Lopes turn focus to UVU quickly

Saturday, Feb. 22 \| 2 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Orem, Utah

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (12-14, 7-5)	VS	UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (10-17, 4-8)

WATCH: WAC Digital Network \| LISTEN: 1580 the Fanatic, 99.3 FM, 95.9 FM \| STATS: View

OREM, Utah – After Grand Canyon's Thursday night loss at Seattle U, Lopes radio play-by-play announcer Michael Potter asked GCU head coach Dan Majerle "Where do you go from here?" The coach channeled his inner Bill Belichick.

"We go to Utah Valley and play at 2 o'clock," Majerle deadpanned about Saturday's final road game of the season.

It is the tone GCU has to take as it missed an opportunity to move into sole possession of second place in the WAC on Thursday but remains in control of earning the WAC Tournament No. 2 seed over the final four regular-season games.

With Utah Valley as the next potential win toward that goal, Lopes leading scorers Carlos Johnson and Alessandro Lever followed suit with Majerle's all-business tone by saying they will save their words tuntil the next win.

"We've got to find a way to win there," Majerle said of playing at Utah Valley, where the Lopes have lost by 12 in each of their past two visits. "We're still right there. We've got Utah Valley and then we've got three at home so we can still go 11-5 in the conference."

GCU and UT Rio Grande Valley are tied for the WAC Tournament No. 2 seed spot at 7-5, a half-game behind postseason-ineligible California Baptist. The Lopes won the first meeting at UTRGV, which visits GCU Arena next Saturday.

The Lopes lost 73-69 at home to Utah Valley in the first meeting, when a late 9-0 GCU run pulled it within two until the Wolverines used an offensive rebound to close out the win.

Utah Valley senior guard T.J. Washington scored 24 with four 3-pointers in that Jan. 25 game. Since then, he is averaging 8.8 points with 1-for-19 3-point shooting.

The Wolverines, led by first-year head coach Mark Madsen, have continued shooting well as a team since that 49.1% shooting night in Phoenix. Last Saturday, Utah Valley shot 57.7% from the field at New Mexico State and nearly handed the Aggies their first conference loss in 28 games. But NMSU guard Jabari Rice banked in a game-winning 3-pointer in the final second to beat the Wolverines.

Utah Valley rebounded for an authoritative 72-58 win Thursday at CSU Bakersfield. Wolverines junior guard Brandon Averette, an Oklahoma State transfer, made 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range and matched his season scoring high of 20.

In the teams' first meeting, GCU went 4 for 23 on 3-pointers but Lever scored 20 points and set a career high with 14 rebounds. He is shooting 54.5% from the field over the past four games to bump his season clip to 53.4%, ranking 58th in the nation.

Lope tracks

Majerle and Madsen played split two games in which they both played. Majerle's Miami Heat team beat Madsen's Los Angeles Lakers in January 2001. Madsen's Lakers beat Majerle's Phoenix Suns in January 2002 in Majerle's 14th and final season.
GCU ranks 39th nationally for least turnovers per game (11.5) and 44th for free throw percentage (75.2%).
Johnson has scored in double figures for 14 consecutive games.
With 1,249 points in three seasons, Lever needs one point to pass DeWayne Russell for second in scoring during the Lopes' Division I era.
GCU is 7-0 when its bench outscores the opponent's subs. On Thursday, junior reserve guard Isiah Brown scored 14 but benchmate Lorenzo Jenkins was scoreless for the first time since Jan. 11.
The Lopes fouled Seattle a season-high 23 times in each meeting this season, tying GCU's total against Illinois on Nov. 18. The Redhawks set a season opponent high with 22 free throw points Thursday.
Utah Valley senior center Emmanuel Olojakpoke set the program's single-season blocked shots record and ranks 13th in the nation with 2.67 blocks per game.
The Wolverines are 0-9 when opponents score 74 or more points this season.
Utah Valley is averaging 2,018 fans for home games at UCCU Center, where the Wolverines are 5-6 this season.
The Wolverines rank last in the WAC for 3-point shooting (30.4%).

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Saturday, Feb. 22 | 2 p.m. (Phoenix time) | Orem, Utah

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Players Mentioned

Isiah Brown

Lorenzo Jenkins

Carlos Johnson

Alessandro Lever

DeWayne Russell

Grand Canyon University Athletics