Roster restores as 2nd half hits with SFA visit

Saturday, Feb. 4 \| 6 p.m. \| GCU Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	STEPHEN F. AUSTIN LUMBERJACKS (15-8, 7-3 WAC)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (14-8, 5-4 WAC)

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Grand Canyon has a new optimum to reach as the WAC season turns to the second half Saturday night.

The Lopes enter the nine-game regular-season stretch run with ground to gain and the reinforcements to do it, as two starters get back to health for a 6 p.m. payback game against Stephen F. Austin.

When the Lopes tip off against the Lumberjacks at GCU Arena, it will be the first time that junior power forward Yvan Ouedraogo and junior guard Josh Baker have been available for the Lopes since the Dec. 17 home win against Pepperdine.

GCU (14-8, 5-4 WAC) has adjusted to life without WAC Preseason Player of the Year Jovan Blacksher Jr., who underwent season-ending knee surgery, but the Lopes have been missing other parts of the puzzle since his Jan. 5 injury.

Phoenix, AZ. Dec. 20, 2022: GCU gets a 68-66 win over Idaho State at GCU Arena. "It's been a crazy year with different lineups," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "I feel like we've coached three or four different teams over the course of the year with the adjustments we've had to make. It's super nice to have Yvan and Bake back. Now, as they come back, it's going to be about getting that chemistry and rhythm with our other guys."

The Lopes caught their first schedule break with a week off since last Saturday's disappointing 81-62 loss at Tarleton, when Baker missed the 1-1 road trip after hitting his head into a Utah Valley player's leg on Jan. 21.

"Being a competitor and knowing that I could be out there helping and producing, it was very tough to watch," said Baker, who was coming off a career-high 14-point game when he was injured. "My team did the best they could to hold it down, and we're going to be back.

"There's a whole second half. It's a new season. It's a mindset switch that we need to have in order to pick up and start winning the games that we need to win."

The Lopes lost the first meeting with the Lumberjacks (15-8, 7-3 WAC) in Nacogdoches on Jan. 7. The 73-68 defeat included 16 GCU turnovers to the national leader in causing turnovers, but it was also the Lopes' first game without Blacksher and their fourth without Ouedraogo.

A week of practice and treatment has eased the pain in Ouedraogo's repaired left hand and allowed the 6-foot-9, 250-pound Frenchman to get better conditioning and chemistry by playing 5 on 5 with GCU's reconfigured look. In fifth place in the WAC Resume Seeding System (see below), the Lopes will need a better second half to reach one of the top four spots that receives a WAC Tournament first-round bye.

"It's really about our mentality," Ouedraogo said. "We've got the talent. We've got the players. We've got to put it on display. We've showed glimpses. Now we have the opportunity for the last nine games to put it all out there and give it everything we've got."

Nacogdoches, TX. Jan 7, 2023: Grand Canyon guard Rayshon Harrison (0) during their 73-68 loss to Stephen F. Austin at the William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, TX. Stephen F. Austin is coming off a 73-67 Wednesday loss at New Mexico State, which won its first conference game in 10 tries by shooting 48% from the field. The Lopes have been stewing on that Saturday loss, the second-worst defeat of the Drew era to a 71-46 loss at Stephen F. Austin when the coach was absent for COVID-19 protocols.

Tarleton moved to 10-0 at home by beating GCU, which allowed 61.6% shooting and a 19-0 Texans first-half run.

"Character has to respond to that, and hopefully we'll respond to that," Drew said. "We've had a good week to practice. They're locked in and ready to go. The nice thing is we saw improvement this week in practice."

Baker added. "Our team chemistry is unmatched. It's been tough this year. We've been battling a lot of injuries, but now that we have just about everybody with the absence of 'Nuna' (Blacksher), it feels good to go out there Saturday knowing we have everybody ready to go. And it's a get-back game."

Lope tracks

GCU is 10-2 this season at home, where it plays four of the next five games.
The Lopes are 0-2 against Stephen F. Austin with losses in Nacogdoches this season (73-68) and last season (71-46).
Stephen F. Austin forces the most turnovers in the nation (19.0 per game) and ranks ninth for 3-point shooting (39%) and 12th for bench points (29.6 per game).
GCU is ranked 115th nationally by NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), which puts Utah Valley at No. 80.
Sophomore guard Ray Harrison (38 points vs. Utah Tech), junior power forward Gabe McGlothan (18 rebounds vs. Northern Iowa) and injured junior Jovan Blacksher Jr. (seven steals vs. Grambling) hold the WAC season highs for each category.
Harrison has scored in double figures for 16 consecutive games and leads the WAC with a 20.3 scoring average in conference games.
After going 29 for 57 (50.9%) on 3-pointers in the past 15 games, GCU graduate forward Noah Baumann ranks 16th nationally among active players for career 3-point shooting percentage at 42.6%. He is one of five active players with 200 made 3s and 42% accuracy.
GCU ranks No. 43 nationally for opponent field goal percentage (43.6%) and 56th for opponent points per game (64.8).

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Feb. 3)
Rank	Team	Record (WAC only)	WAC points
1.	Utah Valley	18-6 (9-2)	4.67
2.	Sam Houston	17-5 (7-3)	4.63
3.	Southern Utah	16-7 (8-2)	3.04
4.	Seattle U	16-7 (7-3)	2.91
5.	GCU	14-8 (5-4)	1.74
6.	Stephen F. Austin	15-8 (7-3)	1.28
7.	Tarleton	12-10 (5-4)	0.29
8.	California Baptist	13-10 (5-5)	-1,19
9.	Abilene Christian	12-11 (4-6)	-2.20
10.	Utah Tech	10-13 (2-8)	-2.53
11.	UT Rio Grande Valley	11-12 (2-8)	-2.77
12.	New Mexico State	8-14 (1-9)	-3.20
13.	UT Arlington	7-15 (2-7)	-5.21

The WAC Resume Seeding System will determine WAC Tournament seeding.

Saturday, Feb. 4 | 6 p.m. | GCU Arena | Phoenix, Ariz.

Lope tracks

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Feb. 3)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Baker

Noah Baumann

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Ray Harrison

Gabe McGlothan

Yvan Ouedraogo

Grand Canyon University Athletics