Venue, mind change seek to split Texas trip

Saturday, Jan. 21 \| 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum \| Huntsville, Texas

	SAM HOUSTON BEARKATS (11-9, 6-1 WAC)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (14-3, 5-1 WAC)

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HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Grand Canyon changed cities and mindsets overnight, taking to a different court Friday in search of a far different result on Saturday.

The Lopes will need their largest in-season turnaround to bounce back from their 71-46 Thursday night loss at Stephen F. Austin, but it will have to come against a hot Sam Houston team that was on the happier end of a 71-46 upset Thursday against New Mexico State.

Thursday's results jumbled the WAC leaders, putting Seattle U (5-0), Sam Houston (6-1), GCU (5-1) and New Mexico State a game apart. The Lopes could instantly climb the conference ladder in the chase for the coveted top two WAC Tournament seeds on Saturday.

The more immediate and tangible outcome for the 1 p.m. game (Phoenix time) at Sam Houston is fixing a 46-point downward swing – going from last Saturday's 21-point home win against Tarleton to Thursday's 25-point loss at Stephen F. Austin.

"I think there's more focus," said GCU assistant coach Casey Shaw, part of the staff leading the team with head coach Bryce Drew in Phoenix because of health and safety protocols. "We have leadership in Jovan (Blacksher Jr.), Gabe (McGlothan) and others. We'll see how the response is.

"Right now, Sam Houston is the best team in the league. They just beat New Mexico State and were up by 38. We're the underdogs, playing at their house. They're really well-coached and do an unbelievable job of adjusting to your game plan. We'll have to play a lot tougher than we did on Thursday."

GCU had been 8-1 this season when holding opponents to less than 40% shooting, but lost despite keeping the Lumberjacks to 39.6% because of the Lopes' worst half of offense this season. The Lopes crumbled from a one-point halftime deficit with a second half of 24% percent shooting and 15 turnovers.

On Saturday, they are tasked with recapturing the offensive efficiency of three consecutive 50%-plus shooting games against Sam Houston, which limited New Mexico State to 28% shooting and led by as much as 38 points on Thursday. Bearkats 12-year head coach Jason Hooten's team has allowed 41 and 46 points in their past two wins.

The Lopes will have to deal with an early WAC Player of the Year candidate in 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward Savion Flagg, a graduate transfer from Texas A&M who leads the conference and ranks 21st nationally with a 19.9 scoring average. He has posted a 31-point game at Nebraska and a 17-rebound game against UT Rio Grande Valley.

Part of a Bearkats team that takes 44% of its shots from 3-point range, Flagg has made five 3s in a game four times and is shooting 39.6% from beyond the arc. He went 5 for 12 from 3-point range on Thursday against New Mexico State.

"Savion Flagg is the most dangerous man in our league," Shaw said. "He shoots it. He drives it. They run a lot of offense through him. The hard part with him is he's a great passer and they put shooters around him. The point guard is shooting 50% from 3 in the last five games, so it's a tall task to stop Flagg and defend those shooters."

Lope tracks

Lopes senior center Dima Zdor played 26 minutes on Thursday for the second-most playing time of his four-year career at Weber State and GCU. He grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots, one off his career high.
GCU's six assists in Thursday's loss was its lowest total since Jan. 11, 2020, against California Baptist. Starting guards Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Holland Woods II combined for three assists, their lowest total since the Dec. 9 loss at Arizona State (also three).
Sam Houston ranks last nationally in free throw percentage (56.6%), but the Bearkats are 23rd for offensive rebounds per game (12.95).
Sam Houston is 71-11 at 6,100-seat Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum since the 2016-17 season.

Saturday, Jan. 21 | 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum | Huntsville, Texas

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Players Mentioned

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Holland Woods II

Dima Zdor

Grand Canyon University Athletics