Shorthanded Lopes go long on effort in tight loss

Saturday, January 21

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

13-7,4-3WAC

Utah Valley

16-5,7-1WAC

Utah Valley

Grand Canyon

1/21/2023 9:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

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GCU loses 3rd starter to injury, but nearly rallies from 8 down in final 90 seconds

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon has been playing without two starters, lost another starter in the first half Saturday night and had another two starters foul out.

If that was not enough, the hill to overcome it all turned steeper with an eight-point deficit to Utah Valley with 1:30 to play.

Despite it all, the scratching, clawing Lopes nearly climbed to a conference victory with chances to tie or win that got away at the close of a 76-74 loss to the Wolverines at GCU Arena.

"We fought like crazy," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "We made runs. At one point, I look out and our starting five is either hurt or the bench in fouls.

"As a coach, I'm really proud of the effort and I'm really proud of the fight we had tonight."

After GCU sophomore guard Ray Harrison hit back-to-back drives for the last of his team-high 18 points and a 67-65 lead, Utah Valley scored 10 unanswered points with six free throws and two Le'Tre Darthard drives on his 25-point night.

Lopes junior power forward Gabe McGlothan's left-hand hook cut the lead to 75-69 with 1:22 to go before senior forward Walter Ellis stole an inbound and immediately converted an and-one play for a three-point deficit with 1:16 remaining.

GCU redshirt freshman forward Kobe Knox set up the Lopes with a full possession of defense on Utah Valley star Trey Woodbury, who drained most of the shot clock before having his jumper blocked by Knox.

The Lopes (13-7, 4-3 WAC) missed three 3-pointers to tie on the ensuing possession, but Knox kept GCU alive with a putback that cut the Wolverines lead to 75-74 with 23.8 seconds remaining. GCU grabbed a season-high 21 offensive rebounds for 24 second-chance points.

"Kobe really showed a lot of exciting moments out there – the defense, his drives, the 3 he made," Drew said. "He played 25 minutes. He might be the only freshman playing in the league right now, and yet he is playing key minutes. I'm really proud of him playing well beyond his years with a lot of confidence."

GCU fouled Utah Valley guard Jaden McClanahan, who missed both free throws.

Lopes sophomore guard Chance McMillian beat his man while driving on a potential go-ahead possession but tried a pass that was stolen with eight seconds to go.

Wolverines guard Blaze Nield made one of two free throws for a 76-74 lead with 6.7 remaining. With no time outs, McMillian attacked and drew a foul on a rim attack that barely rolled off. McMillian, who scored 12 for his fifth consecutive double-digit scoring game since becoming a starter, missed the first free throw to force an attempted second missed free throw.

The Lopes' five losses in December and January have all come by five points or fewer.

"You can't get a better look than the last possession," Drew said. "We had a lot of different options that we had some open guys on, and Chance decided to take it to the hole. I really thought that was going in. That would've been a pretty cool way to end with an and-one."

GCU was playing its eighth consecutive game without starting power forward Yvan Ouedraogo (left hand fracture) and the last two weeks without starting point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., who suffered a season-ending knee injury.

With seven minutes remaining in the first half, starting guard Josh Baker left the game with a head injury after falling and colliding with Utah Valley center Aziz Bandaogo's head.

Left with a seven-man rotation, GCU got a quality start from junior center Aidan Igiehon (eight rebounds in 22 minutes) and great bench play from senior power forward Noah Baumann (14 points, eight rebounds).

Baumann hit 3 of 6 shots from 3-point range, making him 25 for 48 (52%) over the past 13 games. He also surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career.

"This whole season, and especially these last few weeks, has been like, 'Next man up,' " Baumann said. "Everyone knows when they're in the game that they've got to produce, rebound and defend.

"We've got to learn from these close games that we've lost and apply it to the next game. I'm still super confident in everybody. They're a really good team, so it was a learning experience."

Neither team held a double-digit lead in the game, and the Lopes were ahead for 10 second-half minutes by attacking Utah Valley. In the second half, GCU made 14 of 21 shots from inside the arc but was 1 for 12 on 3-pointers to wind up with its second home loss in 12 games and give Utah Valley its nation-leading seventh consecutive road win.

"What a game from both sides," Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen told gouvu.com after his team's 13 win in the past 14 games. "Grand Canyon had some good schemes with some great execution and our guys played so hard. I love the heart of our players. GCU hit six threes tonight and in their last game they had one guy make seven so it was nice to see our guys lock in on defending the three."