Baker heats up as UVU comes to GCU

Saturday, Jan. 21 \| 6 p.m. \| GCU Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (15-5, 6-1 WAC)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (13-6, 4-2 WAC)

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The work that junior guard Josh Baker does for Grand Canyon often can go as unnoticed as a shifty spy.

Baker slips in and out of Lopes wins with invisible but essential fingerprints of defense, especially for a game such as Saturday night's WAC power clash with Utah Valley at GCU Arena.

Baker is coming off a Thursday night game in which even his career-best offensive night was hidden. Amid the scoring downpour of backcourt mate Ray Harrison's 38-point barrage against Utah Tech, Baker was rounding out his game by escaping a shooting slump for his own career-best scoring night.

Baker posted 14 points and five assists for an 89-85 win in which each of his sparks were as needed as any of Harrison's fireworks.

"It feels good," Baker said. "I've been putting a lot of work off the scenes. I've been watching film for how I can get better. It's crazy because we actually talked in chapel about how our fruits of labor come to show when we come on the court. All the hard work I've been putting in finally showed. I feel great and blessed."

In some of that extra court time, the 6-foot-4 Phoenix native worked with GCU assistant coach Jamall Walker on playing and shooting off a wider, two-foot base.It showed when he connected on four of five shots from 3-point range on Thursday, when he also took better care of the ball against Utah Tech. The Tempe McClintock High School graduate was mired in a 5-for-21 shooting slump in the previous four games, when he averaged 4.0 points per game.

"He's such a good player and he works so hard," Harrison said. "After the California Baptist game (on Saturday), I told him to keep his head up because I see the work he puts in. He's a professional. I told him to be confident and that's what he did."

Baker is not alone in stepping up since the season-ending knee injury to point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. Lopes sophomore guard Chance McMillian has scored in double figures in the past four games as his starting lineup replacement, averaging 13.3 points on 52.5% shooting from the field.

"Chance is playing with a lot more confidence, a lot more maturity," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "He and Ray, from the beginning of the season to where they are now, the progression they've made is really dramatic. It's fun to see right in front of our eyes how much those two are improving."

With junior power forward Yvan Ouedraogo out while he recuperates from left hand surgery, the Lopes are leaning hard on everyone in a rotation of 10 active players for a Saturday night game against a Utah Valley team allowing 38.7% opponent shooting this season. In the offseason, the Wolverines added 7-foot sophomore Aziz Bandaogo, a transfer from Akron, and he transformed them into the nation's top shot-blocking team.

"He has had a sensational year," Drew said of Bandaogo. "I think (6-9 Gilbert Highland High School graduate) Tim Fuller gives them a lot of stability as a fifth-year senior. He's played really well when they put him int he starting lineup. They really took off on that big winning streak (10-0, Dec. 3-Jan. 11). The combination of them has been very good together."

Bandaogo ranks in the top 10 nationally for blocked shots per game (2.6, sixth) and rebounds per game (10.6, ninth) while the Wolverines return senior guard Trey Woodbury, a 40% 3-point shooter who came back late season from a knee injury, and two double-digit scoring wings in juniors Justin Harmon (14.3 points per game) and Le'Tre Darthard (12.0 points per game).

"They have a lot of experience," Drew said. "There's a lot of names we've seen for a few years, and they play that way. Very confident, very poised, very physical."

Lope tracks

GCU is 10-1 at home this season with a lone 69-65 loss coming to Loyola Marymount, which ended Gonzaga's 76-game home winning streak Thursday night.
The Lopes won the past three meetings against Utah Valley with each coming by double-digit margins.
GCU is ranked 100th nationally by NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), which puts Utah Valley at No. 80.
Harrison has scored at least 16 points in a career-high 12 consecutive games, twice the length of his best such streak in two previous seasons at Presbyterian.
Harrison's career-high 38 points in Wednesday's win against Utah Tech is a single-game high by a WAC player this season.
The Lopes are 11-2 when they shoot better than 41%, including five wins with better than 54% shooting.
GCU junior power forward Gabe McGlothan ranks 57th nationally with 8.5 rebounds per game.
After going 22 for 42 on 3-pointers in the past 12 games, GCU graduate forward Noah Baumann ranks 16th nationally among active players for career 3-point shooting percentage at 42.5%. He is the only player besides Pacific's Luke Avdalovic and Loyola Chicago's Braden Norris with 200 made 3s and 42% accuracy.
GCU ranks No.18 nationally for opponent field goal percentage (39.0%) and 34th for opponent points per game (62.9).

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Jan. 20)
Rank	Team	Record (WAC only)	WAC points
1.	Seattle U	15-4 (6-0)	3.58
2.	Sam Houston	14-5 (4-3)	3.48
3.	Utah Valley	15-5 (6-1)	3.40
4.	Southern Utah	14-6 (6-1)	2.09
5.	GCU	13-6 (4-2)	2.06
6.	Stephen F. Austin	13-7 (5-2)	0.94
7.	Tarleton	10-9 (3-3)	-0.23
8.	California Baptist	11-8 (3-3)	-0.54
9.	Utah Tech	9-10 (1-5)	-1.48
10.	UT Rio Grande Valley	10-9 (1-5)	-2.32
11.	New Mexico State	7-12 (0-7)	-2.79
12.	Abilene Christian	9-10 (1-5)	-2.92
13.	UT Arlington	7-13 (2-5)	-3.95

The WAC Resume Seeding System will determine WAC Tournament seeding.

Saturday, Jan. 21 | 6 p.m. | GCU Arena | Phoenix, Ariz.

Lope tracks

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Jan. 20)

Players Mentioned

Josh Baker

Noah Baumann

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Ray Harrison

Gabe McGlothan

Chance McMillian

Yvan Ouedraogo

Grand Canyon University Athletics