Bench play surges GCU into WAC Tournament

LAS VEGAS — Grand Canyon wanted to be at its best with team play entering this week's WAC Tournament.

That meant getting the Lopes bench back to looking more like an extension of the starting lineup. GCU (22-7) flipped into its current four-game winning streak mode because of what it has in reserve.

The Lopes bench went from being outscored by opposing benches in seven of nine games before the winning streak to outscoring the other bench by an average of 16.5 points per game in the past four wins. That accounts for most of GCU's average win margin of 19.5 over the past two weeks.

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The second crew has been established with wings Chance McMillian and Walter Ellis and big men Taeshon Cherry and Aidan Igiehon. McMillian, a second-year player with freshman eligibility because of the COVID-19 waiver, has been the leader of that group with 11.3 points per game, 40% 3-point shooting and 100% free-throw shooting during the four-game winning streak after averaging 2.6 points in the previous nine games.

"Coach (Bryce Drew) just wants me to bring energy to the team," McMillian said. "If things aren't going well, he expects me to pick it up and bring the energy back. I told the other guys, 'If we bring energy, we can play longer.' We just stepped up. We know our time is coming so we're prepared."

This is McMillian's time too. A year ago, he stepped up with his best two-game scoring stretch of the season in the Lopes' WAC Tournament championship run. He scored a critical 14 points in a semifinal victory against Seattle U and followed with nine points in the championship game triumph against New Mexico State.

"I just locked in on straight winning and played extremely hard," McMillian said. "I wanted to go hard for the seniors last year and now I want to go hard for the seniors this year. Holland Woods has never been to the tournament, so I want to help him make sure he gets there so I'm extra locked in coming into this week."

"I'm going in with a head of steam. I feel very confident right now and I'm just going to continue to build off that."

Beyond McMillian, three first-year Lopes are contributing regularly off the bench too:

Igiehon, a 6-foot-10 Louisville transfer, is earning the most consistent playing time of his career. He has averaged 4.0 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game and shot 50% from the field.
Ellis, a 6-foot-5 Bucknell transfer, also is averaging 13.3 minutes during the stretch and has made 8 of 14 shots from 3-point range to put him at a 48.8% 3-point clip for the season. If he had enough attempts to qualify, that 3-point percentage would lead the nation.
Cherry, a 6-foot-8 Arizona State transfer, is coming off a three-steal game Saturday and is playing more minutes per game (16.9) this season than he did last season at ASU (16.0).

Task at hand leads to NMSU

With new WAC Tournament bracketing for a 10-team event, the Lopes know who they would play in a Friday night semifinal (New Mexico State) if they win Thursday but do not know who they will play in that Thursday opener.

But they are getting closer to finding out. California Baptist (18-14) defeated UT Rio Grande Valley 81-80 to advance to a Wednesday night game with Sam Houston (18-13). That winner will play GCU at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time) on Thursday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

If the Lopes win Thursday, they will advance to a Friday night semifinal against New Mexico State (24-6) at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time).

"You're not going to find a better game than what they played against us," Drew said of the Aggies' 82-66 win at GCU Arena on Feb. 19. "We're really focused on that first game. Hopefully, we can play great in advance and then we'll really prepare for them in a short amount of time."

Lope tracks

GCU sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. on being named to the All-WAC first team: "It meant a lot. Last year, I made second team and this year I made first so it shows my progression and how much I worked. It's a big accomplishment."
New Mexico State, at No. 87, and GCU, at No. 88, are the only WAC teams to have cracked "Quad 1" of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. Stephen F. Austin is 111th among 358 Division I programs.
Drew met for 20 minutes Monday with Lopes junior power forward Dima Zdor, a Ukrainian with a father and an uncle who joined civilian forces defending against the Russian invasion: "Even when he tells me, I still can't fathom what he has going through right now. He has family right there. He can't talk to them for days because power goes out. It's amazing he's still operating and is able to practice and be with our team with everything going on with his family, his friends and his home. You talk to him and there's a lot of maturity there and strength. If he has any resemblance to the rest of Ukraine, the strength that people have there is unreal."

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Task at hand leads to NMSU

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Players Mentioned

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Taeshon Cherry

Walter Ellis

Aidan Igiehon

Chance McMillian

Dima Zdor

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