Wild highs, lows winds up with win

Tuesday, November 29

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

6-2,0-0WAC

Alcorn State

3-5,0-0SWAC

Alcorn

Grand Canyon

11/29/2022 10:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

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Lopes led by 30 but had to close strong after Alcorn tied score

By: Paul Coro

After 12 minutes of play Tuesday night, Grand Canyon was reveling in how its peak offense was intertwining with its customary superlative defense for a 30-point grand canyon of a lead on Alcorn State.

GCU needed every bit of such a fabulous start when defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion climbed all the way out of the mammoth hole to a second-half tie, only to have the Lopes summon a closing response and win 80-72 at GCU Arena. The Lopes are the nation's first team to record wins against three defending conference champions this season.

"It was definitely not Beach Night for us out there, except for the first 13 minutes that felt awesome, like at the beach," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said of the Havocs' Beach Night theme. "Then the last 10 seconds (of the game). But everything in between definitely did not feel like it. For 13 minutes, we were unbelievable building a 30-point lead. You don't imagine that that's going to evaporate in the next 20 minutes, but it did. I really credit our guys for being resilient there in the last five, six minutes."

The Lo Phoenix, AZ. Nov. 29, 2022: GCU knocks off Southwestern Athletic defending champion Alcorn State 80-72 at GCU Arena.

Phoenix, AZ. Nov. 29, 2022: GCU knocks off Southwestern Athletic defending champion Alcorn State 80-72 at GCU Arena.

pes (6-2) used baseline penetration, extraordinary ball movement and corner 3s for a 38-8 start to create a cushion the size of a mattress. GCU made seven of its first nine shots from 3-point range with five players draining 3s, including graduate forward Noah Baumann making all three of his 3-point shots in that time as part of his 14-point half off the bench.

But as quickly as the Lopes built a 30-point lead in less than 12 minutes, their defense uncharacteristically allowed Alcorn State (3-5) to score 48 points against man and zone looks over a 15-minute stretch that bridged halftime. That still did not bring the Braves all the way back, but they tied it at 63-63 with 7:30 to play.

GCU countered with a 9-0 run that started with a unique source — junior power forward Yvan Ouedraogo's free throw shooting.

After making 39% of free throws last season and going 5 for 13 to start this season, Ouedraogo has sank eight consecutive free throws. Four of those broke the tie before Lopes sophomore guard Ray Harrison piled on with a 3 and two free throws to recapture control at 72-63.

Phoenix, AZ. Nov. 29, 2022: GCU knocks off Southwestern Athletic defending champion Alcorn State 80-72 at GCU Arena.

"When I step to the free throw line, I try to be locked in," said Ouedraogo, who finished with 10 points and six rebounds. "I just tell myself I'm going to make the next one. I was like, 'I'm going to make this one, I'm going to make this one.' I wasn't thinking about the score. I was just locked in on my routine and just tried to shoot how I know to shoot it."

The familiar GCU defense resurfaced in the final 12 minutes, holding Alcorn State to 16 points in that time on 5-of-17 shooting with three steals, two of which were by junior guard Josh Baker.

"It shows that our team has got character," Ouedraogo said. "They came back. Credit to them. We just stuck together and were like, 'We're not going to give them this game.' I'm proud of the guys to stay together and get that win."

Baumann's 14-point first half, fueled by making his first four 3s, was matched by junior point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr.'s 14. Blacksher had a 7-for-7 shooting night with a season-high 21 points and five assists while making one turnover before having to leave with an ankle sprain after GCU took the 74-65 lead. Blacksher returned to the bench and stood for the final minutes.

For a while, Blacksher's play was one of the only Lopes facets that was staving off a remarkable comeback from the Braves, a team known for playing fearlessly in beating Wichita State and Stephen F. Austin and challenging Mississippi and Arizona State during an all-away nonconference slate.

"Jovan, in the second half, was really key in the second half when they were really coming at us," Drew said.

"At the end of the day, if you would've said, 'Hey, you're going to beat Alcorn by eight,' we would've taken it hands down because that's a conference championship team and a team that already has some quality wins and is going to get more."

The final numbers were better than the path to them with GCU shooting 55.1% from the field, a season-best clip against a Division I opponent, and holding Alcorn State to 41.7% shooting.

The Lopes put five players in double-figure scoring with Harrison having his second-best point total as a Lope with 18 points and four assists. Baumann's 14 points marked a season high and the Lopes needed an entourage to offset Alcorn guard Byron Joshua's 30-point game that included two 3-pointers from the center-court logo.

"It was our poise," Baumann said of recollecting itself to win. "We came out really hot. They responded. Alcorn State is scrappy. They know how to get back into a game with defense and offensive rebounding. We stuck to our keys. We let our guards be aggressive. We let Yvan dominate the paint and Gabe get a whole bunch of rebounds. All of us did our jobs.

"It shows how deep we are, how motivated we are and how we want to be a championship team by the end of the year."