Depth drives WAC-opening road win

Friday, January 8

Stephenville, Texas

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

5-3,1-0WAC

Tarleton

2-3,0-1WAC

Grand Canyon

Tarleton St.

1/8/2021 9:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Drew interview McGlothan interview Photo Gallery

GCU closes out Tarleton to spoil its conference debut

By: Paul Coro

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Grand Canyon was glad to be a part of Tarleton's first Division I home game and first WAC game, but the Lopes were not willing to be part of the Texans' first conference win Friday night.

GCU was tested to the extreme but held onto the lead in harrowing fashion for the final 14 minutes of a 75-72 win at Wisdom Gym, where the teams will run it back Saturday night.

The Lopes (5-3, 1-0 WAC) took their largest lead of the game at 58-48 with 8:44 to play, but wound up in a crunch-time battle to stave off Tarleton junior guard Montre Gipson's career-high 30 points, 22 of which came in the second half.

GCU made 10 of its final 12 free throw attempts to close out the victory, but not until Gipson missed a potential tying 3-point shot at the buzzer against Lopes senior 7-foot center Asbjørn Midtgaard's outstretched arm.

"Anytime you go on the road, especially in conference, any win is a good win," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "We knew it was going to be 40 minutes of their defensive pressure. I thought our guys really did a good job. We looked tired early in the game and we were able to catch a second wind and play with more energy in the second half."

Midtgaard finished with team highs for points (19) and rebounds (nine), but sophomore power forward Gabe McGlothan was a difference-maker in the Lopes frontcourt, especially after GCU lost fellow reserve power foward Dima Zdor to an ankle sprain early in the game.

After Tarleton (2-3, 0-1 WAC) unexpectedly battled GCU on the boards in the first half, McGlothan's offensive board work in the second half helped flip the advantage to a plus-10 second half. McGlothan finished with a season-high 14 points, added seven rebounds and three assists and helped the team be plus-10 on the scoreboard in his 27 minutes.

"I just thought the energy was a little low," McGlothan said. "As being a guy who comes off the bench, it's our job and duty to come in and bring a lot of energy and really just try to pick it up. Elevate the game from what the first group does."

McGlothan fueled a 33-14 GCU advantage in bench scoring and a 15-4 edge in second-chance points on a night that senior leading scorer Alessandro Lever went 0 for 3 from the field.

"We got destroyed in the second half when it counted most on the boards," Tarleton head coach Billy Gillispie said on his postgame show. "They (the Lopes) made the biggest plays when they needed them to. Our guys played hard.

"We're going to try hard but burning calories doesn't get it. It is a very good start. We'll try to figure out something and see what we can do tomorrow."

GCU junior point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. was part of the second-half improvement in team ball control, having a 10-point, four-assist second half with no turnovers.

Under a Power Five-experienced coach in Billy Gillispie, Tarleton was ready for its Division I debut despite a monthlong layoff. Its defensive pressure created four GCU turnovers in the first nine minutes and kept the Lopes from their goal to control the pace.

Drew said the lack of sharpness was somewhat expected, given the lack of practice time and coaching access during the holiday break. The staff will focus on recovery with the team reconvening to complete the conference series Saturday at 6 p.m. (Phoenix time).

"There are things in the film we'll watch and try to correct, but it's such a quick turnaround, the most important thing is going to be getting our guys' legs back and tweaking a few things on the game plan so we can play better," Drew said.

The Texans went on an 11-0 run to take a 14-7 lead eight minutes into the game before the Lopes found their stride after a 17-day layoff. Midtgaard was dominant when he avoided the Tarleton double teams to get opportunities. He was 4 for 4 from the field in a nine-point, four-rebound first half, including a post-up that bookended an 11-0 GCU run with freshman guard Chance McMillian's consecutive 3-pointers.

The Lopes bench bailed them out in the first half, scoring 19 on the way to a 31-31 halftime tie that ended with a driving score from senior Mikey Dixon, who scored 11 points. Dixon wore a face mask to protect a hairline fracture from when he was accidentally hit in practice in mid-December. He had not been able to play five-on-five basketball since the Dec. 22 game against Colorado but drove fearlessly Friday night.

"I thought he was terrific tonight, especially shooting the basketball and making some plays," Drew said of Dixon.

Tarleton only had been able to face two Division I opponents this season because of cancellations, but led by 10 at Texas A&M with 13 minutes to play. The Texans went all in on Friday night's game, playing Gipson and Shakur Daniel 40 minutes each and Tahj Small for 39 minutes.

"They sped us up," McGlothan said. "We were just not really ready for it. Of course, we practiced it a lot, but it's a little bit different when it's in a game. The pressure's up there. It's high intensity. Toward the end, we started figuring it out and playing more of our basketball."

GCU jumps ahead in the WAC race, joining Utah Valley as the only teams with a conference win. And the Lopes left room for improvement.

"This was a rough one," McGlothan said. "We grinded it out. But at the end of the day, it's all about tomorrow. We want to walk out of here 2-0."