McMillian deepens backcourt strength for Lopes

Saturday, Dec. 4 \| 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| GCU Arena

	MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE DELTA DEVILS (0-5)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (6-1)

WATCH: FOX 10 Xtra (Ch. 45 / Cable 9), ESPN+ \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

It is one of Grand Canyon's great luxuries to have a starting backcourt with the experience of 168 combined career starts and the conditioning to play at a high level for an entire game.

But GCU will not be able to always ask that of guards Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Holland Woods II, who each played 38 to 39 minutes in both Lopes' wins this week. GCU's third guard, sophomore Chance McMillian, and others can help relieve some of that workload as GCU (7-1) goes for its best Division I-era start in Saturday night's game against winless Mississippi Valley State.

McMillian made steps toward the team's confidence in him and his standards for himself Wednesday night, breaking out of a short slump with two 3-pointers in the win against UT San Antonio. That put McMillian right back at 40% 3-point shooting, in line with an impressive freshman season that ended with him scoring a season-high 14 points in the WAC Tournament opener and making a season-high three 3-pointers in the championship game.

Chance McMillian

"I had to shake it off and keep a positive mindset," said McMillian, who also made two assists and a blocked shot with no turnovers in 15 minutes. "I just played like my normal self. That was a plus going forward. I can help the team in many ways besides shooting."

McMillian, who plays in a three-guard lineup with Blacksher and Woods at times, has gone from 12.9 minutes per game last season to 19.0 per game this season. With that, his scoring average has jumped from 4.2 points per game last season to 5.8 this season and he has roughly doubled his assists per game (0.9 to 1.9) but tripled his turnovers per game (0.5 to 1.5).

While he has shot the same from 3-point range, his efficiency inside the arc has dropped from 57% last season to 39% this season and he has drawn a shooting foul once this season. That is where McMillian expects more in the role of bench combo guard since last season's midseason emergence.

"I had to make my standards higher than last year," the Vallejo, California, native said. "The coaches are making sure I stay on top of that, not only just shooting. My all-around game, defense and setting people up."

A litany of other GCU guards have received cracks at rotation time too with sophomore guard Liam Lloyd earning the most important fourth-guard minutes recently. Freshman Jalen Blackmon, graduate Walter Ellis and sophomore Jayden State also have been in the mix.

Lloyd's time has been brief and hard to notice in a box score but his five minutes of playing time at Loyola Marymount on Monday and three minutes against UT San Antonio showed the energy and know-how that earn the time. Lopes head coach Bryce Drew has turned to Lloyd when the team is in a lull.

Liam Lloyd

"Whenever my name is called, I go out there and play with the highest intensity possible," Lloyd said. "I try to give our team a spark when things aren't going the right way. Even if it's not me scoring and it's me boxing out someone hard or playing good defense, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make that spark.

"I play with a lot of emotion. When I come on the floor, I feel like I give us a boost of energy that we need sometimes."

It has been an interesting college basketball season for Lloyd with his father, Tommy, taking over as head coach at Arizona and leading the Wildcats to a 6-0 start and No. 11 national ranking. Being just two hours away has been a welcome change from Liam's freshman season, when the family was in Spokane, Washington, for his father's 20th season as Gonzaga assistant coach.

"It's awesome because any chance he has to come up here, he does," Liam said. "It's great seeing him, my mom and my sisters more."

Lope tracks

Blacksher has career-high streaks for double-digit scoring games (12) and games with a made 3-pointer (10). His assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.36 to 1 ranks 29th nationally.
After going 5 for 21 from the field in his first two games as a Lope, Woods is shooting 51% from the field and 50% from 3-point range for 16.6 points per game.
No GCU big man made a turnover in Thursday night's win, including junior power forward Gabe McGlothan going 37 minutes without one in a 13-point, seven-rebound effort.
The Lopes are 5-0 against Mississippi Valley State after defeating former Phoenix Suns head coach Lindsey Hunter's team 88-49 last season at GCU Arenea.
The Delta Devils were leading 38-33 at halftime at Ole Miss and only trailed 53-52 at the second half's midway point before losing 73-58 last Friday. Robert Carpenter, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, scored 27 in the game and averages a team-high 17.3 points per game. Hunter's son, Caleb, averages 12.4 points but both players have shot 32% from the field.
Mississippi Valley State ranks last in Division I for field goal percentage (31.3%) and opponent field goal percentage (54.1%).
The Delta Devils force 17.4 turnovers per game to rank 42nd nationally.

Saturday, Dec. 4 | 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) | GCU Arena

Lope tracks

Players Mentioned

Jalen Blackmon

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Walter Ellis

Liam Lloyd

Gabe McGlothan

Chance McMillian

Holland Woods II

Grand Canyon University Athletics