Going gets tough with tangle at SFA

Saturday, Jan. 7 \| 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Johnson Coliseum \| Nacogdoches, Texas

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (11-4, 2-0 WAC)	at	STEPHEN F. AUSTIN LUMBERJACKS (11-5, 3-0 WAC)

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NACOGDOCHES, Texas – On last season's visit here to Johnson Coliseum, Grand Canyon failed a toughness test.

This Saturday visit is only tougher.

Decimated but not deterred by injuries 41 hours earlier in a win at Sam Houston, the Lopes will need to don hardhats again upon entering "The Sawmill" on Saturday against a Stephen F. Austin team that has been off since a Wednesday night home win against New Mexico State.

GCU added its leader, junior point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., to an injury list that already included junior power forward Yvan Ouedraogo. The Lopes (11-4, 2-0 WAC) get no relief for the personnel setbacks in the game at 1 p.m. (Arizona time), when they face the challenge of snapping a 13-game conference winning streak by the Lumberjacks (11-5, 3-0 WAC).

"You need to build your own energy on the road," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "That was really prevalent, I thought, from our bench from the beginning and throughout the game (on Thursday night). There was a really good mentality, as far as unity and togetherness in what you need to win on the road."

The Lopes circled the wagons for an in-game turnaround on handing the perimeter pressure of a Sam Houston defense that averages 19.9 opponent turnovers per game. After previously averaging 10.8 turnovers per game, GCU committed 25 in that overtime win and now must handle Stephen F. Austin's version that averages 19.3 opponent turnovers per game.

"They didn't allow us to get uncomfortable," said sophomore guard Ray Harrison, who scored a season-high 28 points at Sam Houston. "But once we realized we're players too, we did what we needed to do."

That went the other way last season in the teams' first-ever meeting. GCU trailed 32-31 at halftime with a career-high scoring half of 18 points by Blacksher but then had a 15-turnover, 5-for-21-shooting second half to set a Division I scoring low in a 71-46 loss.

This Lumberjacks team remains as tough and physical but also is susceptible to fouling because of it. Stephen F. Austin ranks 14th nationally for most fouls with 19.9 per game and has the 22nd-highest turnover rate at 15.9 per game.

Once a third starter was lost with junior guard Josh Baker cramping up with 11 minutes to go Thursday, the Lopes turned to their small-ball lineup of mostly Harrison with sophomore guard Chance McMillian, redshirt freshman forward Kobe Knox, graduate forward Noah Baumann and junior power forward Gabe McGlothan with spot duty by senior forward Walter Ellis.

Over the final 16 minutes of the game, that GCU look outscored Sam Houston 39-26.

"With that group, we do have more shooters on the court, so the defense has to respect, but we're also faster," Harrison said. "Whenever we're able to utilize our speed, it causes confusion."

McMillian's 34 minutes played Thursday matched his career high. Knox's seven points and 23 minutes were his season highs against a Division I opponent.

"Down Jovan, down Josh Baker, that's where Kobe Knox was ready for his opportunity," Drew said. "He works hard. We've tried to keep guys ready who don't get as many minutes. He played 23. He didn't look like he got tried out there and made some really big plays for us."

Lope tracks

Harrison has scored at least 16 points in eight consecutive games for the first time in his career. In his previous two seasons at Presbyterian, his longest such streak was six games.
The Lopes are 9-0 when they shoot better than 41% from the field.
GCU is 6-0 in McGlothan's five double-digit rebounding games this season. McGlothan ranks 40th nationally with 9.1 rebounds per game.
The Lopes have made more free throws than their opponents in 12 consecutive games.
Baumann returned to the national top 20 for career 3-point shooting percentage among active players – No. 19 at 42.3%. 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. 13 nationally for opponent field goal percentage (37.8%).

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Jan. 6)
Rank	Team	Record (WAC only)	WAC points
1.	Utah Valley	12-4 (3-0)	2.79
2.	Sam Houston	11-4 (1-2)	2.61
3.	GCU	11-4 (2-0)	2.44
4.	Seattle U	11-4 (2-0)	1.75
5.	Southern Utah	10-6 (2-1)	0.35
6.	Stephen F. Austin	11-5 (3-0)	0.22
7.	Utah Tech	9-7 (1-2)	-0.34
8.	Tarleton	8-7 (2-1)	-0.41
9.	New Mexico State	7-8 (0-3)	-0.92
10.	California Baptist	9-7 (1-2)	-1.03
11.	Abilene Christian	9-6 (1-1)	-1.26
12.	UT Rio Grande Valley	8-7 (0-3)	-1.72
13.	UT Arlington	5-11 (0-3)	-3.83

Saturday, Jan. 7 | 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) | Johnson Coliseum | Nacogdoches, Texas

Lope tracks

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Jan. 6)

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Players Mentioned

Josh Baker

Noah Baumann

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Walter Ellis

Ray Harrison

Kobe Knox

Gabe McGlothan

Chance McMillian

Yvan Ouedraogo

Grand Canyon University Athletics