DI-era scoring record torched in Flames

Friday, January 15

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

7-3,2-0WAC

121

Bethesda

0-10

Bethesda (CA)

Grand Canyon

121

1/15/2021 8:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Drew Presser Miller-Moore Presser Photo Gallery

Lopes roll to 121-62 rout, 70% shooting in 1st home game in 33 days

By: Paul Coro

It had been 33 days since Grand Canyon had played a game at home so they made the GCU students' return to GCU Arena well worth it.

The Lopes put on a record-setting show featuring 14 dunks for the Havocs' limited attendance, destroying the GCU Division I-era scoring record by 17 points in a 121-62 rout of Bethesda on Friday night. The teams will meet again Saturday at 2 p.m. in GCU Arena.

"I'm curious to see if we can shoot the ball as well tomorrow as what we did tonight," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said after the Lopes shot 70%, nearly breaking the all-time program record of 71.4% because of improved ball movement that tied another DI-era record with 31 assists.

The Flames lit the competitive fire for GCU (7-3), which replaced the canceled Chicago State games with the visitors from Anaheim, California, and made it clear how the night was going to go for them quickly. GCU took a 10-0 lead in 80 seconds and never looked back with senior power forward Alessandro Lever having a career-high scoring first half with 19 points. It came in a GCU DI-era scoring high for a half with a 67-40 halftime lead.

GCU also had its best 3-point shooting game of the season, hitting 13 of 23 shots from 3-point range with Lever going 3 for 3 on 3s.

"Ale came out really aggressive and made shots," Drew said of Lever, who made his first eight shots. "He made his 3s, which is going to be really important to us the rest of the season. We have not shot the ball well so it was really encouraging to see us make 13 3s tonight from a lot of different guys. Hopefully, this will build their confidence because we're going to have to make outside shots as this year progresses."

Lever rested in the second half, allowing senior teammate Sean Miller-Moore to join him for the team scoring lead with a career-high 19 points on 8-for-8 shooting in 10 minutes.

Miller-Moore, a 6-foot-4 wing, put up the most points that a Division I player has scored in 10 minutes or fewer since March 2, 2019, when Sacramento State's Jordan Tolbert had 21 points in nine minutes against Idaho.

"It was really fun," Miller-Moore said. "We were trying to get stops and just run out. That's what I'm best at, just running out and my team was able to find me. I was able to get open layups, and-ones, dunks. I feel like we're all still learning each other. Jovan is learning me and he's learning that my strongsuit is running."

Miller-Moore thrilled the crowd with five dunks, showing off the efficient game that put him at 68% from the field last season at Oregon State. In one two-minute span of the second half, Miller-Moore scored while being fouled three times.

"Sean did a really good job attacking the rim," Drew said. "He's a superior athlete, as you saw tonight, finishing above the rim. Defensively is something he can really help us with. So what we get offensively from him we see as a bonus. He's definitely finding his spots on the floor and you can see the chemistry with him and our guards getting better the more they play together."

GCU senior center Asbjørn Midtgaard kept his national field goal percentage lead by making 6 of 8 shots for 17 points with nine rebounds. Sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. added eight points and a season-high nine assists but the most impressive individual performance might have come from Bethesda's Steve Wooten, who scored 39 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

The scoring total pushed to the 12th-highest one in all-time GCU history when the bench and the crowd went crazy for sophomore walk-on Ethan Spry making a 3-pointer, the second of his career.

"Ethan works really hard," Drew said. "He's always in the gym. He shoots the ball really well so I'm happy for him. You love it when the crowd gets excited. That'll be a moment he'll remember for a long time."