More career nights help hang 110 points

Saturday, November 26

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

5-2,0-0WAC

110

Benedictine Mesa

2-3

Benedictine Mesa

Grand Canyon

110

11/26/2022 9:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

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GCU's McMillian records scoring high in 2nd consecutive victory

By: Paul Coro

Chance McMillian picked whatever floor spot he wanted to score. Ray Harrison inflicted his power into repeated scoring drives. Gabe McGlothan controlled the area around the rim. Walter Ellis hit four 3-pointers in 80 seconds. Kobe Knox delivered career highs for points and assists.

Grand Canyon got resounding individual results, building an even grander team outcome in Saturday night's 110-53 blowout of Benedictine Mesa at GCU Arena. The Lopes' second-largest scoring game and second-largest victory margin of the Division I era was the result of a late opponent change from Pepperdine, whose visit was moved to Dec. 17 due to health and safety protocols in the Waves' program.

The Lopes (5-2) would have gone a week without a game had Saturday been canceled. Instead, they kept positive inertia going into Tuesday night against Alcorn State, their third defending conference champion opponent of November with the program's sixth 100-point scoring game of the Division I era.

Phoenix, AZ. Nov. 26, 2022: The Lopes cruise to a 110-53 win over Benedictine Mesa at GCU Arena.

Phoenix, AZ. Nov. 26, 2022: The Lopes cruise to a 110-53 win over Benedictine Mesa at GCU Arena.

"We just wanted to have fun and play fast," said Ellis, a graduate forward who made a career-high five 3-pointers for all 15 of his points in the second half. "I think we had been playing a little slow at times, which hurt us. Tonight, we really wanted to get back to who we are and playing the ball we play. We locked in and had a good turnout."

It started with McMillian scoring all of his 17 points in the first half, giving the sophomore guard a career high in consecutive games after he scored 16 in a Tuesday win against Northern Iowa. Much like that game, the career highs were flowing Saturday with Knox getting a pair with 14 points and a team-high seven assists while his fellow redshirt freshman, swingman Isaiah Shaw, also notched career highs with 11 points and six rebounds.

"If opportunities come during conference season or later on, at least they have some confidence built out here that they've made shots out here in front of the home fans," Drew said.

The Lopes held out starting guards Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Josh Baker for minor health issues, but GCU still put six scorers in double figures and made its most 3-pointers in a game over the past year by going 15 for 35 (43%) beyond the arc.

"There were parts of the first half where I thought we got selfish and guys were trying to take some shots," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "There were probably three to five possessions like that. We really talked about it at halftime. Let the offense work for you. Let's get shots within the offense. From my view, I thought there was a big difference in the second half. A lot of our shots came off of ball movement, came off of cutting. Just really like how we played that second half offensively."

With an emphasis on execution and effort against an NAIA visitor, the Lopes shot out to an 18-6 lead with McMillian, sophomore guard Ray Harrison (13 points, 6-of-9 shooting) and McGlothan attacking the rim for all of the points. The lead widened to a 54-24 advantage when GCU scored 29 points in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the half with McMillian looking like he was in a shooting drill with a pair of 3s and silky pull-up jumpers at each elbow.

"I'm just staying confident and patient and trusting the offense," said McMillian, who added four assists as a facilitator in his fourth career start. "I had a talk with Coach Drew and he was saying, 'Let the game flow to you.' The second game in Kansas City, I let the game flow and it worked out well for me."

That offensive momentum carried over to the second half, when the Lopes added another 17 points in the first 3:12 because Ellis made a 3-pointer from the right wing on four consecutive trips over an 80-second span that included a blocked shot.

"My teammates are doing a really good job just finding me," Ellis said after his first GCU start. "It's fun to get up and down today.

"It just comes from confidence. Any time I get a look that I feel is comfy, I'm going to get it up."

Phoenix, AZ. Nov. 26, 2022: The Lopes cruise to a 110-53 win over Benedictine Mesa at GCU Arena.

Knox and graduate forward Noah Baumann, who made two 3s and added eight rebounds, each logged a team-high 25 minutes off the bench. For Knox, it was a continuation of his quick evolution from out of the rotation to energizer to key defender to all-around threat.

At 6 feet 5, Knox played point guard often and tallied nine points and five assists in the second half.

"In the second half, I thought Kobe was just tremendous," Drew said. "I thought his pace was good. He made really good decisions when to shoot and when to pass. He has great vision and great length. He can get to his spot and pass over the top of guys, which is a huge advantage when you're a bigger guard that has vision. Really pleased."

McGlothan packed 12 points and eight rebounds into his 15 minutes, but the Lopes frontcourt was fortified off the bench with junior Aidan Igiehon tallying nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds before fouling out in 21 minutes. Each of the 10 GCU players in uniform Saturday night scored on a 60% team shooting night.

"We just wanted to focus on really giving the crowd a show, executing our plays and sharing the ball," Knox said. "The shots were falling tonight. This was a lot better than (a practice day). This helps our chemistry a lot. We practice hard, so we want to play like we can practice. We needed this game to get our shots falling."