McGlothan scores 35; GCU soars to WAC semis

Thursday, March 9

Las Vegas, Nev.

3 p.m. MT / 2 p.m. PT

Grand Canyon

22-11,10-7WAC

Seattle U

20-12,11-7WAC

Grand Canyon

Seattle U

3/9/2023 4:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Lopes post 55 on Seattle U in 2nd half to rally from 10-point deficit

By: Paul Coro

LAS VEGAS – Grand Canyon was down but not done when the Lopes missed their first nine 3-point shots with their season on the line Thursday.

GCU was trailing but not failing when it never led in the first half of the WAC Tournament quarterfinal.

For every minute of retribution against Seattle U, GCU junior power forward Gabe McGlothan refused to let his Lopes' season end. McGlothan's career-high 35 points tied Carlos Johnson's WAC Tournament program record and sent GCU to an 84-79 win at Orleans Arena and a Friday semifinal against top-seeded Sam Houston (25-6) at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time).

"Just a monster, monster effort from Gabe," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "What's so special about Gabe is, even when he has 35 and 10 (rebounds), it's not about Gabe. Everything he did was within the team concept, and he was doing it to help us win. His heart was big enough for a whole locker room and this whole gym."

Las Vegas, NV - March 89: GCU beats Seattle U 84-79 in their quarterfinal game during the 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. (Photo by: David Kadlubowski/GCU)

Las Vegas, NV - March 89: GCU beats Seattle U 84-79 in their quarterfinal game during the 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. (Photo by: David Kadlubowski/GCU)

McGlothan kept the Lopes in the first half, when he scored 16 of the team's 29 points as GCU (22-11) missed its first nine 3-pointers and trailed by as much as 10. After Seattle U led 36-29 at halftime, McGlothan scored 10 in the Lopes' 15-2 run that opened the second half with the final 13 coming unanswered.

The Chandler Basha High School graduate made a career-high five 3-pointers, making him 16 for 28 (57%) on 3s in the past seven games after hitting 26% of them in his first 26 games.

"I went through some lapses, but staying with it and persevering through it, that was huge for me," said McGlothan, who spent a dedicated offseason on his 3-point shot. "I trusted in my shot and trusted in the people around me that they want to keep me shooting."

McGlothan blew away his previous career high of 27 by going 13 of 20 from the field. His repertoire included mid-range jumpers, fadeaways, a post-up and a layup that opened the first half when sophomore guard Ray Harrison set the tone by attacking the left driving lane on GCU's first two possessions – once to assist McGlothan for one of his seven assists and then for a blow-by layup.

Las Vegas, NV - March 89: GCU beats Seattle U 84-79 in their quarterfinal game during the 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. (Photo by: David Kadlubowski/GCU)

"We knew we had to come closer together," Harrison said. "We knew we had to win the first four minutes coming out of half, and that's what we did. I tried to make sure that I set the tone for our guys, and we ran with it."

The Lopes shot 65.4% from the field in the second half against one of the WAC's top defenses to finish the game at 53.8%, a GCU best for a WAC Tournament game and the second consecutive game that the team has posted its best shooting percentage away from GCU Arena.

Harrison turned distributor, recording his season-best assist total of seven for the fourth time. That also set a GCU high for a WAC Tournament game.

The All-WAC first-team guard scored 12 after carrying the offensive burden with a 28-point average in the winning streak's first three games.

"Their game plan was to make everyone else beat them in a sense," Harrison said. "They tried to get the ball out of my hands. It would've been bad for me to try to force it. I still tried to be aggressive but intelligently."

The Lopes took their first lead of the game when Harrison set McGlothan up for a 3-pointer that put GCU ahead 39-38 with 17:40 remaining. Seattle U head coach Chris Victor called timeout but the roll continued with junior center Yvan Ouedraogo's blocked shot keying sophomore guard Chance McMillian's fastbreak layup from Harrison.

Las Vegas, NV - March 89: GCU beats Seattle U 84-79 in their quarterfinal game during the 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. (Photo by: David Kadlubowski/GCU)

"We got refocused and started throwing punches," McMillian said.

The most devastating wave came later in the second half, when Seattle had tightened the lead to two.

GCU answered with an 11-0 run that made Orleans Arena feel like GCU Arena with redshirt freshman Kobe Knox's alleyoop dunk off McMillian's pass and Knox's ensuing steal and slam. Knox was a plus-13 in 16 minutes.

Out of a Drew design in a time out, McMillian threw a pinpoint wraparound, cross-court bounce pass to graduate guard Walter Ellis for a 3-pointer and a 75-68 lead with 1:37 to go.

"Chance had a great stretch in the second half and Kobe had a stretch himself and then Walter at the end," Drew said. "You get to tournament time and you need other guys to step up and be ready."

GCU is on a four-game winning streak for the first time since it beat Friday's opponent, Sam Houston, on the road on Jan. 4, when WAC Preseason Player of the Year Jovan Blacksher Jr. suffered a season-ending knee injury.

The Lopes navigated other injuries since then to get to a steady starting lineup and rotation at the finish.

GCU came together for a players' meeting before the streak started with a win at Southern Utah and have kept their edge for each game, including avenging two regular-season losses to Seattle U.

"We literally treated it almost as if it was like a street fight," Harrison said. "You're going to get punked or they're going to punk you. We didn't get punked."

McMillian said the ambiance at Orleans Arena felt like a home game, explaining why the team continued its tradition of acknowledging its fans on a neutral court.

"We don't win without them," Drew said of Lope Nation's presence. "This is such a game of ebbs and flows. Especially when we got that run to start the second half, you could just feel the electricity in the gym coming."