Return NCAA trip ends in loss, optimism

Friday, March 17

Denver, Colo. / Ball Arena

4:35 p.m. (Phoenix time)

Grand Canyon

24-12,10-7WAC

Gonzaga

29-5,14-2WCC

Grand Canyon

Gonzaga

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

3/17/2023 8:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU led No. 9 Gonzaga deep into 1st half; Zags offense burst from there

By: Paul Coro

DENVER – For the second time in three seasons, Grand Canyon took center stage in the college basketball world as an NCAA tournament team and exited stage left with a 12-point loss.

GCU's 82-70 first-round loss to Gonzaga on Friday night at Ball Center only resembled the 2021 tourney experience in two ways: that final margin and the ability for that the exit to become an entry to another level.

Denver, CO March 17: GCU falls to Gonzaga 82-70 during their first-round game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament at Ball Arena in Denver, Co. (Photo by: David Kadlubowski/GCU)

Denver, CO March 17: GCU falls to Gonzaga 82-70 during their first-round game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament at Ball Arena in Denver, Co. (Photo by: David Kadlubowski/GCU)

After never leading Iowa on its maiden March Madness voyage in 2021's COVID-bubble environment, the Lopes gave an effort this time that nearly turned sold-out Ball Arena into Lope Nation. That bodes well after a senior-less starting lineup turned a six-game winning streak into a seven-point, first-half lead on ninth-ranked Gonzaga.

"This is how great programs start, and we're going to be a great program," GCU third-year head coach Bryce Drew told his team in the postgame locker room. "We're going to go back and get way better than this. But be confident in yourself. Have great pride. You guys showed well."

Although the Lopes led for most of the first half, the Zags' offense eventually lived up to its No. 1 ranking for scoring and shooting. Gonzaga (29-5) scored on the final nine first-half possessions, five of which came on second chances, to take a 40-36 halftime lead and crushed the people pool of purple's hope with 16-0 second-half run.

"The experience that these guys gained in this NCAA tournament, playing against a program like Gonzaga, is only going to make us better for the future," Drew said. "All five starters return. This is how you build a great program by having younger guys that play well, get to the NCAA tournament, get a taste of it, and hopefully you return and you make a splash the next time you get in."

College basketball was further exposed to the status and scene of GCU basketball. About 200 Havocs students and hundreds more Lopes fans created a presence that GCU backed up once it shook off nerves that led to turnovers on its first four possessions.

The Lopes trailed 7-0 and 10-2, much like the 11-2 hole to Iowa two years ago, but had a response with eight unanswered points and a defensive effort that shut out Gonzaga for five minutes.

GCU (24-12) could lament not doing more damage in that stretch, but it still found the offense with six scores from six players to go ahead 28-21 on graduate Walter Ellis' jumper with 5:55 until halftime.

Denver, CO March 17: GCU falls to Gonzaga 82-70 during their first-round game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament at Ball Arena in Denver, Co. (Photo by: David Kadlubowski/GCU)

"I'm saying, 'We're here,' " said Lopes sophomore guard Chance McMillian, who went from no points in 12 minutes of his first NCAA tournament appearance to 16 points in 38 minutes in his second one. "We're showing the world what we can do. I was enjoying the moment, and I could probably say the same for everyone else."

Gonzaga's scoring tear to end the first half was foreboding.

The Zags, who average 87.5 points per game, turned unstoppable with an 8-for-10, second-half shooting stretch in which its transition offense piled onto the second-chance scoring damage of the first half. Gonzaga exuded confidence with a 16-0 run when GCU went 6 1/2 minutes without scoring in a stretch that began with two missed layups.

"It's a big, high-pressure event, and I felt like on the whole we were a little nervous, which is human nature," Gonzaga All-American center Drew Timme said. "And then in the second half, we calmed down and recollected ourselves. We're Gonzaga, got back to what they did. They played their tails off, and they're here for a reason."

The Lopes rediscovered their offense, but even scoring 28 points in the final 9:25 was not enough to get any closer than the final score. The Zags won their first-round NCAA tournament game for the 13th consecutive time.

Denver, CO March 17: GCU falls to Gonzaga 82-70 during their first-round game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament at Ball Arena in Denver, Co. (Photo by: David Kadlubowski/GCU)

"I feel like they were a little bit more tougher than us, a little bit more physical," said sophomore guard Ray Harrison, who scored a team-high 20 points but was 3 for 13 from the field when Gonzaga ended its 16-0 run. "I feel like they were very active on the offensive glass, and we didn't have an answer at that time.

"It's a bittersweet moment just because I really enjoyed playing with this team and our seniors. I love them to death, Walt (Ellis) and Noah (Baumann). Just the family environment is just different here."

GCU had shot at least 50% from the field in each of its six consecutive wins and 58% on 3-pointers in the past two games. But on Friday, the WAC Tournament champion shot 43% from the field and only made four trips to the free throw line.

Drew tried to avoid the offensive drought with his small-ball lineup that usually generates scoring. But Gonzaga's length bothered GCU on 11 consecutive misses in the stretch that blew open the game.

Denver, CO March 17: GCU falls to Gonzaga 82-70 during their first-round game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament at Ball Arena in Denver, Co. (Photo by: David Kadlubowski/GCU)

"All season, that's been a lineup that maybe we don't get defensive stops, but we score the basketball," Drew said. "And we just couldn't get the ball in the basket for that whole stretch."

Gonzaga swingman Julian Strawther, a 6-foot-7 junior guard, had little problem finding the basket. He delivered a 28-point, 10-rebound game by going 9 for 15 from the field, 3 for 6 on 3-pointers and 7 for 8 on free throws. His curls, 3s and transition scoring undid the Lopes, who had kept Timme to six first-half points. It tied for the second-highest scoring game of Strawther's NBA-bound career.

The Zags only made seven turnovers and shot 53.6%, the second-highest clip against GCU this season.

"GCU came out and played with great pace and purpose, got the ball where they wanted to, stepped up, made shots," Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. "And we just wanted to make sure we were being a little more assertive and started dictating what they were doing on that end. And then offensively, we just wanted to get our inside game going. We were pretty passive first half."

Harrison and McGlothan joined Drew for the postgame press conference with a mix of frustration for the night, optimism for the future and praise for their coach.

"Playing for a coach like Coach Drew, I've got a lot of respect and loyalty toward him just because when I first got here, I struggled a lot, and he never left me," Harrison said. "He continued to give me confidence, which I really appreciated. So being able to make it this far, I feel like it was a blessing."