Record shooting puts away Abilene

Friday, February 17

Phoenix, Ariz.

9 p.m.

Grand Canyon

17-10,8-6WAC

Abilene Christian

13-13,5-8WAC

Abilene Christian

Grand Canyon

2/17/2023 11:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

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Lopes shoot 66.7% from field, 71.4% on 3s; boasts trio of 20-point scorers

By: Paul Coro

The best way to remove the heartbreak of near-win anguish is to remove the nail-biting situation.

In a season with highs and lows defined by close decisions, Grand Canyon pulled away from Abilene Christian in crunch time Friday night to show a national television audience the team it plans on being in March.

Threatened with a four-point gap, GCU (17-10, 9-6 WAC) scored on five straight clutch possessions to win 94-84 and set program records against a Division I opponent for field goal shooting (66.7%) and 3-point shooting (71.4%).

The Havocs filled up the ESPNU screen with energy at tipoff and GCU sophomore guard Chance McMillian matched it, opening the game with two 3-pointers as the Lopes ran out to an 8-0 lead. GCU did not lead by double digits until late in the game but trailed for less than two minutes because it had a trio of 20-point scorers for the first time in three years.

Lopes junior power forward Gabe McGlothan posted consecutive 20-point scoring games for the first time in his career to join sophomore guard Ray Harrison's 27 and McMillian's 21.

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 17, 2023:: GCU tops Abilene Christian 94-84 at GCU Arena.

"It's a growth process," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "The growing pains of guys learning is tough. It's tough on us. It's tough on our fans. It's tough on everybody. But when you see them get better and improve, it's so much more fulfilling. And we saw growth from our young guys, and it was fun to see."

The Lopes have major work ahead with next Saturday's home game against Seattle U and a final regular-season road trip to Southern Utah and Utah Tech.

But they managed to win by 10 despite Abilene Christian taking 16 more shots because of the Lopes' 17 turnovers to the Wildcats' three.

They did so with the efficiency of 10-for-14 shooting on 3s, including senior guard Walter Ellis not missing a 3 for the second straight game (3 for 3) and McMillian making his first four tries.

"I like the late start," McMillian after his second career 20-point game, both coming this month. "I feel like I'm more awake at this time. I come alive at night.

"We were talking about accountability in our team meetings. Whatever we do best, make sure we do it our best. We all held each other accountable on the court."

Harrison, among the national leaders in free throws, went from making seven free throws in the previous three games to going 10 for 13 at the charity stripe Friday night.

With his fifth game of 25 points or more this season, Harrison got going by getting into the lane and hit a string of jumpers before helping put Abilene Christian away with consecutive drives into the lane for an 88-78 lead with 1:58 to go.

"He was locked in," Drew said of Harrison. "We had some good conversations. He never wants to be selfish. That's one thing we've had to try to tell him to be aggressive and scoring when you can is not selfish. We need you to do that. If he doesn't have a great night, we have a hard time winning. It's just a fact."

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 17, 2023:: GCU tops Abilene Christian 94-84 at GCU Arena.

The Lopes led for the game's final 13 minutes once Ellis made a go-ahead 3 off a pass from McGlothan with 13:13 to go. Eight straight Harrison points took GCU's lead to 69-62 to force a time out by the Wildcats, who never pulled within a possession of tying again.

After several costly live-ball turnovers, GCU took care of the ball better down the stretch with only one turnover in the final 6 1/2 minutes on a tie-up without the possession arrow.

"We had a good talk yesterday and got down to the vulnerability part of it," said McGlothan, who averaged 23.5 points and 9.5 rebounds on 19-of-26 shooting in the past two games. "Instead of looking at the team as a whole, we all just started being like, 'Where can I better myself?' and hold each other accountable that. That's where true brotherhood comes from."

McGlothan led rebounding with eight, his season average, while junior center Yvan Ouedraogo grabbed seven to limit the second-chance opportunities that cost GCU in Wednesday's one-point loss.

The Lopes also closed the first half strong after momentum had turned negatively at the end of Wednesday's first half. Trailing 38-37, GCU took an 11-4 run into half time when McMillian ended the half with a 3. He also started the second half with a 3 as Phoenix Suns players Deandre Ayton and Ish Wainwright joined the late-night crowd with former Lopes player Sean Miller-Moore.

"The last 48 hours, we've really grown," Drew said. "It was really fun to come out and see the growth, especially when it got tight in that second half, we made some plays on defense, we made some plays on offense. I thought our togetherness was off the charts tonight, it was just fun to be a part of."