Top-seeded Lopes chase more history

Friday, March 12 \| 6 p.m. (Arizona time) \| Orleans Arena \| WAC Tournament semifinal

	(5) SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (12-10, 4-5 WAC)	vs.	(1) GRAND CANYON LOPES (15-6, 9-3 WAC)

WATCH: ESPN+ \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

LAS VEGAS – The last time Grand Canyon was seen, the Lopes played some of their best basketball of the season Saturday night to clinch their first WAC title as co-champions.

The last time GCU was seen playing Seattle U, the Lopes showed some of their most explosive offense a week earlier to score 61 points in the last 23 minutes.

If top-seeded GCU (15-6) takes those forms in a Friday evening WAC Tournament semifinal against fifth-seeded Seattle U (12-10), the next time the Lopes will be seen is playing for a championship and a NCAA tournament berth at Orleans Arena on Saturday night.

"We've practiced all season, going two-a-days, lifting and it all comes down to two games," said senior small forward Oscar Frayer, the only Lope besides senior power forward Alessandro Lever to play in a WAC Tournament game. "You can't say too much about it. You just have to go out and produce and hope your work turns into God's work and let that happen."

The season's work earned GCU a first-round bye, enabling the Lopes to watch Seattle U advance Thursday night with a second-half surge that gave it an 83-66 victory against California Baptist. Utah Valley (11-10) and defending tournament champion New Mexico State (11-7) meet in the other semifinal.

"We're really proud of the guys in the position they are and how hard they've worked this season," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "For us, it's really a one-game season on Friday. We're not even thinking about Saturday."

The Redhawks are normally powered by the WAC's leading scorers, sophomore 5-foot-10 point guard Darrion Trammell (20.9 points per game) and junior 6-6 forward Riley Grigsby (18.0). But with senior guard Aaron Nettles out with a broken thumb, junior 6-4 guard Nate Robinson played all 40 minutes Thursday night and made 10 of 17 shots (4 of 5 on 3-pointers) for a season-high 27 points.

Seattle U is trying to win three games in three nights with mostly a six-man rotation, half of which (Trammell, Robinson and Emeka Udenyi) helped City College of San Francisco average more than 100 points and go 30-0 last year.

The Redhawks are successful by having the nation's fifth-best turnover margin (plus-5.1 per game with a 10.8 average for Seattle U and 15.9 for opponents). That stayed true with just nine turnovers against California Baptist, which spiraled with 27% shooting and eight turnovers in the second half.

"Our team put together our best 20 minutes of defense in that half and it was special," Redhawks fourth-year coach Jim Hayford said.

GCU and Seattle U split a Feb. 26-27 set in Seattle, where the Redhawks won 63-57 and the Lopes won 81-71. Trammell, an All-WAC first-team pick, averaged 22.5 points on 32% shooting while Grigsby, an All-WAC second-team pick, averaged 38 points on 44% shooting. The pair scored Seattle U's final 30 points in the GCU win.

The Lopes defense ranks second in the nation for opponent field percentage at 38.2%, only trailing Houston's 37.0%.

"Defense can win you a lot of games throughout the year, but when it's a one-game season, if a team is making shots, good offense usually beats good defense," Drew said.

Beyond defense, GCU's calling card has been the frontcourt tandem of Lever at 6 feet 10 and senior center Asbjørn Midtgaard at 7 feet. Lever scored 20 in the second half of the loss and Midtgaard posted double-doubles in both games, averaging 15.5 points and 13.0 rebounds.

"We've created an identity for ourselves and we've got to stick to that," Frayer said.

From loss to win in the series at Seattle U, Lopes sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. had the largest improvement from a 2-for-14, five-turnover game to a 17-point, seven-assist, three-steal game.

"We know what type of level we need to play at to win these type of games and to win period," Blacksher said. "The coaching staff has done a great job of having us adjust to the scout. We just have to be prepared and be ready."

The game tips off at 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) and will stream on ESPN+ and can be heard on 1580 The Fanatic (95.9/99.3 FM). The WAC Tournament championship game will be at 8 p.m. Saturday on ESPNU. Friday's crowd at Orleans Arena is limited to 125 people per team pass list with no tickets being sold.

"I think our guys' confidence doesn't waver based on the opponent," Hayford said of facing the top seed.

Lope Tracks

It has been 727 days since GCU played its last WAC Tournament game.
The Lopes went 4-2 in two previous WAC Tournament appearances.
Midtgaard is one of 18 players in the nation with at least 11 double-doubles. He has recorded double-doubles in six of his past seven games.
GCU ranks 13th nationally for scoring defense (62.0 points per game).
The Lopes' average rebound margin of plus-8.9 ranks 10th nationally.
Drew ranks second for wins among coaches in their first years at the helm of a program. UAB is 22-6 under Andy Kennedy.
Trammell ranks 18th nationally for points per game (20.6).

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Friday, March 12 | 6 p.m. (Arizona time) | Orleans Arena | WAC Tournament semifinal

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Players Mentioned

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Oscar Frayer

Alessandro Lever

Asbjørn Midtgaard

Grand Canyon University Athletics