Late putback spoils McGlothan's career night

Wednesday, February 15

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

16-10,7-6WAC

UT Rio Grande Valley

13-14,4-10WAC

UTRGV

Grand Canyon

2/15/2023 7:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

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Lopes lose 15-point lead despite junior power forward's 27 points, 11 rebounds

By: Paul Coro

A rebound carom sealed Grand Canyon's fate Wednesday night, but the Lopes know they never should have been in such a situation.

GCU wasted a 15-point lead, junior power forward Gabe McGlothan's career-high tying 27 points and its third consecutive strong defensive game by allowing 22 offensive rebounds to UT Rio Grande Valley, which used a late putback to pull off a 77-76 conference victory at GCU Arena.

"We just look tired," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "Guys made tired plays. When you're a step slow, it just look like we hit a wall. Gabe looked like he was fresh tonight and everyone else — Kobe (Knox) had some moments — everyone else just looked like they just hit a wall. Unfortunately, when you play fast teams, you can't hit a wall."

Given a Seattle U loss at California Baptist, the Lopes (16-10, 8-6 WAC) could have climbed back into an important WAC top-four seeding spot but were beaten fittingly by Vaqueros junior power forward Daylen Williams' follow score with 1.4 seconds remaining.

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 15, 2023:: GCU comes up short in their 77-76 loss to UTRGV at GCU Arena.

It came after GCU sophomore guard Ray Harrison wiped away a 75-72 hole by pivoting into a leaner basket while being fouled with 29 seconds to go and then rebounding his free throw miss for a go-ahead baseline jumper at 76-75.

GCU fell to 5-6 since losing WAC Preseason Player of the Year Jovan Blacksher Jr. to a season-ending knee injury despite outshooting UTRGV 47% to 38%. The Lopes yielded a season high for opponent offensive rebounds, 22, to allow the Vaqueros to compensate for their misfiring with 13 more field goal attempts.

"I'm a big believer, so I think everything has a reason," McGlothan said. "Romans 5:3-5 talks about when you go through suffering, you have to have perseverance. When you don't get your reward for your hard work, it's that persistence to keep going. That builds character. Keep pounding the rock until it breaks. Because the right character builds hope."

McGlothan built a GCU lead that it held for the game's first 28 minutes. The Chandler Basha High School product made his first six shots, all in the paint or post, to score 13 of the Lopes' first 19 points. He scored 18 first-half points as GCU took its largest lead, 42-27, with 3:19 to go on senior forward Walter Ellis' second 3-pointer.

After a UTRGV timeout, the Vaqueros closed the half on a 7-1 run to trail 43-34 at halftime and extended the run by opening the second half with guard Will Johnston's 4-point play.

McGlothan fouled on that shot and picked up his third and fourth fouls to exit in the second half's first 1:53. A 50-41 lead vanished with GCU missing 13 of its next 15 shots.

"There's no question that turned the whole game," Drew said of McGlothan's fourth foul on an offensive rebound attempt. "We had to put him back in with 12 minutes just because we were struggling. Ray (Harrison) and Chance (McMillian) weren't scoring like they normally do, so we had to go back to Gabe."

The Vaqueros, now 3-0 at GCU Arena since 2019, took their first lead on another of Williams' follow scores with 12:06 remaining. GCU never led again until the final seconds but stayed in the game with the help of McGlothan re-entering to play the final 11:51 with four fouls.

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 15, 2023:: GCU comes up short in their 77-76 loss to UTRGV at GCU Arena.

"Even in the beginning when we built that lead, offensive rebounding was an issue," Drew said. "We talked about it every timeout all game. We talked about it before the game. The bottom line is they're just quicker to the ball. They seem to be reaching and getting it, and we were still reaching for it. Just a step slow on those rebounds."

McGlothan's 3-point play tied the game at 65-65. Senior power forward Yvan Ouedraogo's loose-ball hustle led to former Lopes player Dima Zdor's foul disqualification and a free throw that tied the scored at 68-68. A jumper by sophomore guard Chance McMillian tied it at 70-70, but the Lopes fell behind 75-70 when Johnson made a shot clock-beating stepback 3 off a baseline inbound.

McGlothan's final bucket, a driving take, and Harrison's 4-point possession put GCU ahead. Ouedraogo defended Vaqueros leading scorer Justin Johnson, who scored 24 points on 7-of-25 shooting, into a miss but McGlothan hit the rebound with one hand and Williams gathered it for the game-winner.

McGlothan finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds to set his GCU career high and tie a 27-point game he posted for Southeast Missouri State against Tennessee Tech in 2019.

"It's not really about a career night," McGlothan said. "It's just about the team wanting to win. This one hurts. Even though it was a good night, this one hurts. We all lost. We're all feeling that equally. We've got to find a way to win. I could hit another free throw. I could finish and grab some of those rebounds. I could show more hands and not foul."

Knox, the redshirt freshman, set a season high with five blocked shots to help give GCU its third consecutive game of the opponent shooting 40% or less. Harrison added 16 points, going 7 for 17 from the field and 1 for 4 at the free throw line, where GCU was 10 for 19.

"If Ray has a typical Ray game, we win this game probably by 10," Drew said. "But Ray had a hard time finishing. He had a hard time making shot. Just not a typical Ray game. Unfortunately, we need him to have typical Ray games for us to win."

The Lopes stay home for an ESPNU broadcast at 9 p.m. Friday against Abilene Christian (15-15, 7-7 WAC), which did not play Wednesday night because of a New Mexico State forfeit.