career points (1,397).
GCU ranks 10th nationally for rebound margin (plus-14.8 per game) and 25th nationally for field goal percentage (51.5%).
Lopes senior center Asbjørn Midtgaard's 10.0 rebounding average ranks 26th in the nation.
The SB Nation Mid-Major Madness' "The Other Top 25" ranked GCU at No. 25 among mid-major programs. No other WAC program was ranked.
Golden posted the ninth-best winning percentage (.624) among rookie Division I head coaches last season.
GCU and San Francisco met once previously in 1980, when the Dons won 78-63 at home.

Sunday, Dec. 20 | 5 p.m. (Phoenix time) | T-Mobile Arena

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Players Mentioned

Joshua Braun

Alessandro Lever

Damari Milstead

Grand Canyon University Athletics