Rebound reputation returns for GCU

Thursday, Dec. 29 \| 7 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| GCU Arena

	UT SAN ANTONIO ROADRUNNERS (5-3)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (6-1)

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Grand Canyon is in a rebound relationship that is working.

GCU fell in love with the boards last season to be a nationally ranked rebounding team that won the WAC championship with 7-foot Asbjorn Midtgaard and 6-foot-10 Alessandro Lever. Minus that tall timber, the brand is sticking as GCU is becoming Rebound U with a top-five national ranking for rebound margin again this season.

The Lopes (6-1) enter Thursday's 7 p.m. home game against UT San Antonio with a plus-15.0 average for rebound margin. That ranks fourth nationally and GCU's offensive rebounding average of 15.9 per game is fifth best in Division I.

"We just enjoy doing it," Lopes senior Dima Zdor said. "We all go. It's a cultural thing. Coach (Bryce) Drew tried to establish a great rebounding culture. At this point, that's what we're known for."

Zdor, a 6-foot-10 center, has the team's highest rebounding rate with 13 boards per 40 minutes, but the Lopes clean the glass like a squeegee with gang rebounding. GCU has five players averaging more than 10 rebounds per 40 minutes and that is not including senior forward Taeshon Cherry's recent surge, which has put him at 4.0 rebounds per game in 17.4 minutes per game.

"We don't have Ale and Midtgaard any more to take all the rebounds," Lopes graduate student Sean Miller-Moore said laughing. "But when I get the chance to crash, my coach wants me to crash hard so I try to hit a body and go get the rebound."

Miller-Moore is a 6-foot-4 swingman, but he has been GCU's leading rebounder in the past two games with seven boards at Pepperdine on Saturday and eight at Loyola Marymount on Monday. When he or the guards rebound, the Lopes are more potent in transition because no outlet pass is needed with their abilities to run fastbreaks.

"Coach told us before those games that there were going to be a lot of rebounds so the guards have to hit, recognize and go and grab it," Miller-Moore said. "When I hit it and go, I always end up with the ball in my hands. Hopefully, I can carry that over to the rest of the year."

GCU's work on the offensive boards can help the team overcome off-shooting nights with second chances. On Monday night, the Lopes outscored the Lions 17-2 for second-chance points. UTSA will bring a stiffer challenge, ranking 18th in the nation with 14.3 offensive rebounds per game.

The Lopes' offensive board work is led by Zdor and junior power forward Gabe McGlothan and Yvan Ouedraogo, each of which is averaging at least two offensive rebounds per game. That trio's combined 7.1 offensive rebounds per game is more than 19 Division I squads average as a team this season.

"It's just toughness," Zdor said. "We're trying to be a tough team. That's what the coaches are trying to preach. We have the right personnel. We have a lot of tall athletic guys who aren't afraid of contact. We just want it more."

Lope tracks

With his fifth career 20-point game on Monday at LMU, GCU junior guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. has scored in double figures in 11 consecutive games and made a 3-pointer in nine consecutive games.
Lopes graduate guard Holland Woods II has scored 39 points in the past two games and 70 in the past four games. Last season at Arizona State, his highest-scoring two-game point total was 25 and his highest four-game stretch was 43.
Cherry's career-high six steals at LMU on Monday night was the second-highest steal total by a GCU player in the Division I era behind Gerard Martin's seven in November 2016.
UTSA is led in scoring by 6-foot-5 junior guard Dhieu Deing, who averages 17.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He averages eight 3-point attempts per game. Jordan Ivy-Curry, a 6-2 sophomore guard, is averaging 14.6 points with 43.6% 3-point shooting for sixth-year head coach Steve Henson.
Roadrunners freshman guard Christian Tucker, a Gilbert Perry High School graduate, returns to the Phoenix area and the campus where his father, Kevin, played two seasons for the Lopes. Kevin is a former Phoenix Suns director of security.

Thursday, Dec. 29 | 7 p.m. (Phoenix time) | GCU Arena

Lope tracks

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Players Mentioned

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Taeshon Cherry

Alessandro Lever

Gabe McGlothan

Sean Miller-Moore

Yvan Ouedraogo

Holland Woods II

Dima Zdor

Grand Canyon University Athletics