Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UNLV on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 80
M Basketball
at UNLV
L 78-80
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, November 12
Reno, Nev. / Lawlor Events Center
2 p.m. (MST)
Grand Canyon
at
Nevada
Road test furthers Lopes' on-the-fly growth
11/11/2022 10:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU plays 3rd game in season's 1st 6 days at Alford's Nevada
Saturday, Nov. 12 | 2 p.m. (Phoenix time) | Lawlor Events Center | Reno, Nev. |
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NEVADA
WOLF PACK (1-0)
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vs. | GRAND CANYON LOPES (2-0) |
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| WATCH: Mountain West Network | LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic | STATS: View | ||||
With two newcomers starting and four more first-year players who have earned rotation minutes, Grand Canyon is navigating the first week of the season like a protagonist dodging enemies in a thriller movie.
The Lopes are forming a WAC contender on the fly while playing three games in the first week of the season, starting with Monday's win against Big Sky champion and ending with Saturday's first road game against Steve Alford's Nevada squad.
GCU can get off to its third consecutive 3-0 start under head coach Bryce Drew if it can win in an arena where visitors historically struggle. Before Nevada took a dip last season with a 7-7 record at Lawlor Events Center, the Wolf Pack was 80-10 at home over the previous six seasons.The Lopes are building toward projections as a WAC champion, but Drew needed to shake up the rotation in each of the first two games to jolt his team's aggression.
"We have some really good guys on our team that are first-year players with us," Drew said. "I think they are trying to feel their way a little bit too much instead of being aggressive. There's no question that Jovan (Blacksher Jr.) is our leader and sometimes they take a back seat to let him do his thing."
Blacksher tallied 22 points and four assists when GCU beat Nevada 87-77 at home in December 2020, but junior power forward Gabe McGlothan and sophomore guard Chance McMillian are the only teammates back from that effort.
Nevada (1-0) returns three starters from a 13-17 team, but Alford attempted to flip results with roster additions.
Jarrod Lucas, a 6-foot-3 guard, transferred from Oregon State after averaging 13 points and making 39% of his 3-pointers over the previous two seasons. He went 4 for 17 in the Wolf Pack's 84-71 home win Monday against Utah Tech. Freshman 6-foot-6 forward Darrion Williams, the 2021-22 Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year, made an impressive debut with 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot in 19 reserve minutes.
McGlothan is part of the GCU core that can smooth the transition of four Division I transfers and two redshirt freshmen. His 13-point, 10-rebound performance in Wednesday's win built on how he finished last season with averages of 11 points and eight rebounds in the final five games."I'm trying to work on many different things that can honestly help this team," McGlothan said. "Down low, having that presence where I can face up a little and get some points for the team but also stretch it and be able to knock down some 3s. And also the drive where I can pull two different defenders and be able to kick it to open up other guys. I'm really trying to read the game and be a student of the game."
The Lopes backcourt is considered the strength of the team with Blacksher, a WAC Preseason Player of the Year, and McMillian being joined by established players in two-year Presbyterian leading scorer Ray Harrison and former UNLV starter Josh Baker.
Even though Holland Woods II was also a new backcourt mate for Blacksher last season, the duo had a childhood background in the Phoenix area to help quickly form an on-court bond.
"It's a development phase right now to get these guys to be more united and in rhythm on the court, but we really like the potential of this team with our shooting ability and with the focus they bring on a daily basis to pick up a lot of the things we are trying to do on offense and defense," Drew said.
Lope tracks
- Even with Wednesday's 0-for-5 shooting beyond the arc, GCU graduate forward Noah Baumann ranks 12th in the nation for career 3-point percentage (42.3%) among active Division I players. He and Pacific's Luke Avdalovic are the only active DI players who have made more than 200 3-pointers with at least 42% accuracy.
- Blacksher ranks 13th on the Lopes' all-time scoring list and is 75 points away from GCU Hall of Famer and No. 12 scorer T.C. Dean (1,210 points).
- The Lopes rank 95th among 363 Division I programs on kenpom.com's analytic system and are ahead of all WAC teams.
- Former GCU guards DeWayne Russell and Trey Drechsel are teaming up in a German League backcourt this season for Oldenburg, where they are combining for 35 points per game (Russell 19.2, Drechsel 15.8). Russell is also averaging 6.3 assists per game for the 4-2 team.
- Noah Amenhauser, a 7-foot center from Estrella Foothills High School in nearby Goodyear, signed Thursday with GCU. Amenhauser shared his thought at his campus signing in this story.
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