Rings, revelry reignite GCU Arena in romp

Saturday, October 30

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

0-0,0-0WAC

Western New Mexico

0-0,0-0Lone Star

Western N.M.

Grand Canyon

10/30/2021 10:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Postgame - Yvan Ouedraogo Postgame - Jovan Blacksher Postgame - Holland Woods Postgame - Bryce Drew Photo Gallery

Newcomers join Blacksher to spark 85-59 exhibition before 7,319 fans

By: Paul Coro

GCU Arena has long been known for its home-court atmosphere. But while that could not be at optimum last season, the Lopes' home also earned another reputation for championship basketball.

The two labels merged Saturday night, when last season's Lopes accepted their WAC championship rings as title banners were unveiled and the previous seasons' raucous atmosphere returned. GCU started its quest to live up to being defending champions and gave a standing-room-only crowd of 7,319 fans reason to revel in an 85-59 exhibition win against Western New Mexico.

"All day, all week, I've been good," said fifth-year guard Holland Woods II, making his GCU debut after transferring from Arizona State. "And then right before I got in the shower before the game, it hit me that I'm really about to play a game again, especially in front of a crowd like that. It was a lot of fun.

"I don't know how much you can continue to talk about that crowd, but it's amazing."

Junior guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. is the only scholarship Lope who had played in front of a full GCU Arena before Saturday night. It showed some with the Lopes' 24 turnovers and 26 fouls that will give the coaching staff plenty of material to prepare for the Nov. 9 regular-season opener against Grambling State at home.

But GCU still rolled, jumping out to a 19-6 lead when junior power forward Yvan Ouedraogo, a Nebraska transfer, came off the bench and scored 11 points in his first four minutes on the floor. Jovan Blacksher Jr.

"He came in with great energy," Woods said of Ouedraogo. "We were scoring and we were doing some good things, but he came in and just really turned it on and got the crowd into it. He honestly got it going."

Ouedraogo, whose hustle also grabbed nine rebounds in 21 minutes, was one of three double-digit scorers with Blacksher posting 13 points and five assists and Woods adding 10 points and four assists on GCU's 48% shooting night.

"That was amazing," Ouedraogo said. "I've been played a lot of basketball games in my life, but I've never seen that ever. The crowd was crazy. When I got in the game, it lifted me up, gave me some energy and I played freely. That was a great experience. I love our fans."

Blacksher and Woods, the all-Phoenix backcourt, give GCU a new dimension of two guards who can run the offense or spot up off the ball. Sophomore Chance McMillian joined them for a three-guard lineup at times and ran the offense with Blacksher and Woods on the wings.

"We love the versatility of the guards," Drew said. "It's a nice luxury to have three guys who are capable of getting you into offense. I really think they do a nice job of sharing the basketball. Several times, Jovan or Holland could've shot it and they made the pass to get a better shot."

The entire offense can play with a quicker pace because eight newcomers insert more speed into the lineup. Senior Dima Zdor and junior Gabe McGlothan started the game at center and power forward, but Ouedrago and Louisville 6-foot-10 transfer Aidan Igiehon started the second half in the big spots.

The Lopes want to carry over last season's penchants for defense and rebounding, which led to the program's first NCAA Division I tournament appearance that was celebrated before the game. They gave a hint of that Thursday night by holding Western New Mexico to 28% shooting and winning the boards, 55-39. Zdor's six rebounds in 13 minutes and another Arizona State transfer, senior Taeshon Cherry, grabbed seven rebounds in 17 minutes.

"We need to play really hard, win 50-50 balls and rebound," Drew said. "We did that good tonight, but we can do that much better. We can take it to another level."

PHOENIX, AZ - October 30: Grand Canyon Univeristy Mens Basketball defeats Western New Mexico University 85-59. (Photo by: Garrett Ohrenberg)

PHOENIX, AZ - October 30: Grand Canyon Univeristy Mens Basketball defeats Western New Mexico University 85-59. (Photo by: Garrett Ohrenberg)

Drew attributed the high turnover and foul numbers to players who had not played in front of a GCU Arena crowd, players adjusting to a new system and players like Igiehon and Cherry, who have not played a game in 10 months. Igiehon, also coming off offseason hip surgery that kept him off the court until this month, scored a team-high eight second-half points.

GCU led 43-28 at halftime and shut out the Mustangs for a four-minute stretch of the second half to lead 65-40 on a Blacksher 3. But the louder moment came seconds later when McGlothan soared for a left-handed follow slam.

"I almost lost it," Woods said. "The ref was grabbing me and telling me to get back."

Starting his second GCU season, Drew also was relishing the GCU Arena experience with thousands instead of last season's hundreds. The former college star and NBA and European pro had never seen anything like what he saw Thursday night, when the Purple Pregame Party noise shook the arena in pregame for an exhibition.

"I've never had an exhibition and even a lot of regular-season games that had that much energy in the building," Drew said.

The night began poignantly with the jersey of Oscar Frayer draped over the bench's first chair, where his championship ring sat in the seat. An "O4Ever" inscription in honor of Frayer, who died in a car accident three days after GCU's NCAA tournament appearance, was cast in every championship ring that the team received.

The Arena held a moment of silence for Frayer and Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Westphal, the Lopes' head coach for the 1988 NAIA national championship team.

Drew handed each player his championship ring while the newcomers looked on for what they are chasing with them. Banners for conference regular-season and WAC Tournament championships were unveiled before tip-off reignited the arena to how it had been 19 months ago.

"It was a good feeling, definitely," Blacksher said of the championship ceremony. "It shows all the hard work that we did last year. We get to see it with the fans and the family so it was a good experience.

"Hopefully, we'll get another one."