#LOPESUP MEN’S @GCU_MBB 2018-19 GAME NOTES @gcu_mbb

Charles Hampton, Associate AD, Strategic Communications and PR · Office: (602) 639-7738 · Cell: (480) 628-1754 · E-mail: [email protected] SATURDAY, JAN. 19 | GCU ARENA (7,000) | PHOENIX, ARIZ. 2018-19 SCHEDULE GRAND CANYON UMKC 11-7 4-1 8-0 2-4 1-3 LOPES KANGAROOS OVERALL WAC H A N OCTOBER (11-7, 4-1 WAC) (7-11, 2-1 WAC) V Tue 30 Montana State Billings (exhib.) W, 97-60 »» Head Coach: Dan Majerle (6th, 114-65, .637) S »» Head Coach: Kareem Richardson (6th, 71-108, .397) NOVEMBER POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS Tue 06 at South Dakota State ^ L, 79-74 Alessandro Lever Trey Drechsel Damari Milstead Xavier Bishop Marvin Nesbitt, Jr. Xavier Bishop So. | C | 6-10 Sr. | G | 6-6 So. | G | 6-2 Jr. | G | 5-8 So. | G | 6-4 Jr. | G | 5-8 Sat 10 Delaware State W, 89-47 13.4 ppg 4.6 rpg 3.4 apg 16.1 ppg 4.4 rpg 4.3 apg Mon 12 Jacksonville W, 76-59 Fri 16 Arkansas State W, 96-72 TV STREAM LISTEN STATS Wooden Legacy | Fullerton, Calif. YurView Arizona GCU.tv / ESPN 3 1580 The Fanatic GCUStats.com Thu 22 vs. Seton Hall L, 82-75 Barry Buetel (Play-by-play) GCU.tv Michael Potter (Play-by-play) Fri 23 Utah L, 75-66 Scott Williams (Analysis) ESPN.com/watch Tom Kuyper (Analysis) Sun 25 La Salle W, 82-70 Kate Longworth (sideline) DECEMBER SERIES HISTORY AT A GLANCE Sat 01 Boise State W, 69-67 Grand Canyon vs. Kansas City »»Grand Canyon has won four straight meetings with UMKC, Sun 09 vs. Nevada % L, 74-66 »»14th all-time meeting dating back to 1974 most recently defeating the ‘Roos in the quarterfinals of Sat 15 at Texas L, 98-60 the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev., last March. »»Overall: 10-3 | Home: 6-1 | Away: 3-2 | Neutral: 1-0 Wed 19 at Northern Iowa W, 73-62 »»Last time: GCU 77 UMKC 74, 3/8/18 (Las Vegas, Nev.) »»In the WAC quarterfinal, GCU overcame a 16-point deficit to advance to the semifinals. Alessandro Lever had 29 Sat 22 Mississippi Valley State W, 85-64 »»Streak: Grand Canyon, Won 4 points in the win over the ‘Roos. Sat 29 at San Diego L, 61-58 LAST GAME’S STARTERS »»Their last time out, the Lopes matched the largest victory JANUARY margin for a WAC game in school history and marked the first Thu 03 Utah Valley * W, 71-60 No. Player Pos. G PPG RPG APG time they have held a WAC opponent to less than 50 points, with an 80-46 win over Chicago State Thursday night. 2 Trey Drechsel G 18 8.9 4.6 2.7 Sat 05 Seattle U * W, 71-57 »»GCU held Chicago State to 39.2 percent shooting and no Thu 10 at New Mexico State * L, 77-75 11 Damari Milstead G 18 10.8 2.7 3.4 3-pointers, marking the first time a Lopes opponent has 4 Oscar Frayer F 18 8.6 4.2 1.3 not made a 3-pointer in their Division I history. Sat 12 at UT Rio Grande Valley * W, 69-65 43 Michael Finke F 15 8.0 4.6 1.1 »» Roberts Blumbergs posted a season-high 10 points on Thu 17 Chicago State * W, 25 Alessandro Lever C 18 13.4 4.2 1.3 4-of-6 shooting from the field against Chicago State. The Sat 19 Kansas City * 7 p.m. sophomore also added 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Sat 26 at California Baptist * 8 p.m. BY THE NUMBERS | 2018-19 »»GCU has won its last 15 regular-season home games and 20 of its last 21. The Lopes are 8-0 at home this season. FEBRUARY CATEGORIES »»Since 2013-14, the Lopes are 32-5 in home games follow- Sat 02 at CSU Bakersfield * 8 p.m. ing a road or neutral-site contest, including a perfect 5-0 Thu 07 UT Rio Grande Valley * 7 p.m. record this season. 72.5 POINTS | AVG. 74.2 »»GCU has averaged 7,125 fans per game in 2018-19, which Sat 09 New Mexico State * 7 p.m. -2.3 MARGIN +6.7 is 101.7% of its capacity--that ranks sixth in the NCAA this Thu 14 at Kansas City * 5 p.m. .442 FG % .445 season and is the highest since the arena opened in 2011. Sat 16 at Chicago State * 1:05 p.m. »»The Lopes are 11-1 this season when outrebounding their Thu 21 California Baptist * 7 p.m. .360 3PT % .317 opponent and 0-6 when losing the rebounding battle. Wed 27 Eastern New Mexico 7 p.m. .658 FT % .716 »»In their 18 games this year, the Lopes have had seven different players lead or tie for the team lead in scoring. MARCH 31.7 REB | AVG. 36.4 »»In D1 play, GCU is 45-1 when scoring at least 82 points and Sat 02 CSU Bakersfield * 7 p.m. 11.6 AST | AVG. 14.3 54-6 when holding opponents to 63 points or less. Thu 07 at Utah Valley * 7 p.m. »»In the WAC Preseason poll, GCU was picked to finish second 12.7 TO | AVG. 12.4 by both the coaches and media. In each poll, Alessandro Sat 09 at Seattle U * 2 p.m. 8.3 STL | AVG. 5.9 Lever was picked as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year. WAC Tournament | Las Vegas, Nev. 2.9 BLK | AVG. 2.4 »»Lever was one of 20 players named to the watch list for Thu 14 WAC Quarterfinals TBA the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, The annual honor recognizes the top centers in men’s . Fri 15 WAC Semifinals TBA To access the media guide, archived game »»GCU is tied with Texas Tech for sixth for the most home Sun 16 WAC Finals TBA notes and more materials, visit: wins since the start of the 2015-16 season with 57, trailing * denotes WAC game only St. Mary’s (62), Louisville (60), Oregon (59), Cincin- ^ denotes WAC / Summit Challenge GCULopes.com/mbbmedia nati (58) and Kentucky (58). % denotes Colangelo Classic (Talking Stick Resort Arena)

#LOPESUP ‹ 1 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // ROSTER

TABLE OF CONTENTS NUMERICAL ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Previous School) Roster & Media Information 2 0 J.J. Rhymes G 6-4 205 Jr. Phoenix, Ariz. (Hutchinson CC) Broadcast Roster 3 1 Isiah Brown G 6-2 175 Jr. Lynnwood, Wash. (Northwestern) Game Notes 4 2 Trey Drechsel G 6-6 205 R-Sr. Woodinville, Wash. (Western Washington) GCU Arena 15 4 Oscar Frayer G 6-7 190 Jr. Oakland, Calif. (Moreau Catholic) Schedule Notes 16 5 Matt Jackson F 6-8 230 R-Sr. Melbourne, Australia (Diamond Valley) 11 Damari Milstead G 6-2 190 So. Hayward, Calif. (Moreau Catholic) Head Coach Dan Majerle 17 12 Roberts Blumbergs F 6-10 220 So. Ventspils, Latvia (GBA Prague) Stats 18 15 Raef Gerdes G 6-7 180 Fr. Lee’s Summit, Mo. (Summit Christian) Last Time 24 21 Caleb Holifield G 6-2 185 Fr. Duluth, Ga. (The Walker School) Game Capsules 27 23 Carlos Johnson G 6-3 215 Jr. Centralia, Ill. (Washington) Player Capsules 45 24 Tim Finke G 6-6 195 Fr. Champaign, Ill. (Champaign Central) 25 Alessandro Lever F 6-10 230 So. Bolzano, Italy (Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia) COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS 42 Gerard Martin G 6-7 225 R-Sr. Manly, Australia (Australian Institute of Sport) 43 Michael Finke F 6-10 235 R-Sr. Champaign, Ill. (Illinois) Charles Hampton Associate AD, Strategic Communications / PR ALPHABETICAL ROSTER Office Phone 602-639-7738 Cell Phone 480-628-1754 No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Previous School) Email [email protected] 12 Roberts Blumbergs F 6-10 220 So. Ventspils, Latvia (GBA Prague) 1 Isiah Brown G 6-2 175 Jr. Lynnwood, Wash. (Northwestern) Josh Hauser 2 Trey Drechsel G 6-6 205 R-Sr. Woodinville, Wash. (Western Washington) Director of Creative Media 43 Michael Finke F 6-10 235 R-Sr. Champaign, Ill. (Illinois) Office Phone 602-639-6126 Cell Phone 503-734-8587 24 Tim Finke G 6-6 195 Fr. Champaign, Ill. (Champaign Central) Email [email protected] 4 Oscar Frayer G 6-7 190 Jr. Oakland, Calif. (Moreau Catholic) 15 Raef Gerdes G 6-7 180 Fr. Lee’s Summit, Mo. (Summit Christian) GRAND CANYON INFORMATION 21 Caleb Holifield G 6-2 185 Fr. Duluth, Ga. (The Walker School) School Grand Canyon University 5 Matt Jackson F 6-8 230 R-Sr. Melbourne, Australia (Diamond Valley) Location Phoenix, Ariz. 23 Carlos Johnson G 6-3 215 Jr. Centralia, Ill. (Washington) Founded 1949 25 Alessandro Lever F 6-10 230 So. Bolzano, Italy (Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia) Enrollment 20,500 42 Gerard Martin G 6-7 225 R-Sr. Manly, Australia (Australian Institute of Sport) President Brian Mueller 11 Damari Milstead G 6-2 190 So. Hayward, Calif. (Moreau Catholic) Vice President of Athletics Mike Vaught Faculty Representative Claude Pensis 0 J.J. Rhymes G 6-4 205 Jr. Phoenix, Ariz. (Hutchinson CC) Affiliation NCAA Division I Nickname Lopes BASKETBALL STAFF Mascot Thunder Dan Majerle Head Coach 6th Season Central Michigan Colors Purple, Black & White Conference Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Louis Wilson Associate Head Coach 1st Season William Jewell Chris Crevelone Assistant Coach 6th Season Adams State GCU ARENA T.J. Benson Assistant Coach 6th Season Weber State Opened Sept. 1, 2011 Johnny Hill Special Assistant to the Head Coach 2nd Season UT Arlington Capacity 7,000 Dylan Hidalgo Graduate Assistant 1st Season Kansas Wesleyan Grand Canyon Record at GCU Arena 108-21 (.837) Jesse Parker Director of Basketball Operations 1st Season Utah State PROGRAM HISTORY Matt Lopez Video Coordinator 1st Season Grand Canyon First Year of Basketball at GCU 1949-50 Geordie Hackett Director of Sports Medicine 4th Season Springfield College All-Time Record 1,174-732 (.616) Gabe Bourland Director of Sports Performance 2nd Season Arizona State All-Time Division I Record 114-65 (.637) All-Time WAC Record 53-24 (.688) PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Trey DRECHSEL DREX-sull Michael/Tim FINKE FEENK-ee Oscar FRAYER FRAY-er Alessandro LEVER LAY-ver Damari MILSTEAD MILL-sted GERARD Martin jared Roberts BLUMBERGS BLUM-bergs Dan MAJERLE MAR-lee RAEF GERDES RAYF GER-diss

#LOPESUP ‹ 2 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // BROADCAST ROSTER

0 1 2 4 5 J.J. ISIAH TREY OSCAR MATT RHYMES BROWN DRECHSEL FRAYER JACKSON G • 6-4 • 205 • Jr. G • 6-2 • 175 • Jr. G • 6-6 • 205 • R-Sr. F • 6-6 • 190 • Jr. F • 6-8 • 230 • R-Sr. Phoenix, Ariz. Lynnwood, Wash. Woodinville, Wash. Oakland, Calif. Melbourne, Australia

11 12 15 22 23 DAMARI ROBERTS RAEF CALEB CARLOS MILSTEAD BLUMBERGS GERDES HOLIFIELD JOHNSON G • 6-2 • 160 • So. F • 6-10 • 220 • So. F • 6-7 • 180 • Fr. G • 6-2 • 180 • Fr. G • 6-3 • 215 • Jr. Hayward, Calif. Ventspils, Latvia Lee’s Summit, Mo. Duluth, Ga. Centralia, Ill.

24 25 42 43 TIM ALESSANDRO GERARD MICHAEL DAN FINKE LEVER MARTIN FINKE MAJERLE F • 6-6 • 195 • Fr. F • 6-10 • 230 • So. G • 6-7 • 225 • R-Sr. F • 6-10 • 230 • R-Sr. Head Coach Champaign, Ill. Bolzano, Italy Manly, Australia Champaign, Ill. 6th Season

LOUIS CHRIS T.J. JOHNNY DYLAN WILSON CREVELONE BENSON HILL HIDALGO Associate Head Coach Assistant Coach Assistant Coach Special Assistant Graduate Assistant 1st Season 6th Season 5th Season 2nd Season 1st Season

#LOPESUP ‹ 3 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // NOTES FRAYER’S IMPROVING SHOT HIGHLIGHT REELS ROLL Junior guard Oscar Frayer perimeter shooting has improved over The cameras are sure to be rolling when the Lopes take the hardwood. December and January. Last season, GCU dominated the WAC’s weekly play of the week award. The Lopes won the “I got my legs under me just a little bit,” Frayer said. “I worked on it a #WACtopPlay honor a total of 10 times and earned five additional nominations. lot this summer, just strictly shooting with (former Lopes teammate) DeWayne Russell and (current teammate) Gerard Martin a lot. I’m happy Oscar Frayer has taken the lead role in this series, becoming a human highlight reel during it’s paying off. If you’re confident and let it fly, you live with the results.” his time in purple. Of the 10 times GCU earned WAC Play of the Week recognition, Frayer was FRAYER the subject seven times. FRAYER’S SHOOTING Time Span Games FG% 3P% Easily the most notable was Frayer’s putback slam at Illinois on Jan. 3, 2018 which garnered 2016-17 (Freshman) 31 39.7 25.7 national recognition from outlets such as Bleacher Report and ESPN. 2017-18 (Sophomore) 33 48.2 36.6 2018-19 (Junior) 17 42.1 36.8 LEVER ON CENTER WATCH LIST Last 10 Games 10 43.8 43.8 Sophomore center Alessandro Lever was named as one of the 21 watch list members for CARLOS CARRIES SECOND UNIT the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. This award is in its fifth year Junior guard Carlos Johnson was asked to try on a new role for size recognizing the top center in men’s basketball. through five games in 2018-19: coming off the bench and becoming GCU’s Previous winners include three current NBA primary scorer in the second unit. players: Angel Delgado (2018), Jakob Poeltl (2017), and Frank Kaminsky (2015). Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski won the award in Johnson’s importance was highlighted in what proved to be the game- 2017 and played in the national championship game that year. winning shot at UT Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 12. He hit a clutch 3-pointer with about 60 seconds remaining in regulation to put GCU in front 68-65, Daniel Gafford, Arkansas , Miami extending a 9-0 run in a game the Lopes would win 69-65. JOHNSON Austin Wiley, Auburn Nick Ward, Michigan State STARTER VS. RESERVE STATISTICS James Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan Jontay Porter, Missouri Role Games PPG RPG APG FG% Starter 5 9.4 4.0 1.0 35.4 Killian Tillie, Gonzaga Bol Bol, Oregon Reserve 12 11.5 4.5 0.6 46.5 Jesse Govan, Georgetown Tacko Fall, UCF TOTALS 17 10.9 4.4 0.7 43.0 Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon Moses Brown, UCLA BROTHERLY BOND Udoka Azubuike, Kansas James Dickey, UNC Greensboro Nick Richards, Kentucky Charles Bassey, Western Michigan Senior Michael Finke and freshman Tim Finke are relishing the oppor- tunity to share a court together for the first time in an official capacity. Cameron Kurtwig, Loyola Chicago Nathan Knight, William & Mary “We never would’ve thought it would ever be a possibility,” their father, Naz Reid, LSU Ethan Happ, Wisconsin Jeff, said of the family’s second home at GCU. “The way it all worked out Jalen Smith, Maryland is a true blessing.” Younger brother Tim, a four-star recruit, signed with the Lopes in No- LOPES PICKED 2ND IN PRESEASON POLLS T. FINKE vember 2018 with no idea that his brother would be joining him. Following a runner-up finish at the WAC Championships last year, the Lopes were picked to When Michael Finke made the decision to go to Grand Canyon over 80 finish second in both the coaches and media WAC Preseason other schools as a graduate transfer, he also made the decision to play Polls for the 2018-19 season. This is the second season the with his younger brother, Tim, for the first time since a recreational Lopes are eligible for the WAC and NCAA Tournaments. team when Michael was in high school. PRESEASON COACHES POLL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL “I was pretty worried because he liked a lot of the schools,” Tim said. “I Rank Team Points Rank Team Points honestly didn’t know where he was going to end up going. I was talking 1. New Mexico State 63 1. New Mexico State 214 to him, telling him to come here, but it was his choice so I was nervous.” M. FINKE 2. Grand Canyon 58 2. Grand Canyon 180 This is also the first time the brothers have gone to school together since 3. Seattle U 45 3. Utah Valley 162 the one year they were home-schooled by their mother 11 years ago. 4. Utah Valley 43 4. Seattle U 150 5. CSU Bakersfield 35 5. CSU Bakersfield 117 NOTABLE BROTHER DUOS IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL 6. UT Rio Grande Valley 28 6. UT Rio Grande Valley 89 Sam (Jr.) and Joey (Fr.) Hauser Marquette 7. Kansas City 24 7. Kansas City 73 8. California Baptist 20 8. California Baptist 63 Jason (Sr.) and Michael (Fr.) Dunne Hartford 9. Chicago State 8 9. Chicago State 32 MICHAEL (SR.) AND TIM (FR.) FINKE GRAND CANYON Quinndary (Sr.) and Nick (So.) Weatherspoon Mississippi State Caleb (Sr.) and Cody (Sr.) Martin Nevada Dedric (Jr.) and K.J. (So.) Lawson Kansas Kameron (Jr.) and Kessler (Fr.) Edwards Pepperdine Stephen (Sr.) and Ethan (So.) Thompson Jr. Oregon State

#LOPESUP ‹ 4 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // NOTES LEVER, FRAYER EARN PRESEASON NOD Sophomore forward Alessandro Lever was named the 2018-19 WAC Preseason Player of the Year. Lever becomes the third straight Lope to be named to this honor. Former GCU guard Joshua Braun earned this honor the previous two seasons. Junior guard Oscar Frayer was SCOUTING also named to the Preseason Coaches All-WAC First Team and the Preseason Media All-WAC Second Team. KANSAS CITY

PRESEASON COACHES ALL-WAC FIRST TEAM 2017-18 NOTES SCHOOL NOTES OSCAR FRAYER F GRAND CANYON Record 10-22 (1-13) Location Kansas City, Mo. Conf. Finish 6th Conference WAC A.J. Harris G New Mexico State Postseason -- Enrollment 14,818 Matej Kavas F Seattle U COACH NOTES ALESSANDRO LEVER* F GRAND CANYON 2018-19 NOTES Head Coach Kareem Richardson Conner Toolson G Utah Valley Record 7-11 (2-0) Season 6th * Denotes WAC Preseason Player of the Year selection Home 5-2 Record at School 71-108 Away 2-8 Career Record 71-108 JOHNSON CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF Neutral 0-1 The NCAA ruled that junior guard Carlos Johnson is eligible to play this season after transferring this offseason from Washington. As a freshman with the Huskies, Johnson AT-A-GLANCE averaged 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and started four games when No. 1 NBA draft pick Markelle Fultz was injured. The four-game stretch included a 19 point, 12 rebound »» After opening the year 0-6, UMKC is 7-5 in its last 12 games, including 2-1 in WAC play. performance against Arizona State. »» Xavier Bishop leads the Roos in scoring (16.1) and assists (4.3), while Marvin Nesbitt Jr. leads the team in rebounds (4.4). Johnson gave Lopes fans their first look at what could come this season during GCU’s Bahamas »» With 10 three-pointers made at Bakersfield on Thursday, the Roos have gone for trip in August where he led the team in scoring with 34 points in 21 minutes during the two 10-or-more in six games this year. They are 4-2 in those contests. exhibitions. »» With his 19 points on Thursday, Bishop currently stands with 860 career points, which puts him No. 18 on the career UMKC list. He trails Nick Richmond (1995-99) with 873 The move to GCU marks a return to his basketball roots. Johnson started his basketball career points. in seventh grade, three miles away from GCU. He would go on to play two seasons at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix with fellow Lopes guard J.J. Rhymes. The transfer also LAST TIME OUT reunites Johnson with his former club teammates, Oscar Frayer and Damari Milstead. »» Jarkel Joiner connected on 3 free throws with .2 seconds remaining to lift host CSU BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME Bakersfield (12-6, 4-1 WAC) to a 74-73 victory over UMKC (7-10, 2-1 WAC) on Thursday. »» UMKC’s Brandon McKissic drained a 3-pointer for a 73-71 lead with 41 seconds Head coach Dan Majerle continually says that the Lopes have one of the nation’s top home remaining. After CSUB missed a 3-pointer, McKissic got the rebound with 23 seconds court advantages. The size of GCU Arena crowds have lived up to the billing. to go. At 10 seconds, Bishop was fouled and missed both free throws. At the other end, McKissic blocked Joiner’s attempt at a winning 3-pointer but was whistled for a The average attendance in GCU Arena has grown every single season in the Division I era shooting foul. Joiner made all three from the line to cap a 16-point game. from 4,373 fans per game in 2013-14 to 6,973 fans per game in 2017-18. In the five years of »» Bishop scored 19 points and McKissic added 13 for the Kangaroos (7-11, 2-1). Marvin Division I play, the average attendance per game has grown by 59.5 percent. Nesbitt had 11 points and nine rebounds. GCU ARENA ATTENDANCE BY YEAR LAST TIME THEY MET Year Fans per game 2018-19 7,126 »» The Lopes advanced to the WAC Tournament semifinals by rallying from a 16-point 2017-18 6,973 deficit to oust UMKC 77-74 before a purple-heavy Orleans Arena crowd. 2016-17 6,817 »» Alessandro Lever scored a team-high 29 points, giving the Italian eight 20-point games in the past 13 games. He was one point off his season high of 30 against Seattle 2015-16 5,806 on Feb. 22 by making 13 free throws. 2014-15 5,170 »» Oscar Frayer scored 13 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, including the 2013-14 4,373 game-sealing board after a potential game-tying UMKC 3-pointer missed. HAPPY TO BE BACK HOME »» In two earlier meetings, GCU blew out UMKC twice by 17 points in the regular season but made it more interesting in a first-round tourney meeting in Las Vegas. The Lopes GCU’s wild home court advantage has been well documented. The team’s on-court success missed 12 of their first 13 shots and trailed 20-4 after 6:28 of play. has proven it by the way the Lopes play when they return home from games away from GCU. »» In the final 13 minutes of the half, GCU made 12 of 23 shots and cut the Roos’ halftime lead to 42-40 after UMKC did not make a field goal in the final 3:46 of the half. The In the first home game following a road or neutral-site contest, GCU is 31-5 since making the scoring margin never got beyond four points for the first 13 minutes of the second half transition to D-I. They are 27-2 in such games since the 2014-15 season. and usually stayed within one possession. »» The Lopes took their first lead with 15:29 to go and put UMKC in the bonus situation 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 D1 Era with 13:03 remaining in the game. But the Lopes’ cold 3-point shooting (three for 21 4-3 6-0 6-0 6-0 5-2 4-0 31-5 on 3-pointers) continued and the Roos took advantage of GCU scoring one point over 3 ½ minutes and went ahead 68-63 with 6:13 to play. »» Casey Benson’s two free throws put GCU ahead 73-72 with 1:41 to go. Following a Xavier Bishop driving miss, Lever followed his own miss with a score for a 75-72 lead with 1:05 to go. Milstead hit two free throws for the 77-74 lead with 21.1 seconds to go.

#LOPESUP ‹ 5 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // NOTES SOPHOMORE SURGE? DEFENSE KEEPS IMPROVING If recent history has anything to say about it, a sophomore slump is not The GCU defense has improved every season in the Division I era as evidenced by a declining in the cards for 2017-18 WAC Freshman of the Year Alessandro Lever. opponent points per game mark and a rising defensive ranking. Among the last five recipients of the award, two have gone on to win GCU’s 2017-18 mark ranked second in the conference behind only New Mexico State (64.2 WAC Player of the Year the next season and three have landed on the points per game). All-WAC first or second team. SCORING DEFENSE IN D-I ERA In the last five seasons, there has been a 37 percent increase in points Year Points per game Rank per game from freshman to sophomore campaign among the WAC LEVER 2017-18 65.1 22 Freshmen of the Year and a 60 percent increase in scoring in the last 2016-17 67.8 62 three seasons. 2015-16 68.1 82 WAC FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR IN THEIR SOPHOMORE SEASONS 2014-15 68.4 232 Points 2013-14 71.7 t-223 Year Won Player Freshman Sophomore Pct. change HOLD BELOW 70 POINTS 2017-18 Alessandro Lever 12.2 -- -- 2016-17 Matej Kavas 8.6 15.2 .767 In Dan Majerle’s tenure, the Lopes are 67-15 (.817) when holding opponents under 70 points. In 2015-16 Antonio Green 11.6 16.7 .440 the last four years, the Lopes are 61-10 (.859). 2014-15 Pascal Siakam 12.8 20.3 .586 2013-14 Martez Harrison 17.2 17.5 .017 RECORD WHEN HOLDING OPP. UNDER 70 POINTS 2012-13 Sim Bhullar 10.1 10.4 .030 Year Record Win Pct. 2017-18 18-3 0.857 FORCE TOUGH SHOTS: STAPLE OF PROGRAM 2016-17 14-2 0.875 2015-16 16-2 0.889 Coach Majerle, an NBA Defensive team honoree during his playing days, has an emphasis on 2014-15 13-3 0.813 defense that has been constant during his tenure leading the program. Throughout the 2017- 2013-14 6-5 0.545 18 season, his message successfully translated to on-court results. OVERALL 67-15 0.817 Not only was GCU’s 3-point defense tops in the nation last season -- by a wide margin -- the In 2017-18, the Lopes only losses when holding an opponent under 70 points came against Utah Lopes’ opponents’ final clip of 27.8 percent was the second-best mark over the past nine Valley on the road (68 points), Illinois on the road (62 points), and St. John’s (68 points). NCAA seasons. The only team to top last year’s 3-point defense was Rhode Island which limited its opponents to 26.5 percent shooting during the 2014-15 campaign. AUSSIE-AUSSIE DUO

TOP 3-POINT DEFENSES (SINCE 2009-10) Seniors Matt Jackson and Gerard Martin are set to begin their final Rank Year School 3PM 3PA 3P% season at GCU. The pair of Australia natives have been a staple in Coach 1 2014-15 Rhode Island 120 452 26.5 Majerle’s program since he took over the reigns of the program in 2013- 2 2014-15 Pepperdine 142 526 27.0 14. 3 2014-15 Kentucky 175 646 27.1 At least one member of the Jackson-Martin duo has appeared in 104 4 2009-10 Coastal Carolina 184 670 27.5 consecutive games entering the 2018-19 season. The last time neither 5 2017-18 GRAND CANYON 161 580 27.8 player appeared in a GCU game was on Feb. 19, 2015 in a home game JACKSON against Texas-Pan American (now UT Rio Grande Valley). FIELD GOAL DEFENSE 3-POINT DEFENSE Rk. School FG% Rk. School 3FG% Martin and Jackson represent one half of GCU’s seniors this year, joining 1 Michigan St. 36.7 1 GRAND CANYON 27.8 Trey Drechsel and Michael Finke as the seniors on the roster. 2 Cincinnati 37.4 2 Penn 29.5 3 Virginia 38.0 3 Northeastern 29.9 THE JACKSON-MARTIN DUO 4 UC Irvine 38.9 4 Kentucky 30.1 Games Played Points 3PT Makes 5 Syracuse 39.1 5 San Diego 30.3 Matt Jackson 102 439 48 6 Georgia St. 39.3 6 South Alabama 30.5 Gerard Martin 116 486 97 7 Georgia 39.4 7 Murray State 30.7 MARTIN 8 Houston 39.4 8 Cincinnati 30.9 Combined 216 925 145 9 New Mexico State 39.8 9 Northern Kentucky 31.0 INTERNATIONAL STARS 10 UCF 40.1 10 Virginia 31.0 11 Texas Tech 40.1 11 New Mexico State 31.0 A pair of 6-foot-10 sophomores returned home this summer to represent their countries 12 GRAND CANYON 40.2 12 Illinois State 31.1 at the U20 European Championships. and reminded 13 ETSU 40.3 13 Green Bay 31.2 Alessandro Lever Roberts Blumbergs 14 Kentucky 40.4 14 Jacksonville 31.3 the European basketball scene that two of Europe’s best young players can be found at GCU 15 Eastern Michigan 40.4 15 Valparaiso 31.4 Arena. Italy finished eighth thanks to Lever finishing in the tournament’s top 15 in points per game (13.9), free throw percentage (81.0), field goal percentage (48.0) and 3-point percentage (44.4) while averaging 5.1 rebounds per game. Blumbergs’ Latvia may have missed out on this year’s top tier of the U20 European Championship, but Latvia was able to secure a Division A spot for 2019. Latvia finished third in Division B with Blumbergs averaging 11.0 points and 11.7 rebounds in bracket play. He was one of five players who averaged a double-double in the tournament.

#LOPESUP ‹ 6 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // NOTES HOME SWEET HOME STAFF ADDITIONS The Lopes have enjoyed playing their home games Dan Majerle made three staff additions to his 2018-19 coaching staff, at Grand Canyon University Arena. Since the highlighted by the hiring of Associate Head Coach Louis Wilson from arena opened prior to the 2011-12 season, GCU Utah State. Majerle added Wilson, Graduate Assistant Dylan Hidalgo has recorded a 107-21 (.836) record, proving to be from Pima Community College and Director of Operations Jesse Parker quite the home-court advantage. to his staff. An intimidating factor for opponents, the large Havocs student section has proven to be one Wilson joins GCU after serving as an assistant coach at Utah State for of the best in the Western Athletic Conference. The Havocs create an imposing backdrop for the past three seasons. From 2010-2015 Wilson was the head coach at WILSON visiting teams as they fill the arena with energy and enthusiasm. Adams State and left the school with the highest winning percentage in program history with a 95-46 record (.674). Wilson will be in charge of “It’s unbelievable,” head coach Dan Majerle said. “We love our crowd, our student section, scheduling, player development, opponent scouting, game-day prepara- our overall crowd, our atmosphere here. We have a true home-court advantage and it’s a tion and bench coaching. pleasure to play here every night and our guys don’t take it for granted.” Hidalgo is entering his first season as the graduate assistant for the MOST HOME WINS IN NCAA DIVISION I (SINCE 2015-16) Lopes. Hidalgo will aid the coaching staff in player development, game Rk. Institution Conference Wins and practice preparation, and day-to-day operations. Hidalgo previous- 1 Saint Mary’s (CA) West Coast 61 ly served as the assistant coach at Pima Community College in Tucson. HIDALGO 2 Louisville Atlantic Coast 59 Hidalgo played college basketball at Kanas Wesleyan University at the 3 Oregon Pac-12 58 NAIA level. 4T GRAND CANYON WESTERN ATHLETIC 56 Parker joins GCU after serving as the director of basketball operations 4t Cincinnati American 56 at Utah State since 2013. Parker grew up in Kamas, Utah a town east of 4t Kentucky Southeastern 56 Salt Lake City. Parker is charged with a wide range of responsibilities 4t Arizona Pac-12 56 including compliance, team travel, academic monitoring, practice plan- 4t Texas Tech Big 12 56 ning, game preparation and camps. 9t Purdue Big Ten 55 PARKER WIN-LOSS STATS BIG MAN’S GAME Splits in GCU’s 2017-18 wins vs. losses. With an average height of 6’6.125” this is the tallest GCU men’s basketball has ever been under Category In Wins In Losses head coach Dan Majerle, beating last year’s record of 6’5.56”. In comparison, GCU is the Points per game 79.1 64.3 tallest team in the WAC with Seattle U coming in at 6’5.56” and Utah Valley at 6’5.33”. Opponent points per game 60.7 73.1 HEIGHTS OF ROSTERS Field goal percentage .462 .371 UNDER MAJERLE HEIGHTS OF 2018-19 WAC ROSTERS Average Average Opponent field goal percentage .380 .443 Year Height Team Height 3FG percentage .356 .259 2013-14 6-4.800 Grand Canyon 6-6.13 2014-15 6-5.06 Seattle U 6-5.56 Opponent 3FG percentage .264 .302 2015-16 6-4.65 Utah Valley 6-5.33 Free throw percentage .716 .669 2016-17 6-4.71 UT Rio Grande Valley 6-5.07 Rebounds per game 39.9 36.0 2017-18 6-5.56 Kansas City 6-4.73 2018-19 6-6.13 California Baptist 6-4.73 Rebound margin 6.5 -6.0 Chicago State 6-4.71 Assists per game 17.2 13.5 CSU Bakersfield 6-4.67 Turnovers per game 13.2 13.3 New Mexico State 6-3.89 Assist/Turnover ratio 1.3 1.0 TOUGH SCHEDULE TOUGHENS LOPES Steals per game 6.3 6.0 GCU’s most ambitious nonconference schedule yet is in the books. Blocks per game 4.5 2.9 GCU will face Seton Hall in a Nov. 22 first-round matchup at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time) at Cal State Fullerton, giving the Lopes four nonconference opponents that were NCAA tournament participants this year. In all, the Lopes will face seven teams in 2018-19 that ended the 2017-18 season inside the RPI Top-100. 2017-18 RESULTS OF NONCONFERENCE OPPONENTS Team RPI 2017-18 Record Nevada (Mountain West) 13 29-8 Seton Hall (Big East) 31 22-12 New Mexico State (WAC) 47 28-6 South Dakota State (Summit) 48 28-7 Texas (Big 12) 52 19-15 Boise State (Mountain West) 57 23-9 Utah Valley (WAC) 91 23-11

#LOPESUP ‹ 7 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // NOTES BAHAMAS TOUR BLACKSHER INKS NLI TO JOIN LOPES For the third time under head coach Dan Majerle, the Lopes preseason For the second straight year, GCU made recruiting headlines with a took place on foreign soil. This season, the team traveled to the Baha- four-star signing. Jovan Blacksher signed his letter of intent to play for mas for an event called “Summer of Thunder”. GCU faced Bahamian the Lopes on Nov. 14, 2018 becoming one of the program’s most touted clubs, Providence Storm and Bahamas All-Stars in the final two games recruits yet joining the likes of Tim Finke. of a preseason tournament that included 10 American college teams The 6-foot point guard will do something that is a rarity by playing for featuring the likes of North Carolina, Kentucky and Notre Dame. two former NBA stars in Shadow Mountain head coach Mike Bibby and A roster of 13 which features seven newcomers got their first live Lopes head coach Dan Majerle. BLACKSHER action on Aug. 20 against the Providence Storms following two days of practice. The Lopes “Honestly, I can’t wait,” said Blacksher, a three-time state champion. came out on top 88-73 with WAC Preseason Player of the Year, Alessandro Lever putting up “I’ve played in big games before and on ESPN. The crowds were good but they’re going to be 18 points and 16 rebounds in 22 minutes. The Lopes held Providence to 24 percent shooting. really excited at GCU. If the whole environment gets more involved and makes it more inter- GCU went on to win their final game against the Bahamas All-Stars 83-70 behind Carlos John- esting, everybody is going to be more pumped and want to go all out. I’m excited for that.” son’s 15 points. Johnson would put on a scoring clinic, netting 34 points in 21 minutes prior to As a junior, Blacksher averaged 15.9 points, 5.7 steals and 5.6 assists. The guard considered the knowledge that he would be cleared to play the 2018-19 season. the likes of GCU, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Pacific and Washington State. Af- The Lopes rounded out their trip by extending GCU’s heart for outreach by putting on a clinic ter committing to GCU last summer, he was rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN.com. for the juvenile rehabilitation center’s boys and a local school’s basketball team. Out of the 10 Blacksher will become the third Shadow Mountain player to move to GCU joining Carlos universities to participate in the annual preseason tournament, GCU was the first to visit the Johnson and J.J. Rhymes. Blacksher teamed up with Rhymes for one season as a freshman Penn Centre. at Shadow Mountain and has the potential to do so again for two more years after Rhymes redshirt season. A frequent visitor of GCU, Blacksher has attended four of the last five Midnight Madness events and five GCU home games. He met former GCU standout DeWayne Russell who has a similar build but more of a scoring tendency. “He’s a prototypical point guard that I’m going to love having on my team,” Majerle said. “He’s going to be a guy that you’re glad is on your team every gym you walk into. I expect him to make an impact his very first year. “He plays at a very high level. He’s played against the greatest competition, both at Shadow Mountain and his AAU program. He’s a highly competitive kid. Defensively, he’s off the charts. Offensively, he can really be a playmaker – very smart with the ball, good shooter.”

DIXON JOINS GCU FROM ST. JOHN’S FEELING AT HOME ON THE ROAD Mikey Dixon moves fast with his decision-making on and off the court. Dixon decided last week that he would transfer from St. John’s, visited a Already recognized as college basketball’s biggest party, the GCU Havocs frequently extend Grand Canyon victory at GCU Arena on Saturday night and is now part of their antics far beyond the walls of GCU Arena. The Havocs take their show on the road when the Lopes basketball program. possible and transform opposing and neutral-site venues into a decidedly pro-purple party. Dixon, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound combo guard, was the 2016-17 Metro At- Things were no different on Dec. 5 when GCU played in Talking Stick Resort Arena against lantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year as a Quinnipiac freshman St. John’s. An excess of 1,500 GCU students made their collective voice heard in front of a starter before transferring to St. John’s. Dixon sat out last season and DIXON national TV audience in the BBVA Compass Valley of the Sun Showcase. played in the 24th-ranked Red Storm’s first 14 games this season, com- While the Havocs were certainly there for GCU’s matchup with St. John’s, they were in their monly as its first substitute, before he decided to seek a midyear transfer. seats early enough to cheer in-state ally, Arizona, to a big win over No. 7 Texas A&M. Arizona Dixon will be eligible to play in games for GCU at next season’s spring semester. players took to Twitter following their win to compliment the Havocs on their antics to force key missed free throws down the stretch. “He’s a really talented scorer who can play off-guard and point guard,” GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. “He wants to be a part of a good program and have a chance to play in the NCAA In a 2016 road contest against No. 19 Arizona in Tucson, Wildcats head coach Sean Miller tournament. I think he realizes this is a good spot for him and he’s going to give us a guy who noted he witnessed a McKale Center first. can score the basketball.” “In my eight years, I’ve never seen a student section in McKale filled with the visitors,” Miller Dixon averaged 17.4 minutes in 14 appearances, including one start, for St. John’s (14-1) this said. “They had a whole section. You could hear them cheering. You could just tell they’ve got season. He averaged 5.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and only 0.7 turnovers while shooting a great spirit about what they’re doing, and that’s to Grand Canyon’s credit.” 46.3 percent from the field and 43.3 percent from 3-point range. He scored 13 points against “I always hear the Havocs, they’re my guys, they’re the best.” Majerle said after the narrow St. Francis on Dec. 19 and had an eight-point, four-assist, four-rebound game against Sacred loss. “They travel well. We’re lucky to have them.” Heart on Dec. 22 before playing three minutes against Seton Hall on Dec. 29 and four minutes A yearly road trip tradition has quickly developed with bus loads of Havocs making the 12-hour against Marquette on Jan. 1. round trip journey to Las Cruces, N.M. for the program’s budding rivalry with WAC foe New Mexico State. A first-year appearance in the WAC Tournament also saw Havocs make the trek to Las Vegas and helped will the Lopes to an appearance in the WAC Championship game. Plans are already underway for Havocs to travel to the Wooden Legacy in Fullerton, Calif., the Colangelo Classic in Downtown Phoenix, a nonconference game at San Diego, and other games throughout the 2018-19 season.

#LOPESUP ‹ 8 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // RECORD WHEN

GCU RECORD WHEN... SUPERLATIVES 2018-19 D-1 ERA GCU HIGHS Grand Canyon University Arena 8-0 78-19 Points 96 vs Arkansas State, Nov. 16 Home 8-0 78-20 Field Goals Made 36 vs Delaware State, Nov. 10 Road 2-4 26-36 Field Goal Attempts 70 at South Dakota State, Nov. 6 Neutral Site 1-3 10-7 Field Goal Percentage .542 vs La Salle, Nov. 25 Overtime games 0-0 2-2 3 PT Field Goals Made 12 at UT Rio Grande Valley, Jan. 12 3 PT Field Goals Attempted 34 at South Dakota State, Nov. 6 Leading at the half 10-1 96-21 3 PT Field Goal Percentage .480 at UT Rio Grande Valley, Jan. 12 Behind at the half 1-6 14-43 Free Throws Made 27 vs Arkansas State, Nov. 16 Tied at the half 0-0 6-1 Free Throws Attempts 37 vs La Salle, Nov. 25 Free Throw Percentage .850 at South Dakota State, Nov. 6 Scoring 0-59 points 0-1 2-22 Rebounds 52 vs Jacksonville, Nov. 12 Scoring 60-69 points 2-3 21-24 Assists 21 vs Mississippi Valley State, Dec. 22 Scoring 70-79 points 4-3 42-14 Steals 11 vs Delaware State, Nov. 10 Scoring 80-89 points 4-0 37-4 Blocked Shots 6 vs Delaware State, Nov. 10 Scoring 90-99 points 1-0 11-0 Turnovers 19 at UT Rio Grande Valley, Jan. 12 Scoring 100-plus points 0-0 1-1 Fouls 26 vs La Salle, Nov. 25 GCU LOWS Game decided by 1-5 points 2-3 26-26 Game decided by 6-9 points 0-3 18-10 Points 58 at San Diego, Dec. 29 Game decided by 10-15 points 4-0 31-13 Field Goals Made 19 vs Utah, Nov. 23 Game decided by 16 points or more 4-1 38-12 Field Goal Attempts 44 vs Utah, Nov. 23 Field Goal Percentage .343 at South Dakota State, Nov. 6 GCU out-rebounds the opponent 11-1 81-15 3 PT Field Goals Made 4 2x last on Jan. 3 GCU is out-rebounded by the opponent 0-6 26-46 3 PT Field Goals Attempted 12 vs La Salle, Nov. 25 Same number of rebounds 0-0 7-4 3 PT Field Goal Percentage .167 vs Utah Valley, Jan. 3 Free Throws Made 6 vs Nevada, Dec. 9 Recording 50-plus rebounds 2-0 6-0 Free Throws Attempts 8 vs Nevada, Dec. 9 Recording 40-plus rebounds 6-0 34-4 Free Throw Percentage .524 vs Delaware State, Nov. 10 Recording 35-39 rebounds 2-2 30-14 Rebounds 24 vs Utah, Nov. 23 Recording 30-34 rebounds 0-1 27-18 Assists 8 2x, last on, Jan. 10 Recording 25-29 rebounds 1-3 14-16 Steals 2 3x last on, Dec. 15 Recording 20-24 rebounds 0-1 1-11 Blocked Shots 1 5x last on, Jan. 17 Recording less than 20 rebounds 0-0 2-2 Turnovers 4 vs Jacksonville, Nov. 12 Fouls 11 at Texas, Dec. 15 GCU with better shooting percentage 9-0 92-8 OPPONENT HIGHS GCU with worse shooting percentage 1-4 21-54 Points 98 at Texas, Dec. 15 Same shooting percentage 1-0 1-0 Field Goals Made 37 at Texas, Dec. 15 GCU shooting .500-plus FG pct. 4-0 37-4 Field Goal Attempts 69 vs La Salle, Nov. 25 GCU shooting .450-.499 FG pct. 3-1 33-8 Field Goal Percentage .622 vs Seton Hall, Nov. 22 GCU shooting .400-.449 FG pct. 3-1 30-17 3 PT Field Goals Made 13 at Texas, Dec. 15 GCU shooting less than .400 FG pct. 1-2 14-33 3 PT Field Goals Attempted 30 at Texas, Dec. 15 3 PT Field Goal Percentage .533 at Texas, Dec. 15 GCU with fewer TOs than opponent 7-3 71-21 Free Throws Made 24 vs Nevada, Dec. 9 GCU with more TOs than opponent 4-1 36-37 Free Throws Attempts 33 vs Seton Hall, Nov. 22 GCU with same number of TOs 0-3 7-7 Free Throw Percentage .938 vs Utah Valley, Jan. 3 Rebounds 48 at South Dakota State, Nov. 6 GCU with fewer fouls than opponent 9-2 86-20 Assists 22 at Texas, Dec. 15 GCU with more fouls than opponent 1-4 19-39 Steals 10 at UT Rio Grande Valley, Jan. 12 Same number of fouls 1-1 9-6 Blocked Shots 6 3x last on, Jan. 12 Turnovers 23 vs Chicago State, Jan. 17 Record coming off a win 6-4 70-39 Fouls 30 vs Arkansas State, Nov. 16 Record coming after a loss 5-2 41-20 OPPONENT LOWS In November 4-3 22-14 Points 46 vs Chicago State, Jan. 17 In December 2-3 28-21 Field Goals Made 15 vs Delaware State, Nov. 10 In January 4-1 31-11 Field Goal Attempts 45 vs Seton Hall, Nov. 22 In February 0-0 22-12 Field Goal Percentage .278 vs Delaware State, Nov. 10 In March 0-0 10-7 3 PT Field Goals Made 0 vs Chicago State, Jan. 17 3 PT Field Goals Attempted 10 vs Chicago State, Jan. 17 vs. AP Poll ranked teams 0-1 0-6 3 PT Field Goal Percentage .000 vs Chicago State, Jan. 17 Free Throws Made 6 vs Chicago State, Jan. 17 Overtime games 0-0 2-2 Free Throws Attempts 10 vs Mississippi Valley State, Dec. 22 Free Throw Percentage .500 vs Delaware State, Nov. 10 Before 2 p.m. 0-0 Rebounds 25 vs Jacksonville, Nov. 12 Between 2 p.m. and 5:59 p.m. 2-2 Assists 3 vs Utah Valley, Jan. 3 6 p.m. or later 9-4 Steals 2 at Northern Iowa, Dec. 19 Blocked Shots 0 vs Delaware State, Nov. 10 Turnovers 11 3x last on, Jan. 5 Fouls 12 at San Diego, Dec. 29

#LOPESUP ‹ 9 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // NOTES

CONFERENCE STANDINGS WAC OVERALL SCHOOL W-L PCT W-L PCT H A N STRK CSU Bakersfield 4-1 .800 12-6 .657 7-0 3-5 2-1 W1 AROUND THE WAC Grand Canyon 4-1 .800 11-7 .611 8-0 2-4 1-3 W2 WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK NM State 3-1 .750 14-4 .778 9-1 4-2 0-1 W3 Nov. 12 Myles Carter (Seattle U) Kansas City 2-1 .667 7-11 .389 5-2 2-8 0-1 L1 Nov. 19 Milan Acquaah (California Baptist) Nov. 26 Jake Toolson (Utah Valley) California Baptist 2-2 .500 10-7 .588 5-2 5-3 0-2 W1 Dec. 3 Rob Shaw (Chicago State) Utah Valley 2-2 .500 13-6 .684 8-0 3-6 2-0 W2 Dec. 10 Ivan Aurrcocechea (New Mexico State) Dec. 17 Rickey Holden (CSU Bakersfield) UT Rio Grande Valley 1-3 .250 9-11 .450 6-5 3-6 0-0 L3 Dec. 24 Connor MacDougall (Utah Valley) Chicago State 0-3 .000 3-15 .167 3-1 0-13 0-1 L7 Dec. 31 Myles Carter (Seattle U) Seattle U 0-4 .000 12-7 .632 10-2 2-5 0-1 L4 Jan. 7 Milan Acquaah (California Baptist) Jan. 14 Richard Harward (Utah Valley) Jan. 21 -- INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARDS Jan. 28 -- POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS STEALS Feb. 4 -- Feb. 11 -- 1 21.6 1 8.3 1 5.3 1 2.6 Feb. 18 -- Milan Acquaah Dejon Davis Rob Shaw Javon Levi Feb. 25 -- California Baptist California Baptist Chicago State UT Rio Grande Valley March 4 -- 2 2 2 2 March 11 -- 16.1 8.0 5.0 1.9 Xavier Bishop Myles Carter Javon Levi Lesley Varner II Kansas City Seattle U UT Rio Grande Valley UT Rio Grande Valley PRESEASON COACHES POLL First Team 3 15.8 3 7.6 3 4.9 3 1.8 OSCAR FRAYER F GRAND CANYON Jake Toolson James Suber Terrell Brown Rob Whitfield A.J. Harris G New Mexico State Utah Valley CSU Bakersfield Seattle U Kansas City Matej Kavas G Seattle U ALESSANDRO LEVER C GRAND CANYON 4 15.3 4 6.7 4 4.4 4 1.7 Conner Toolson G Utah Valley Morgan Means Terrell Brown Rickey Holden Conner Toolson Seattle U Seattle U CSU Bakersfield Utah Valley Second Team Xavier Bishop G Kansas City 5 15.1 5 6.7 5 4.3 5 1.6 Eli Chuha F New Mexico State Anthony Harris Baylee Steele Xavier Bishop Milan Acquaah Damiyne Durham G CSU Bakersfield Chicago State Utah Valley Kansas City California Baptist Jake Toolson G Utah Valley Terry Winn II F UT Rio Grande Valley TEAM LEADERBOARDS

Projected Order of Finish SCORING/AVG DEFENSE MARGIN REBOUNDS 1 New Mexico State (7) 63 2 GRAND CANYON (2) 58 1 80.7 CBU 1 67.2 NMSU 1 +11.3 NMSU 1 38.8 CBU 3 Seattle U 45 2 SU 2 GCU 2 +7.3 SU 2 NMSU 4 Utah Valley 43 78.8 67.5 38.1 5 CSU Bakersfield 35 3 78.5 NMSU 3 70.4 CSUB 3 +6.7 GCU 3 36.7 SU 6 UT Rio Grande Valley 28 7 Kansas City 24 4 77.0 UVU 4 71.3 UTRGV 4 +6.5 CBU 4 36.4 CSUB 8 California Baptist 20 9 Chicago State 8 5 74.2 GCU 5 71.6 SU 5 +5.3 UVU 36.4 GCU

PAST CHAMPIONS 6 72.5 UMKC 6 71.7 UVU 6 +1.6 CSUB 6 36.1 UVU Year Regular Season Tournament 7 72.0 CSUB 7 74.2 CBU 7 -2.3 UMKC 7 34.2 UTRGV 2017-18 New Mexico State New Mexico State 2016-17 CSU Bakersfield New Mexico State 8 68.2 UTRGV 8 74.8 UMKC 8 -3.2 UTRGV 8 33.7 CSU 2015-16 New Mexico State CSU Bakersfield 2014-15 New Mexico State New Mexico State 9 64.8 CSU 9 85.6 CSU 9 -20.7 CSU 9 31.7 UMKC

#LOPESUP ‹ 10 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // NOTES

NET TRACKER STAT RANKINGS

WEEKLY (FIRST NET RELEASED ON NOV. 26) OPPONENTS IN TOP 100 TEAM STATS IN TOP 50

Nov. 26 199 PREVIOUSLY PLAYED Rank Category Stat Dec. 3 184 Nevada (12/9 - Phoenix, Ariz.) 27 Dec. 10 174 Seton Hall (11/22 - Fullerton, Calif.) 39 Dec. 17 179 Texas (12/15 - Austin, Texas) 50 Dec. 24 150 New Mexico State (1/10 - Las Cruces, N.M) 95 Dec. 31 149 Jan. 7 116 TO BE PLAYED Jan. 14 107 New Mexico State (2/9 - Phoenix, Ariz.) 83 Jan. 21 -- INDIVIDUAL STATS IN TOP 100 Jan. 28 -- Feb. 4 -- Rank Name Category Stat Feb. 11 -- Feb. 18 -- Feb. 25 -- Mar. 4 --

UNIFORM WATCH PURPLE BLACK WHITE GRAY 1-2 1-3 5-2 4-0

Home 0-0 Home 0-0 Home 4-0 Home 4-0 Away 1-2 Away 1-2 Away 0-0 Away 0-0 Neutral 0-0 Neutral 0-1 Neutral 1-2 Neutral 0-0

BY MONTH Month PPG Opp. PPG Margin FG% Opp. FG% 3P% Opp. 3P% RPG APG November 79.7 69.1 +10.6 .453 .427 .301 .331 38.3 14.4 December 82.2 85.2 -3.0 .433 .474 .324 .436 32.2 13.8 January 73.2 61.0 +12.2 .447 .404 .403 .333 39.0 15.0 February March TOTALS 74.2 67.5 +6.7 .445 .436 .317 .367 36.4 14.3

#LOPESUP ‹ 11 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // TOP-25 POLLS

AP TOP 25 POLL COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25 Rk. Team Record Points Previous Conference Rk. Team Record Points Previous Conference 1 Duke (36) 14-1 1,558 1 ACC 1. Gonzaga (31) 16-2 775 1 West Coast 2 Michigan (9) 17-0 1,497 2 Big 10 2. Buffalo 15-1 744 2 Mid-American 3 Tennessee (13) 14-1 1,482 3 SEC 3. Wofford 14-4 669 6 Southern 4 Virginia (6) 15-0 1,473 4 ACC 4. Murray State 13-2 667 4 Ohio Valley 5 Gonzaga 16-2 1,315 5 West Coast 5. Hofstra 15-3 560 13 Colonial 6 Michigan State 15-2 1,292 6 Big 10 6. Belmont 12-3 559 8 Ohio Valley 7 Kansas 14-2 1,188 7 Big 12 7. UC Irvine 14-4 549 12 Big West 8 Texas Tech 15-1 1,157 8 Big 12 8. ETSU 15-4 511 14 Southern 9 Virginia Tech 14-1 1,091 9 ACC 9. San Francisco 14-3 498 7 West Coast 10 Nevada 16-1 1,015 10 Mountain West 10. UNC Greensboro 15-3 487 3 Southern 11 Florida State 13-3 918 13 ACC 11. Lipscomb 12-4 479 11 Atlantic Sun 12 Kentucky 12-3 790 18 SEC 12. Furman 15-3 466 5 Southern 13 North Carolina 12-4 678 12 ACC 13. Charleston 14-4 377 10 Colonial 14 Auburn 12-3 669 11 SEC 14. Stony Brook 15-3 352 15 America East 15 Marquette 14-3 668 21 Big East 15. Toledo 13-3 342 9 Mid-American 16 Buffalo 15-1 625 19 Mid-American 16. Liberty 14-4 339 17 Atlantic Sun 17 North Carolina State 14-2 586 15 ACC 17. New Mexico State 13-4 275 19 Western Athletic 18 Ole Miss 13-2 501 NR SEC 18. Georgia State 13-4 259 20 Sun Belt 19 Maryland 14-3 412 NR Big 10 19. South Dakota State 14-6 166 21 Summit 20 Oklahoma 13-3 394 23 Big 12 20. Montana 11-6 132 18 Big Sky 21 Houston 16-1 387 17 American 21. Loyola Marymount 13-4 127 16 West Coast 22 Villanova 13-4 300 NR Big East 22. Texas State 14-3 111 24 Sun Belt 23 Iowa 14-3 172 NR Big 10 23. Vermont 13-4 109 NR America East 24 Mississippi State 12-3 154 14 SEC 24. Yale 10-3 83 NR Ivy League 25 Indiana 12-4 116 22 Big 10 25. UCSB 13-3 58 NR Big West

UPDATED: Jan. 13, 2019 UPDATED: Jan. 14, 2019 OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Louisville 112, Nebraska 36, Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 31, Iowa OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Northern Kentucky 56, Saint Mary’s 51, Louisiana 41, NJIT 36, State 20, UCF 17, Purdue 16, Kansas State 14, St. John’s 12, TCU 12, Murray State 9, Washington BYU 30, Austin Peay 26, Kent State 22, Princeton 15, Brown 11, Ball State 10, Central Michigan 8, Arizona 8, LSU 7, Seton Hall 6, South Carolina 6, Temple 5, Minnesota 3, Wofford 2, Cincinnati 10, Georgia Southern 10, San Diego 10, Loyola Chicago 9, Bowling Green 8, Drake 7, Winthrop 2, Florida 1, Hofstra 1. 5, Jacksonville State 4, Penn 4, Seattle 4, Abline Christian 3, Sam Houston State 3, Valpararso 3, UL Monroe 2, Rider 1.

#LOPESUP ‹ 12 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // LOPES IN THE PROS

DeWAYNE RUSSELL KEONTA VERNON CASEY BENSON

HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim (Germany) Toulouse Basket Club (France) KD Hopsi Polzela (Slovenia) At GCU: 2014-17 At GCU: 2015-18 At GCU: 2017-18 This week: Had 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting in 30 This week: Had an off shooting night, going 2 for This week: Had six points, four rebounds and four minutes of action with three assists and three steals 9 from the field on Nov. 24, but collected seven assists at Sixt Primorska on Nov. 25. on Nov. 24. rebounds. This year: Averaging 8.0 points and 3.4 rebounds This year: Has started two of his team’s seven This year: Is averaging 9.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in seven games played. Is averaging 3.9 assists games and averages 7.6 points on 46.2 percent in eight games of action this year at 24.9 minutes compared to just 1.6 turnovers. shooting. He’s picking up 2.3 rebounds and 3.7 per game. assists per game. GRANDY GLAZE DANIEL ALEXANDER

Sudbury Five (Canada) BC LF Lulea (Sweden) At GCU: 2015-16 At GCU: 2013-15 This week: Scored 14 points to go along with six This week: -- boards in a 116-112 win on Dec. 1. This year: Is second on the team in scoring (12.4 This year: Leads the National Basketball League of points per game) and leads the club in rebounding Canada in rebounds per game at 11.6. Is also scoring at 6.1 rebounds per game through nine games this 11.2 points per game whil shooting 58.5 percent season. from the field. ON THIS DATE

JANUARY On Jan. 19, 2013, GCU topped PacWest foe Point Loma 55-40 to improve to 15-4 and 6-2 in conference play. The Lopes improved to 11-0 at home, while 40 points marked a season-low for the GCU defense. Killian Larson led Grand Canyon with 14 points and 14 rebounds for 19 his seventh double-double of the season.

#LOPESUP ‹ 13 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // NOTES

SPECIALTY STATS

Paint Off Turnovers 2nd Chance Fast Break Bench Opponent GCU OPP GCU OPP GCU OPP GCU OPP GCU OPP at South Dakota State 24 38 9 4 8 18 6 0 12 2 vs. Delaware State 54 10 29 11 18 9 25 2 25 12 vs. Jacksonville 38 28 16 12 17 7 7 11 37 22 vs. Arkansas State 46 38 12 16 13 8 11 15 36 11 vs. Seton Hall 24 34 14 12 7 6 0 6 31 14 vs. Utah 18 20 15 16 6 11 0 0 16 18 vs. La Salle 38 24 12 11 6 18 4 0 43 12 vs. Boise State 28 38 14 11 12 9 3 13 39 13 vs. Nevada 25 30 15 12 4 7 3 12 13 25 at Texas 22 36 0 18 9 6 2 11 23 44 at Northern Iowa 32 8 12 8 16 4 8 0 26 24 vs Mississippi Valley State 42 20 14 14 12 4 17 12 27 25 at San Diego 24 26 12 2 2 2 0 0 6 0 vs Utah Valley 36 30 16 10 11 13 12 13 16 14 vs Seattle U 32 24 15 11 10 6 10 2 21 6 at New Mexico State 32 40 17 15 10 13 10 5 32 34 at UT Rio Grande Valley 16 24 8 16 15 2 2 10 16 11 vs Chicago State 38 34 23 10 12 6 13 12 39 8

#LOPESUP ‹ 14 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // GCU ARENA

GCU Arena has provided the Lopes a definitive home-court advantage since opening THE HAVOCS its doors before the 2011-12 basketball season. With a seating capacity of 7,000 and a prime location on campus, the venue is regularly packed to the rafters with students The Havocs are some of the most dedicated and and fans, providing an electric atmosphere ripe for success. rowdy fans in all of collegiate sports. Over 3,000 students strong, they turn GCU athletic venues During the past seven seasons, the GCU men’s team has been dominant in the arena, into some of the rowdiest and hostile environ- posting an overall record of 108-21, including a pair of 15-1 seasons before starting ments in all of college sports. They use their unified group to help the community the transition to Division I. The Lopes’ record playing a regular complement of Divi- and volunteer with various non-profits and charitable organizations. sion I guests has been impressive as well, as GCU owns a 78-19 mark since 2013-14. The success on the court helped GCU to a pair of postseason tournament appear- Known for their constant energy, support and pride, the Havocs support and en- ances in its first two years transitioning to the NCAA’s highest level. courage all GCU athletic teams, promote school spirit and build Lope pride and tra- dition – while upholding the four pillars and values of GCU. With positive sportsman- With a push from the Havocs, a packed house is becoming a regular occurrence and ship and respect in mind, Havocs create an energetic environment for our fans and has led to an incredible rise in attendance for the men’s team in the first eight years an intimidating atmosphere for opponents. since the GCU Arena opened. Home attendance has increased every year since the WHAT THEY’RE SAYING arrival of the arena, with a per-game average of 6,973 fans coming through the doors last year. The 99.6 percent of arena capacity filled ranked 14th in the NCAA. In college basketball, in my 40-plus years, this was the Student-athletes love the atmosphere while also enjoying first-class amenities. The toughest crowd I’ve ever faced. Awesome... You’ve got facilities on the GCU campus are among the best in the conference and feature ev- something special here. Really special. Rick Pitino erything student-athletes need to be successful right at their fingertips. From an “ on-site medical facility to the strength and conditioning area and locker room with a players’ lounge and study area, the Lopes have all the comforts of home just a short Before every home game, scores of fans dance together in walk from student housing. coordinated routines under strobe lights as techno music The facility originally broke ground in the summer of 2010 and was completed be- blasts throughout the building ... It’s a Miami nightclub in fore the start of the following basketball season. It is owned and operated by the “ the desert. Myron Medcalf, ESPN.com university.

The Havocs are the biggest party in college basketball. 7,521 Jan. 11, 2018 vs. New Mexico State SB Nation 7,502 Feb. 25, 2017 vs. UMKC 7,493 Dec. 3, 2016 vs. Louisville “ 7,479 Feb. 11, 2017 vs. New Mexico State GCU created college basketball’s rowdiest secret with 7,413 Jan. 9, 2016 vs. New Mexico State stunning quickness ... home to possibly the best student 7,412 Dec. 30, 2014 vs. Harvard “section in college basketball. Andrew Joseph, USA Today 7,397 Nov. 25, 2017 vs. San Diego 7,394 Nov. 18, 2017 vs. Little Rock I can’t remember a more electric pregame atmosphere ... 7,376 Feb. 24, 2017 vs. Chicago State I’d hate to be a visiting player here. TOP 10 CROWDS 10 TOP 7,320 Jan. 21, 2017 vs. Seattle U “ Vince Marotta, Arizona Sports 98.7 FM #LOPESUP ‹ 15 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // SCHEDULE NOTES WHERE ARE THE LOPES?

SEATTLE U Seattle, Wash. ROAD GAMES

CHICAGO STATE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE Chicago, Ill. UTAH VALLEY Brookings, S.D. Orem, Utah

KANSAS CITY NORTHERN IOWA CSU BAKERS- Kansas City, Mo. FIELD Cedar Falls, Iowa Bakersfield, Calif. CALIFORNIA BAPTIST Riverside, Calif.

HOME GAMES Phoenix, Ariz. SAN DIEGO

San Diego, Calif.

TEXAS NM STATE Austin, Texas Las Cruces, N.M. This sign denotes an official Lopes on the Road game

UTRGV For more information, visit Edinburg, Texas GCULopes.com/ LopesOnTheRoad

OVERALL BY STATE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE: BY THE NUMBERS Total Games 31 Arizona 15 Western Athletic 16 Nonconference 14 California 6 Mountain West 2 10,721 Approximate number of miles set to be traveled this season Conference 16 Texas 2 Atlantic Sun 1 Exhibition 1 Illinois 1 Big 12 1 7 Number of games vs. opponents in 2017-18 RPI Top-100 BY LOCATION Iowa 1 Big East 1 16 Number of conference games - most since 2013-14 Home 14 Missouri 1 MEAC 1 Away 12 New Mexico 1 Missouri Valley 1 6 Opponents that participated in NCAA Tournament in 2017-18* Neutral 4 South Dakota 1 Summit 1 Utah 1 Sun Belt 1 .520 2017-18 winning percentage of nonconference opponents BY MONTH Washington 1 SWAC 1 November 7 West Coast 1 4 Neutral games in the Wooden Legacy and Colangelo Classic December 6 * includes California Baptist (Division II), others TBA based on Wooden Legacy matchups January 7 February 7 LOPES ON THE ROAD RETURNS March 3 Introduced to Grand Canyon fans three years ago, Lopes on 2018-19 SCHEDULE the Road is back with more events in more cities than ever Date Sport Opponent Location before. Sunday, Sep. 23 Soccer (M) Incarnate Word San Antonio, Texas As part of a successful first three years, many GCU alumni, Friday, Oct. 5 Soccer (M) San José State San José, Calif. students, faculty and fans had the chance to cheer on the Sunday, Oct. 7 Soccer (M) Seattle U Seattle, Wash. Lopes at multiple men’s basketball games. The events featured Sunday, Dec. 2 Basketball (W) UC SB Santa Barbara, Calif. pregame tailgates and reception, allowing opportunities for Saturday, Dec. 15 Basketball (M) Texas Austin, Texas attendees to meet and mingle with fellow Lopes. Saturday, Dec. 29 Basketball (M) San Diego San Diego, Calif. Thursday, Jan. 10 Basketball (M) New Mexico State Las Cruces, N.M. This year, Lopes on the Road will showcase four sports Saturday, Jan. 26 Basketball (M) California Baptist Riverside, Calif. in 11 cities across the nation. Each registered attend- ee receives a complimentary ticket, concessions stand Thursday, Feb. 14 Basketball (M) Kansas City Kansas City, Mo. voucher and free GCU swag at check-in. To register, visit Saturday, Feb. 16 Basketball (M) Chicago State Chicago, Ill. GCULopes.com/LopesOnTheRoad. Saturday, Ma 9 Basketball (M) Seattle U Seattle, Wash. Tuesday, April 23 Baseball Arizona Tucson, Ariz.

#LOPESUP ‹ 16 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // NOTES HEAD COACH DAN MAJERLE Dan Majerle, a former NBA All-Star and Olympian, enters Award in 1990-91, when he averaged 13.6 points and 5.4 his sixth season at the helm of GCU men’s basketball rebounds. He averaged a career-best 17.3 points during in 2018-19 after taking over the program on March 18, the 1991-92 season, his first All-Star season. 2013, as the 13th head coach in Lopes history. Majerle made his second consecutive trip to the All-Star It has been quite an impressive run in the Valley for the Game in 1992-93, also a NBA Finals season for Phoenix, former Phoenix Suns star, broadcaster and assistant and finished tied for the league lead in 3-pointers with coach. In five years at GCU, Majerle has amassed 103 167. He set a Suns record with eight 3-pointers made on wins and four postseason berths on the sideline. His Jan. 30, 1993, and did it again in Game 5 of the Western teams have posted the 22nd-best winning percentage Conference Finals against Seattle. (.717) in Division I over the past three seasons. In 2017-18, Following the 1993-94 season, Majerle was named to the Lopes came within one win of a NCAA tournament Dream Team II, the U.S. squad that won gold at the berth in their first season of full Division I postseason 1994 World Championship in Ontario, Canada. This was eligibility. Majerle’s second time representing his country. Before Majerle has made his mark with teams that have won his NBA rookie season, he was part of the U.S. team that at least 22 games in each of the past three seasons won the bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, and five top-three finishes in the WAC. Majerle also South Korea, where he played for coaching great John has attracted many high-profile opponents during his Thompson. That same year, he was named the Olympic tenure, including Kentucky, Duke, Arizona, Nevada and Athlete of the Year. a home-and-home series with Louisville. He was chosen as a starter for his third All-Star Game Behind Majerle’s presence and a rising team, GCU Arena in 1994-95 after averaging 17.4 points in the first half of has been among the fullest venues in college basketball the season, becoming the first reserve to be voted as an in recent years. In 2017-18, GCU ranked 14th in Division I All-Star starter since fan balloting began in 1975. for attendance capacity percentage (99.6) and led the Majerle, originally from Traverse City, Mich., played THE MAJERLE FILE WAC with 6.973 fans per game. The average attendance collegiately at Central Michigan, where he averaged has increased every season as a Division I program, more than 20 points in three of his four seasons and including a spike of 3,343 fans for Majerle’s first season HEAD COACH was an All-Mid-American Conference selection each -- a 325 percent bump from the previous season. In year. During his senior season, he averaged 23.7 points Sixth season at Grand Canyon 2016-17, GCU ranked in the top 10 for attendance among Alma Mater: Central Michigan, ‘88 and 10.8 rebounds while hitting 52.2 percent from the schools with less than a 10,000-seat capacity. field. He completed his career at CMU ranked second Coaching Overall Conference Majerle completed his first year at GCU in 2013-14 by for career points, steals and field goal percentage. Record W L W L being named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, which is Since 2003, the Suns have handed out the Dan Majerle 2018-19 - GCU 11 7 4 1 given to the most outstanding first-year Division I head Hustle Award to the player who most personifies the 2017-18 - GCU 22 12 9 5 coach. He had guided the team to a 15-15 record in its first hustle and determination displayed by Majerle in his 2016-17 - GCU 22 9 11 3 year of reclassification to Division I. The Lopes, tabbed to playing career. 2015-16 - GCU 27 7 11 3 finish eighth in the WAC, used a 10-6 conference mark 2014-15 - GCU 17 15 8 6 to claim third place. GCU also received a bid to its first 2013-14 - GCU 15 15 10 6 Division I postseason tourney, the CollegeInsider.com Career Totals 114 65 53 24 Postseason Tournament. COACHING LEDGER Before starting his tenure at GCU, Majerle spent five 2013-18...... Grand Canyon (Head Coach) seasons (2008-13) as an assistant coach and four years 2008-13...... Phoenix Suns (Assistant Coach) as a broadcast analyst (2002-06) with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. “Thunder Dan” is one of the most popular figures MILESTONE VICTORIES in Suns history, having been inducted into the Suns Ring of Honor in 2003 for his eight playing seasons (1988-95, 1st...... Western New Mexico (Nov. 16, 2013) 2001-02) with Phoenix. 25th...... CSU Bakersfield (Jan. 10, 2015) 50th...... Kansas City (Jan. 23, 2016) Majerle played 14 seasons in the NBA and averaged 100th...... Utah Valley (Feb. 24, 2018) 11.4 points over 955 career games. He made three All- Star appearances and was named to the 1990-91 and 1st road win...... CSU Bakersfield (Jan. 9, 2014) 1992-93 All-Defensive second team. He led the league in 1st D-1 win...... Savannah State (Nov. 22, 2013) 3-pointers made (192) in 1993-94. 1st postseason win....S.C. State (CIT, March 14, 2016) Majerle, the 14th overall selection in the 1988 NBA 1st WAC win...... Texas-Pan American (Jan. 2, 2014) Draft by the Suns, was runner-up by one vote to the Indiana Pacers’ Detlef Schrempf for the NBA Sixth Man

#LOPESUP ‹ 17 › 2018-19 Grand Canyon Basketball Grand Canyon Combined Team Statistics (as of Jan 17, 2019) All Games

RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL All Games 11-7 8-0 2018-192-4 OVERALL1-3 ConferenceMEN’S BASKETBALL4-1 3-0 // 1-1 0-0 Non-conference 7-6 5-0 1-3 1-3

Total 3-Point F-Throw Rebounds ## Player gp-gs min avg fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf dq a to blk stl pts avg 25 Alessandro Lever 18-18 435 24.2 84-190 .442 15-53 .283 59-79 .747 19 57 76 4.2 52 2 23 27 2 6 242 13.4 23 Carlos Johnson 18-5 399 22.2 69-158 .437 7-38 .184 52-68 .765 31 49 80 4.4 44 0 16 46 3 16 197 10.9 10 Damari Milstead 18-10 476 26.4 68-156 .436 17-47 .362 42-55 .764 13 36 49 2.7 29 0 62 39 2 24 195 10.8 02 Trey Drechsel 18-18 457 25.4 59-130 .454 17-56 .304 25-38 .658 11 72 83 4.6 40 0 49 37 3 14 160 8.9 04 Oscar Frayer 18-18 465 25.8 56-130 .431 30-79 .380 13-24 .542 23 53 76 4.2 43 0 23 21 15 16 155 8.6 43 Michael Finke 15-13 321 21.4 43-90 .478 14-41 .341 20-27 .741 26 43 69 4.6 25 0 16 11 0 2 120 8.0 05 Matt Jackson 15-5 284 18.9 30-55 .545 5-20 .250 19-28 .679 15 34 49 3.3 23 0 19 8 6 5 84 5.6 24 Tim Finke 18-3 321 17.8 27-65 .415 12-29 .414 13-23 .565 14 43 57 3.2 22 1 22 10 2 9 79 4.4 42 Gerard Martin 17-0 303 17.8 23-46 .500 10-25 .400 9-11 .818 9 33 42 2.5 37 0 24 15 5 11 65 3.8 12 Roberts Blumbergs 12-0 127 10.6 12-33 .364 4-21 .190 7-8 .875 3 22 25 2.1 15 0 4 6 6 4 35 2.9 15 Raef Gerdes 3-0 9 3.0 0-4 .000 0-4 .000 1-2 .500 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.3 35 Quinn Smith 2-0 3 1.5 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 TM TEAM 27 23 50 4 2 Grand Canyon 18 3599 471-1058 .445 131-413 .317 260-363 .716 191 465 656 36.4 332 3 258 224 44 107 1335 74.2 Opponents 18 3599 427-980 .436 115-313 .367 246-349 .705 146 448 594 33.0 369 6 191 258 58 101 1215 67.5

Team Statistics GCU OPP Date Opponent Score Att. SCORING 1335 1215 11/08/18 at South Dakota State L 74-79 1933 W Points per game 74.2 67.5 11/10/18 DELAWARE STATE 89-47 7122 11/12/18 JACKSONVILLE W 76-59 6572 Scoring margin +6.7 - 11/16/18 ARKANSAS STATE W 96-72 7121 FIELD GOALS-ATT 471-1058 427-980 11/22/18 vs Seton Hall L 75-82 1266 L Field goal pct .445 .436 11/23/18 vs Utah 66-75 2089 11/25/18 vs La Salle W 82-70 1589 3 POINT FG-ATT 131-413 115-313 12/01/18 BOISE STATE W 69-67 7317 3-point FG pct .317 .367 12/09/18 vs #6 Nevada L 66-74 10172 L 3-pt FG made per game 7.3 6.4 12/15/18 at Texas 60-98 8265 12/19/18 at Northern Iowa W 73-62 3394 FREE THROW-ATT 260-363 246-349 12/22/18 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE W 85-64 7255 Free throw pct .716 .705 12/29/18 at San Diego L 58-61 2603 * 01/03/19 UTAH VALLEY W 71-60 7205 F-Throws made per game 14.4 13.7 * 01/05/19 SEATTLE U W 71-57 7293 REBOUNDS 656 594 * 01/10/19 at New Mexico State L 75-77 5482 Rebounds per game 36.4 33.0 * 01/12/19 at UT Rio Grande Valley W 69-65 725 W Rebounding margin +3.4 - * 01/17/19 CHICAGO STATE 80-46 7113 * Conference game ASSISTS 258 191 Assists per game 14.3 10.6 Score by periods 1st 2nd Total TURNOVERS 224 258 Turnovers per game 12.4 14.3 Grand Canyon 630 705 1335 Turnover margin +1.9 - Opponents 561 654 1215 Assist/turnover ratio 1.2 0.7 STEALS 107 101 Steals per game 5.9 5.6 BLOCKS 44 58 Blocks per game 2.4 3.2 Attendance 56998 37518 Home game-Avg/Game 8-7125 6-3734 Neutral site-Avg/game 4-3779

#LOPESUP ‹ 18 › 2018-19 Grand Canyon Basketball Grand Canyon Combined Team Statistics (as of Jan 17, 2019) Conference

RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL All Games 4-1 3-0 2018-191-1 CONFERENCE0-0 ConferenceMEN’S BASKETBALL4-1 3-0 // 1-1 0-0 Non-conference 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Total 3-Point F-Throw Rebounds ## Player gp-gs min avg fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf dq a to blk stl pts avg 10 Damari Milstead 5-5 153 30.6 26-50 .520 7-18 .389 11-16 .688 4 17 21 4.2 10 0 22 14 2 7 70 14.0 23 Carlos Johnson 5-0 123 24.6 21-44 .477 1-4 .250 18-24 .750 9 18 27 5.4 11 0 5 15 0 6 61 12.2 25 Alessandro Lever 5-5 124 24.8 17-49 .347 3-16 .188 11-17 .647 5 13 18 3.6 16 0 11 10 0 4 48 9.6 04 Oscar Frayer 5-5 134 26.8 17-38 .447 11-25 .440 0-0 .000 6 9 15 3.0 14 0 6 7 5 4 45 9.0 02 Trey Drechsel 5-5 141 28.2 13-34 .382 1-13 .077 9-14 .643 6 31 37 7.4 12 0 13 10 0 4 36 7.2 43 Michael Finke 5-3 82 16.4 11-25 .440 4-11 .364 4-6 .667 6 15 21 4.2 8 0 7 3 0 1 30 6.0 05 Matt Jackson 2-2 56 28.0 8-15 .533 0-5 .000 7-8 .875 2 10 12 6.0 1 0 3 0 1 1 23 11.5 42 Gerard Martin 4-0 64 16.0 8-11 .727 6-8 .750 1-2 .500 3 11 14 3.5 10 0 3 4 0 1 23 5.8 24 Tim Finke 5-0 83 16.6 7-18 .389 4-8 .500 2-4 .500 3 5 8 1.6 5 0 3 4 1 2 20 4.0 12 Roberts Blumbergs 3-0 33 11.0 4-8 .500 1-3 .333 1-1 1.000 1 6 7 2.3 6 0 2 2 0 3 10 3.3 15 Raef Gerdes 2-0 7 3.5 0-3 .000 0-3 .000 0-0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 TM TEAM 9 6 15 2 Grand Canyon 5 1000 132-295 .447 38-114 .333 64-92 .696 54 141 195 39.0 93 0 75 71 9 33 366 73.2 Opponents 5 1000 111-275 .404 20-63 .317 63-90 .700 37 126 163 32.6 101 0 44 75 16 28 305 61.0

Team Statistics GCU OPP Date Opponent Score Att. SCORING 366 305 * 01/03/19 UTAH VALLEY W 71-60 7205 W Points per game 73.2 61.0 * 01/05/19 SEATTLE U 71-57 7293 * 01/10/19 at New Mexico State L 75-77 5482 Scoring margin +12.2 - * 01/12/19 at UT Rio Grande Valley W 69-65 725 FIELD GOALS-ATT 132-295 111-275 * 01/17/19 CHICAGO STATE W 80-46 7113 Field goal pct .447 .404 * Conference game 3 POINT FG-ATT 38-114 20-63 Score by periods 1st 2nd Total 3-point FG pct .333 .317 3-pt FG made per game 7.6 4.0 Grand Canyon 189 177 366 FREE THROW-ATT 64-92 63-90 Opponents 147 158 305 Free throw pct .696 .700 F-Throws made per game 12.8 12.6 REBOUNDS 195 163 Rebounds per game 39.0 32.6 Rebounding margin +6.4 - ASSISTS 75 44 Assists per game 15.0 8.8 TURNOVERS 71 75 Turnovers per game 14.2 15.0 Turnover margin +0.8 - Assist/turnover ratio 1.1 0.6 STEALS 33 28 Steals per game 6.6 5.6 BLOCKS 9 16 Blocks per game 1.8 3.2 Attendance 21611 6207 Home game-Avg/Game 3-7204 2-3104 Neutral site-Avg/game 0-0

#LOPESUP ‹ 19 › 2018-19 Grand Canyon Basketball // GCU GAME-BY-GAME MEN’S Team BASKETBALL Game-by-Game (as of Jan 18, 2019) All Games

Team Statistics

Total 3-Point F-Throw Rebounds Opponent Date Score fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf a to blk stl pts avg at South Dakota State 11/08/18 74-79 L 24-70 .343 9-34 .265 17-20 .850 13 22 35 35.0 21 8 6 4 9 74 74.0 DELAWARE STATE 11/10/18 89-47 W 36-69 .522 6-24 .250 11-21 .524 14 37 51 43.0 16 17 13 6 11 89 81.5 JACKSONVILLE 11/12/18 76-59 W 27-65 .415 5-20 .250 17-23 .739 21 31 52 46.0 20 14 15 1 4 76 79.7 ARKANSAS STATE 11/16/18 96-72 W 32-65 .492 5-19 .263 27-33 .818 16 25 41 44.8 19 18 13 2 8 96 83.8 vs Seton Hall 11/22/18 75-82 L 25-56 .446 11-30 .367 12-16 .750 5 20 25 40.8 22 18 11 3 2 75 82.0 vs Utah 11/23/18 66-75 L 19-44 .432 9-24 .375 19-26 .731 7 17 24 38.0 21 12 14 1 2 66 79.3 vs La Salle 11/25/18 82-70 W 26-48 .542 4-12 .333 26-37 .703 5 35 40 38.3 26 14 18 4 3 82 79.7 BOISE STATE 12/01/18 69-67 W 26-54 .481 7-23 .304 10-18 .556 9 20 29 37.1 17 10 12 3 5 69 78.4 vs #6 Nevada 12/09/18 66-74 L 25-61 .410 10-21 .476 6-8 .750 9 24 33 36.7 21 15 14 1 5 66 77.0 at Texas 12/15/18 60-98 L 22-61 .361 8-27 .296 8-11 .727 7 18 25 35.5 11 12 11 3 2 60 75.3 at Northern Iowa 12/19/18 73-62 W 26-58 .448 6-25 .240 15-21 .714 15 26 41 36.0 14 14 10 3 7 73 75.1 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 12/22/18 85-64 W 30-58 .517 7-23 .304 18-24 .750 11 26 37 36.1 13 21 9 2 9 85 75.9 at San Diego 12/29/18 58-61 L 21-54 .389 6-17 .353 10-13 .769 5 23 28 35.5 18 10 7 2 7 58 74.5 UTAH VALLEY 01/03/19 71-60 W 24-64 .375 4-24 .167 19-24 .792 14 26 40 35.8 17 17 9 3 9 71 74.3 SEATTLE U 01/05/19 71-57 W 28-60 .467 7-18 .389 8-10 .800 10 32 42 36.2 20 18 14 1 4 71 74.1 at New Mexico State 01/10/19 75-77 L 28-59 .475 8-25 .320 11-15 .733 10 27 37 36.3 24 8 13 3 6 75 74.1 at UT Rio Grande Valley 01/12/19 69-65 W 23-56 .411 12-25 .480 11-18 .611 13 27 40 36.5 19 12 19 1 4 69 73.8 CHICAGO STATE 01/17/19 80-46 W 29-56 .518 7-22 .318 15-25 .600 7 29 36 36.4 13 20 16 1 10 80 74.2 Grand Canyon 1335 471-1058 .445 131-413 .317 260-363 .716 191 465 656 36.4 332 258 224 44 107 1335 74.2 Opponents 1215 427-980 .436 115-313 .367 246-349 .705 146 448 594 33.0 369 191 258 58 101 1215 67.5

Games played: 18 Rebounds Per Game: 36.4 Points per Game: 74.2 Assists Per Game: 14.3 FG Percent: 44.5 Turnovers Per Game: 12.4 3FG Percent: 31.7 Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.2 FT Percent: 71.6 Steals Per Game: 5.9 Blocks Per Game: 2.4

#LOPESUP ‹ 20 › 2018-19 Grand Canyon Basketball // OPPONENT GAME-BY-GAME MEN’S Opponent BASKETBALL Game-by-Game (as of Jan 18, 2019) All Games

Opponent Statistics

Total 3-Point F-Throw Rebounds Opponent Date Score fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf a to blk stl pts avg at South Dakota State 11/08/18 74-79 L 28-58 .483 7-17 .412 16-26 .615 14 34 48 48.0 19 8 16 4 3 79 79.0 DELAWARE STATE 11/10/18 89-47 W 15-54 .278 8-22 .364 9-18 .500 8 23 31 39.5 24 6 20 0 7 47 63.0 JACKSONVILLE 11/12/18 76-59 W 21-54 .389 5-22 .227 12-20 .600 6 19 25 34.7 20 13 13 6 8 59 61.7 ARKANSAS STATE 11/16/18 96-72 W 27-56 .482 5-15 .333 13-20 .650 7 21 28 33.0 30 13 15 5 7 72 64.3 vs Seton Hall 11/22/18 75-82 L 28-45 .622 6-12 .500 20-33 .606 3 27 30 32.4 23 15 12 3 7 82 67.8 vs Utah 11/23/18 66-75 L 24-48 .500 8-20 .400 19-22 .864 9 22 31 32.2 21 12 13 2 3 75 69.0 vs La Salle 11/25/18 82-70 W 21-69 .304 5-25 .200 23-28 .821 16 22 38 33.0 29 9 11 1 8 70 69.1 BOISE STATE 12/01/18 69-67 W 27-50 .540 6-15 .400 7-12 .583 7 21 28 32.4 22 5 17 5 8 67 68.9 vs #6 Nevada 12/09/18 66-74 L 22-51 .431 6-22 .273 24-29 .828 8 28 36 32.8 13 11 14 2 7 74 69.4 at Texas 12/15/18 60-98 L 37-63 .587 16-30 .533 8-11 .727 9 33 42 33.7 14 22 11 5 5 98 72.3 at Northern Iowa 12/19/18 73-62 W 21-53 .396 11-21 .524 9-12 .750 10 20 30 33.4 19 10 14 2 2 62 71.4 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE12/22/18 85-64 W 25-56 .446 6-13 .462 8-10 .800 6 22 28 32.9 22 10 15 1 5 64 70.8 at San Diego 12/29/18 58-61 L 20-48 .417 6-16 .375 15-18 .833 6 30 36 33.2 12 13 12 6 3 61 70.0 UTAH VALLEY 01/03/19 71-60 W 21-56 .375 3-15 .200 15-16 .938 10 28 38 33.5 21 3 16 3 3 60 69.3 SEATTLE U 01/05/19 71-57 W 19-56 .339 5-10 .500 14-20 .700 7 24 31 33.3 18 6 11 1 5 57 68.5 at New Mexico State 01/10/19 75-77 L 30-60 .500 9-21 .429 8-19 .421 9 23 32 33.3 18 14 13 3 3 77 69.0 at UT Rio Grande Valley 01/12/19 69-65 W 21-52 .404 3-7 .429 20-24 .833 6 24 30 33.1 21 13 12 6 10 65 68.8 CHICAGO STATE 01/17/19 80-46 W 20-51 .392 0-10 .000 6-11 .545 5 27 32 33.0 23 8 23 3 7 46 67.5 Opponents 1215 427-980 .436 115-313 .367 246-349 .705 146 448 594 33.0 369 191 258 58 101 1215 67.5 Grand Canyon 1335 471-1058 .445 131-413 .317 260-363 .716 191 465 656 36.4 332 258 224 44 107 1335 74.2

Games played: 18 Assists Per Game: 10.6 Points per Game: 67.5 Turnovers Per Game: 14.3 FG Percent: 43.6 Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.2 3FG Percent: 36.7 Steals Per Game: 5.6 FT Percent: 70.5 Blocks per Game: 3.2 Rebounds Per Game: 33.0

#LOPESUP ‹ 21 › 2018-19 Grand Canyon Basketball Category Leaders (as of Jan 18,CATEGORY 2019) LEADERS MEN’S BASKETBALLAll Games //

Points G Pts Pts/G Scoring Average G Pts Avg/G Alessandro Lever 18 242 13.4 Alessandro Lever 18 242 13.4 Carlos Johnson 18 197 10.9 Carlos Johnson 18 197 10.9 Damari Milstead 18 195 10.8 Damari Milstead 18 195 10.8 Trey Drechsel 18 160 8.9 Trey Drechsel 18 160 8.9 Oscar Frayer 18 155 8.6 Oscar Frayer 18 155 8.6 Michael Finke 15 120 8.0 Michael Finke 15 120 8.0 Matt Jackson 15 84 5.6 Matt Jackson 15 84 5.6

FG Percentage FG Att Pct Field Goal Attempts G Att Att/G Matt Jackson 30 55 .545 Alessandro Lever 18 190 10.6 Gerard Martin 23 46 .500 Carlos Johnson 18 158 8.8 Michael Finke 43 90 .478 Damari Milstead 18 156 8.7 Trey Drechsel 59 130 .454 Trey Drechsel 18 130 7.2 Alessandro Lever 84 190 .442 Oscar Frayer 18 130 7.2 Carlos Johnson 69 158 .437 Michael Finke 15 90 6.0 Damari Milstead 68 156 .436 Tim Finke 18 65 3.6

3-Point Percentage 3FG Att Pct Field Goals Made G Made Made/G Tim Finke 12 29 .414 Alessandro Lever 18 84 4.7 Gerard Martin 10 25 .400 Carlos Johnson 18 69 3.8 Oscar Frayer 30 79 .380 Damari Milstead 18 68 3.8 Damari Milstead 17 47 .362 Trey Drechsel 18 59 3.3 Michael Finke 14 41 .341 Oscar Frayer 18 56 3.1 Trey Drechsel 17 56 .304 Michael Finke 15 43 2.9 Alessandro Lever 15 53 .283 Matt Jackson 15 30 2.0

Free Throw Percentage FG Att Pct 3-Point FG Attempts G Att Att/G Roberts Blumbergs 7 8 .875 Oscar Frayer 18 79 4.4 Gerard Martin 9 11 .818 Trey Drechsel 18 56 3.1 Carlos Johnson 52 68 .765 Alessandro Lever 18 53 2.9 Damari Milstead 42 55 .764 Damari Milstead 18 47 2.6 Alessandro Lever 59 79 .747 Michael Finke 15 41 2.7 Michael Finke 20 27 .741 Carlos Johnson 18 38 2.1 Matt Jackson 19 28 .679 Tim Finke 18 29 1.6

Free Throw Attempts G Att Att/G 3-Point FG Made G Made Made/G Alessandro Lever 18 79 4.4 Oscar Frayer 18 30 1.7 Carlos Johnson 18 68 3.8 Trey Drechsel 18 17 0.9 Damari Milstead 18 55 3.1 Damari Milstead 18 17 0.9 Trey Drechsel 18 38 2.1 Alessandro Lever 18 15 0.8 Matt Jackson 15 28 1.9 Michael Finke 15 14 0.9 Michael Finke 15 27 1.8 Tim Finke 18 12 0.7 Oscar Frayer 18 24 1.3 Gerard Martin 17 10 0.6

Rebounds Average G Reb Avg/G Rebounds G Reb Reb/G Trey Drechsel 18 83 4.6 Trey Drechsel 18 83 4.6 Michael Finke 15 69 4.6 Carlos Johnson 18 80 4.4 Carlos Johnson 18 80 4.4 Oscar Frayer 18 76 4.2 Oscar Frayer 18 76 4.2 Alessandro Lever 18 76 4.2 Alessandro Lever 18 76 4.2 Michael Finke 15 69 4.6 Matt Jackson 15 49 3.3 Tim Finke 18 57 3.2 Tim Finke 18 57 3.2 Matt Jackson 15 49 3.3

#LOPESUP ‹ 22 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // CATEGORY LEADERS

Fouls G NO. Per/G Offensive Rebounds G NO. Avg/G Alessandro Lever 18 52 2.9 Carlos Johnson 18 31 1.7 Carlos Johnson 18 44 2.4 Michael Finke 15 26 1.7 Oscar Frayer 18 43 2.4 Oscar Frayer 18 23 1.3 Trey Drechsel 18 40 2.2 Alessandro Lever 18 19 1.1 Gerard Martin 17 37 2.2 Matt Jackson 15 15 1.0 Damari Milstead 18 29 1.6 Tim Finke 18 14 0.8 Damari Milstead 18 13 0.7 Foulouts G NO. Alessandro Lever 18 2 Defensive Rebounds G NO. Avg/G Oscar Frayer 18 1 Trey Drechsel 18 72 4.0 Tim Finke 18 1 Alessandro Lever 18 57 3.2 Oscar Frayer 18 53 2.9 Blocked Shots G NO. Blk/G Carlos Johnson 18 49 2.7 Oscar Frayer 18 15 0.8 Michael Finke 15 43 2.9 Matt Jackson 15 6 0.4 Tim Finke 18 43 2.4 Roberts Blumbergs 12 6 0.5 Damari Milstead 18 36 2.0 Gerard Martin 17 5 0.3 Carlos Johnson 18 3 0.2 Assists G NO. Ast/G Trey Drechsel 18 3 0.2 Damari Milstead 18 62 3.4 Alessandro Lever 18 2 0.1 Trey Drechsel 18 49 2.7 Gerard Martin 17 24 1.4 Minutes G NO. Min/G Oscar Frayer 18 23 1.3 Damari Milstead 18 476 26.4 Alessandro Lever 18 23 1.3 Oscar Frayer 18 465 25.8 Tim Finke 18 22 1.2 Trey Drechsel 18 457 25.4 Matt Jackson 15 19 1.3 Alessandro Lever 18 435 24.2 Carlos Johnson 18 399 22.2 Steals G NO. Stl/G Tim Finke 18 321 17.8 Damari Milstead 18 24 1.3 Michael Finke 15 321 21.4 Carlos Johnson 18 16 0.9 Oscar Frayer 18 16 0.9 Trey Drechsel 18 14 0.8 Gerard Martin 17 11 0.6 Tim Finke 18 9 0.5 Alessandro Lever 18 6 0.3

Turnovers G NO. To/G Carlos Johnson 18 46 2.6 Damari Milstead 18 39 2.2 Trey Drechsel 18 37 2.1 Alessandro Lever 18 27 1.5 Oscar Frayer 18 21 1.2 Gerard Martin 17 15 0.9 Michael Finke 15 11 0.7

#LOPESUP ‹ 23 › GAME HIGHS MEN’S BASKETBALL2018-19 Grand Canyon Basketball // Grand Canyon Game-by-Game Highs (as of Jan 18, 2019) All Games

Opponent Date Score Points Rebounds Assists Steals Blocked Shots at South Dakota State 11/08/18 74-79 (17)Carlos Johnson (8)Oscar Frayer (4)Trey Drechsel (2)Trey Drechsel (3)Oscar Frayer (17)Trey Drechsel DELAWARE STATE 11/10/18 89-47 (15)Trey Drechsel (8)Trey Drechsel (6)Trey Drechsel (4)Trey Drechsel (3)Oscar Frayer (15)Oscar Frayer (8)Michael Finke JACKSONVILLE 11/12/18 76-59 (15)Alessandro Lever (8)Tim Finke (3)Tim Finke (1)Trey Drechsel (1)Trey Drechsel (8)Matt Jackson (3)Damari Milstead (1)Damari Milstead (1)Gerard Martin (1)Carlos Johnson ARKANSAS STATE 11/16/18 96-72 (15)Michael Finke (7)Michael Finke (4)Damari Milstead (5)Damari Milstead (1)Oscar Frayer (4)Trey Drechsel (1)Roberts Blumbergs vs Seton Hall 11/22/18 75-82 (21)Damari Milstead (6)Alessandro Lever (4)Damari Milstead (1)Matt Jackson (1)Matt Jackson (6)Tim Finke (4)Oscar Frayer (1)Alessandro Lever (1)Alessandro Lever (1)Carlos Johnson vs Utah 11/23/18 66-75 (16)Alessandro Lever (4)Oscar Frayer (4)Damari Milstead (1)Gerard Martin (1)Alessandro Lever (1)Damari Milstead vs La Salle 11/25/18 82-70 (17)Alessandro Lever (10)Alessandro Lever (2)Trey Drechsel (1)Gerard Martin (1)Trey Drechsel (17)Damari Milstead (2)Gerard Martin (1)Carlos Johnson (1)Gerard Martin (2)Damari Milstead (1)Tim Finke (1)Oscar Frayer (2)Matt Jackson (1)Carlos Johnson (2)Carlos Johnson (2)Tim Finke (2)Michael Finke BOISE STATE 12/01/18 69-67 (14)Carlos Johnson (6)Matt Jackson (3)Trey Drechsel (2)Oscar Frayer (2)Gerard Martin (3)Damari Milstead (2)Damari Milstead vs #6 Nevada 12/09/18 66-74 (16)Trey Drechsel (9)Oscar Frayer (4)Damari Milstead (1)Damari Milstead (1)Roberts Blumbergs (1)Matt Jackson (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Trey Drechsel (1)Michael Finke at Texas 12/15/18 60-98 (17)Michael Finke (7)Carlos Johnson (5)Damari Milstead (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Damari Milstead (1)Matt Jackson (1)Carlos Johnson at Northern Iowa 12/19/18 73-62 (17)Alessandro Lever (8)Tim Finke (3)Tim Finke (3)Damari Milstead (1)Gerard Martin (3)Trey Drechsel (1)Roberts Blumbergs (1)Trey Drechsel MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 12/22/18 85-64 (26)Alessandro Lever (6)Tim Finke (6)Gerard Martin (3)Carlos Johnson (1)Gerard Martin (1)Roberts Blumbergs at San Diego 12/29/18 58-61 (27)Alessandro Lever (6)Alessandro Lever (4)Gerard Martin (2)Carlos Johnson (1)Oscar Frayer (6)Trey Drechsel (2)Oscar Frayer (1)Matt Jackson (2)Tim Finke UTAH VALLEY 01/03/19 71-60 (19)Matt Jackson (8)Matt Jackson (8)Damari Milstead (3)Damari Milstead (1)Matt Jackson (1)Damari Milstead (1)Tim Finke SEATTLE U 01/05/19 71-57 (15)Alessandro Lever (14)Trey Drechsel (7)Damari Milstead (1)Trey Drechsel (1)Oscar Frayer (15)Trey Drechsel (1)Alessandro Lever (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Carlos Johnson at New Mexico State 01/10/19 75-77 (16)Carlos Johnson (8)Trey Drechsel (3)Trey Drechsel (2)Damari Milstead (2)Oscar Frayer at UT Rio Grande Valley 01/12/19 69-65 (25)Damari Milstead (7)Damari Milstead (5)Damari Milstead (1)Carlos Johnson (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Alessandro Lever (1)Oscar Frayer (1)Michael Finke CHICAGO STATE 01/17/19 80-46 (12)Carlos Johnson (7)Michael Finke (4)Trey Drechsel (3)Roberts Blumbergs (1)Oscar Frayer (4)Carlos Johnson

#LOPESUP ‹ 24 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // LAST TIME...

INDIVIDUAL Scored 25 Points Damari Milstead, 25, 1/12/19, at UT Rio Grande Valley Made a 3-pointer in 10 straight games Josh Braun (21), 1/7/17 – 11/25/17 Scored 30 Points Alessandro Lever, 30, 2/22/18, vs Seattle Made a 3-pointer in 15 straight games Josh Braun (21), 1/7/17 – 11/25/17 Scored 35 Points DeWayne Russell, 42, 12/3/16, vs. Louisville Made a 3-pointer in 20 straight games Josh Braun (21), 1/7/17 – 11/25/17 Scored 40 Points DeWayne Russell, 42, 12/3/16, vs. Louisville Made 10 free throws Alessandro Lever (10), 3/8/18, vs UMKC (WAC Quarter) Scored 20 points in a half DeWayne Russell, 42, 2nd, 12/3/16 vs. Louisville Made 15 free throws in a game Josh Braun (17), 1/16/16 vs. Utah Valley Scored 25 points in a half Never happened Made 16 free throws Josh Braun (17), 1/16/16 vs. Utah Valley Made 17 free throws Josh Braun (17), 1/16/16 vs. Utah Valley Two players had 20 points Lever (25) and Braun (22), 1/23/18, vs. William Jessup Attempted 15 free throws Alessandro Lever (17), 3/8/18, vs UMKC (WAC Quarter) Two players had 25 points Glaze (29) and Magee (29), 12/13/15 vs. Omaha Attempted 18 free throws Josh Braun (19), 1/16/16 vs. Utah Valley Three players had 20 points Never happened Attempted 19 free throws Josh Braun (19), 1/16/16 vs. Utah Valley Attempted 20 free throws Jerome Garrison (20), 1/23/14 vs. Idaho Scored 20 points in two straight games Alessandro Lever (2), 12/22/18 - 12/29/18 Scored 20 points in three straight games Alessandro Lever (3), 1/18/18 - 1/23/18 12 rebounds Trey Drechsel (14), 1/5/19 vs Seattle U Scored 20 points in four straight games Alessandro Lever(4), 1/18/18 - 1/27/18 13 rebounds Trey Drechsel (14), 1/5/19 vs Seattle U Scored 20 points in five straight games Never happened 14 rebounds Trey Drechsel (14), 1/5/19 vs Seattle U Scored 30 points in two straight games Never happened 15 rebounds Oscar Frayer (15), 3/8/18 vs UMKC (WAC Quarterfinal) 16 rebounds Killian Larson (20), 2/22/14 at Idaho Scored double figures in 10 straight games DeWayne Russell (33), 3/1/16 - 3/4/17 20 rebounds Killian Larson (20), 2/22/14 at Idaho Scored double figures in 15 straight games DeWayne Russell (33), 3/1/16 - 3/4/17 Scored double figures in 20 straight games DeWayne Russell (33), 3/1/16 - 3/4/17 10 rebounds in a half Trey Drechsel (10, 1st), 1/5/19, vs Seattle U 11 rebounds in a half Killian Larson (12, 2nd), 1/30/14 , vs Chicago State Five players scored in double figures vs. Chicago State (5), 1/17/19 12 rebounds in a half Killian Larson (12, 2nd), 1/30/14 , vs Chicago State Six players scored in double figures vs. Arkansas State (6), 11/16/18 13 rebounds in a half Never happened Four players scored 15 or more points Never happened 10+ rebounds in two straight games Keonta Vernon (2), 1/11/18 – 1/13/18 Double-double Trey Drechsel, 1/5/19, 15pts, 14reb, vs Seattle U 10+ rebounds in three straight games Grandy Glaze (3), 3/14/16 – 3/23/16 Double-double (points / assists) Casey Benson, 1/23/18, 12 pts, 10asts, vs William Jessup 10+ rebounds in four straight games Grandy Glaze (4), 2/6/16 – 2/18/16 Double-double in two straight games Keonta Vernon, 1/11/18 - 1/13/18 Two players had 10 rebounds Vernon (15) & Frayer (12), 1/28/17 at Chicago State Double-double in three straight games Grandy Glaze (4), 2/6/16 – 2/18/16 Three players had 10 rebounds Never happened Double-double in four straight games Grandy Glaze (4), 2/6/16 – 2/18/16 Two players with double-double Vernon (24p/15r) & Frayer (12p/12r), 1/28/17 at Chicago State 6 assists Damari Milstead (7), 1/5/19, vs. Seattle U Triple-double Never happened 7 assists Damari Milstead (7), 1/5/19, vs. Seattle U 8 assists Damari Milstead (8), 1/3/19, vs. Utah Valley 20 points, 10 rebounds Alessando Lever, 2/20/18, 30 pts, 10reb, vs. Seattle U 9 assists Casey Benson (9), 1/20/18, at UMKC 20 points, 10 assists DeWayne Russell, 21pts, 11 ast, 1/7/17 vs. Utah Valley 10 assists Casey Benson (10), 1/23/18, vs. William Jessup 11 assists DeWayne Russell (11), 1/7/17, vs. Utah Valley Made 10 FG in a game Alessandro Lever (10), 12/29/18 at San Diego 12 assists DeWayne Russell (12), 12/13/15 vs. Nebraska-Omaha Made 12 FG in a game DeWayne Russell (14), 12/3/16, vs. Louisville Made 15 FG in a game Never happened 7+ assists in two straight games Damari Milstead (2), 1/3/19 – 1/5/19

Attempted 15 FG in a game Damari Milstead (16) 1/12/19, at UT Rio Grande Valley 4 blocks Oscar Frayer (4), 1/23/18 vs William Jessup Attempted 17 FG in a game Alessandro Lever (24) 12/29/18, at San Diego 5 blocks Daniel Alexander (5), 2/8/14 vs. CSU Bakersfield Attempted 20 FG in a game Alessandro Lever (24) 12/29/18, at San Diego 6 blocks Never happened

Made five 3-pointers in a game Damari Milstead (5) 1/12/19, at UT Rio Grande Valley 4 steals Damari Milstead (5), 11/16/18, vs. Arkansas State Made six 3-pointers in a game Joshua Braun (9) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago State 5 steals Damari Milstead (5), 11/16/18, vs. Arkansas State Made seven 3-pointers in a game Joshua Braun (9) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago State 6 steals Gerard Martin (7), 11/28/16, vs. SIUE Made eight 3-pointers in a game Joshua Braun (9) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago State Made nine 3-pointers in a game Joshua Braun (9) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago State Played every minute DeWayne Russell / Josh Braun (40), 3/4/17 at CSU Bakersfield Attempted 10 3-pointers in a game Joshua Braun (11) 2/10/18, at New Mexico State Fouled out Alessandro Lever 12/9/18 vs Nevada Attempted 12 3-pointers in a game Joshua Braun (19) 2/23/17, vs. Chicago State Two players fouled out Tim Finke & Alessandro Lever 11/23/18 vs Utah (Wooden)

#LOPESUP ‹ 25 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

TEAM Scored 90+ points vs. Arkansas State (96), 11/16/18 Won game decided by one point vs Utah Valley (W 60-59), 2/24/17 Scored 90+ points (WAC) at Chicago State (90), 1/21/16 Lost game decided by one point vs. Chicago State (L 56-55), 1/31/15 Scored 100+ points vs. Morgan State (100), 12/23/17 Two consecutive games decided by one point Never happened Scored 100+ points (WAC) Never happened Two consecutive games decided by five points or less 2 games, 1/10/19 - 1/12/19 Scored 110+ points Never happened Three consecutive games decided by five points or less 3 games, 1/31/15 – 2/7/15 Scored 110+ points (WAC) Never happened Came back from 15-point deficit vs UMKC (WAC Quarterfinal) (16), 3/8/18 Scored less than 50 points at Kentucky (45), 11/14/14 Came back from 18-point deficit at UTRGV (19), 2/6/16 Scored less than 50 points (WAC) Never happened Came back from 20-point deficit vs. CSU Bakersfield (20), 2/8/14

Allowed 90+ points at Texas (98), 12/15/18 Pulled down 45 rebounds vs. Jacksonville (52), 11/12/18 Allowed 90+ points (WAC) Never happened Pulled down 50 rebounds vs. Jacksonville (52), 11/12/18 Allowed 100+ points vs. Nebraska-Omaha (108), 12/13/15 Pulled down 55 rebounds Never happened Allowed 100+ points (WAC) Never happened Back-to-back 50 rebound games vs. Delaware State and Jacksonville 11/10-12/18 Allowed less that 50 points vs. Chicago State (46), 1/17/19 Allowed less than 50 points (WAC) vs. Chicago State (46), 1/17/19 Out-rebounded opponent by 15+ vs. Jacksonville (+27), 11/12/18 Out-rebounded opponent by 20+ vs. Jacksonville (+27), 11/12/18 Shot 60% from the field vs. William Jessup (65.4%), 1/23/18 Out-rebounded opponent by 25+ vs. Jacksonville (+27), 11/12/18 Shot 65% from the field vs. William Jessup (65.4%), 1/23/18 Shot 70% from the field Never happened Won an overtime game at Chicago State (2OT), 1/28/17 Shot less than 30% from the field at CSU Bakersfield (28.8%), 3/4/17 Lost an overtime game at Boise State (2OT), 12/13/17 Won an overtime game (WAC) at Chicago State (2OT), 1/28/17 Allowed 60% shooting Never happened Lost an overtime game (WAC) Never happened Allowed 65% shooting Never happened Played two overtimes at Boise State (2OT), 12/13/17 Allowed 30% or less shooting vs Delaware State (27.8%), 11/10/18 Played consecutive overtime games Never happened Allowed 25% or less shooting vs. Coppin St. (24.5%), 11/25/16 Committed 20+ turnovers at Louisville (21), 12/23/17 Shot 90%+ from FT line (min. 10 FTA) vs. Seattle (90.5%, 19-for-21), 2/2/18 Committed less than 10 turnovers vs Utah Valley (9), 1/3/19 Shot 100% from FT line (min. 10 FTA) vs. N. Arizona (100%, 11-for-11), 3/28/15 Committed less than 8 turnovers at San Diego (7), 12/29/18 Shot 50% or less from FT line (min. 10 FTA) at Louisville (50%, 6-for-12), 12/23/17 Committed less than 5 turnovers vs. New Mexico State (4), 1/9/16

Attempted 40 free throws vs. Nebraska-Omaha (40), 12/13/15 Scored 40+ in a half vs. Chicago State (40, 1st), 1/17/19 Attempted five or less free throws vs. Jackson State (5), 3/17/16 Scored 45+ in a half vs. Mississippi Valley State (51, 2nd), 12/22/18 Made 30 free throws vs. Nebraska-Omaha (31), 12/13/15 Scored 50+ in a half vs. Mississippi Valley State (51, 2nd), 12/22/18

Made 10 3-pointers at UT Rio Grande Valley (12), 1/12/19 Made 12 3-pointers at UT Rio Grande Valley (12), 1/12/19 Made 15 3-pointers Never happened Made 16 3-pointers Never happened Made 17 3-pointers Never happened

Scored 90+ points in consecutive games Never happened Scored 90+ points in three consecutive games Never happened Scored 100+ points in consecutive games Never happened Won game by 30 points or more vs. Chicago State (34), 1/17/19 Won game by 35 points or more vs. Delaware State (42), 11/10/18 Won game by 40 points or more vs. Delaware State (42), 11/10/18 Won game by 45 points or more vs. Western New Mexico (50), 11/16/13 Won game by 50 points or more vs. Western New Mexico (50), 11/16/13 Lost game by 30 points or more at Texas (38), 12/15/18 Lost game by 40 points or more at Louisville (48), 12/5/15

#LOPESUP ‹ 26 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

TUESDAY NOV. 6 74 6 P.M. 79 BROOKINGS, S.D. GRAND CANYON SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

Official Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Grand Canyon vs. South Dakota State 11/8/2018 11:52 a.m. at Brookings, S.D. (Frost Arena) (opening statement) “Obviously we are disappointed with the loss but this is a great test for our Grand Canyon 74 (0-1) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds team. Coming here to a really good team that doesn’t lose on this floor and is very well coached. ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 25 Alessandro Lever F 3-7 0-2 3-3 1 2 3 3 9 0 0 0 0 24 With the players they have, (Mike) Daum and Jenkins, it was a mighty test for us. I’m disappointed 43 Michael Finke F 4-9 2-6 0-0 1 3 4 1 10 0 0 0 0 26 02 Trey Drechsel G 6-16 4-9 1-2 0 3 3 1 17 4 2 0 2 32 but I’m encouraged with my team. I have some new guys that I got a first look at in a regular 04 Oscar Frayer G 2-8 1-4 4-5 4 4 8 3 9 0 2 3 1 31 23 Carlos Johnson G 5-12 1-4 6-6 3 2 5 2 17 0 1 0 1 23 season game. We have a lot of work to do but I think we are going to be pretty good. This was just 05 Matt Jackson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 0 0 1 1 13 a good college basketball game. We hung in there, they dominated us on the boards, they were 11 Damari Milstead 2-8 0-3 1-2 0 1 1 0 5 0 0 0 1 8 12 Roberts Blumbergs 0-5 0-5 0-0 0 4 4 2 0 1 0 0 1 13 more aggressive taking it to the basket. We relied on the three a little too much, but we are a very 24 Tim Finke 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 2 0 3 1 0 1 11 42 Gerard Martin 2-4 1-1 2-2 1 1 2 4 7 0 0 0 1 19 good shooting team. We didn’t show it tonight. 34 threes are probably a little too many, but we can TEAM 1 0 1 Totals 24-70 9-34 17-20 13 22 35 21 74 8 6 4 9 200 shoot it and we have throughout all of our practices and our exhibition games. I’m not going to sit FG % 1st Half: 12-37 32.4% 2nd Half: 12-33 36.4% Game: 24-70 34.3% Deadball up here and say it was too many three’s because we’ve been knocking them down. We just have 3FG % 1st Half: 6-19 31.6% 2nd Half: 3-15 20.0% Game: 9-34 26.5% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 6-6 100.0% 2nd Half: 11-14 78.6% Game: 17-20 85.0% 2 to have a good mixture of taking the ball to the basket. The second half we were a little bit more South Dakota State 79 (1-0) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds aggressive. This was a good first test, I’m disappointed we lost but that’s a good team.” ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 24 Mike Daum F 9-20 1-3 1-3 6 7 13 2 20 4 1 0 1 39 32 Matt Dentlinger F 4-5 0-0 3-6 3 4 7 3 11 0 2 0 0 36 (on if it was a pick your poison kind of thing with Mike Daum and David Jenkins) “We knew 01 Skyler Flatten G 3-8 2-5 1-2 0 4 4 3 9 1 1 2 1 37 02 Tevin King G 3-6 0-1 0-0 1 11 12 4 6 1 6 1 1 36 we had to deal with it, we were switching and Jenkins did a good job of driving our bigs which we 05 David Jenkins G 8-16 4-7 11-15 0 5 5 3 31 1 2 0 0 36 10 Alou Dillon 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 5 knew he would do. Daum is just an unbelievable player, he had 20 points on 20 shots, but I think we 23 Owen King 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 6 did a pretty good job on that. Jenkins hurt us. (Tevin) King, the point guard did a fantastic job on 34 Alex Arians 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 5 TEAM 2 1 3 1 the boards having 12. 32, (Matt) Dentlinger to come in and get 11 points for a freshman. They have Totals 28-58 7-17 16-26 14 34 48 19 79 8 16 4 3 200 a good team. We knew that coming in and our guys are disappointed, they wanted to live up to the FG % 1st Half: 13-30 43.3% 2nd Half: 15-28 53.6% Game: 28-58 48.3% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 3-10 30.0% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 7-17 41.2% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 9-16 56.3% 2nd Half: 7-10 70.0% Game: 16-26 61.5% challenge and we just fell short. It’s a good learning lesson for our team and we will get stronger 4 from it.” Officials: Darryl Smith, Mark Riggs, Luke Schumer Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None. South Dakota State-None. Brookings, S.D. (Frost Arena) Attendance: 1933 (on the guys still pushing when they were down 13 late) “I think our guys are learning. Carlos 2018-19 Season Opener (Johnson) is brand new, had a terrible first half, kind of figured it out in the second half. Alé is a In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench really good player, he was kind of non-existent in that first half, kind of got into some foul trouble. Grand Canyon 36 38 74 GCU 24 9 8 6 12 SDK 38 4 18 0 2 South Dakota State 38 41 79 It’s going to be a whole different year for because he kind of snuck up on people last year and now Last FG - GCU 2nd-00:26,SDK 2nd-00:39. Score Tied - 8 times he’s picked to be the Player of the Year as a sophomore and everyone is going to be gunning at Largest lead - GCU by 6 1st-11:17, SDK by 13 2nd-05:15 Lead Changed - 10 times GCU led for 11:46. SDK led for 25:15. Game was tied for 02:59. him. He will figure it out, he’s a hard worker. I thought Michael Finke played well at the beginning, kind of got lost there at the end but I’m excited to have him. Oscar got hurt but he got to fly around a bit. We have a lot to work on but I’m excited about my team.” (on the energy in the arena and the challenges) “I come from Grand Canyon and the energy in our building is unbelievable so that doesn’t faze us at all. This is obviously a very nice place to RAPID RECAP: play but we get 7500 standing room only that just go bonkers. I told our guys that this is a great South Dakota State extended the nation’s longest active home winning streak to 21 games by defeat- challenge. A couple of years ago we went to San Diego State and beat a rowdy crowd there that ing the Lopes 79-74 in each team’s regular-season opener at Frost Arena. never loses. This is a challenge that you look at down the road and this is what you play basketball for. Against good teams on the road, 20 game winning streak, win the Summit, all of that stuff. You The Lopes led by as much as six points in the first half, tested the Jackrabbits to within two for the look forward to that kind of stuff and that’s why I thought it was a great test. Crowds don’t faze our first half and fell behind by 13 points with 5:15 remaining in the game. guys because we sell out exhibition games, midnight madness, so our guys understand that and enjoy it and it’s part of basketball but this is a fun place. They do a great job and the coach does and The Lopes had a late 9-0 run to pull within four with 3:35 to play when Johnson made free throws for unbelievable job and I was glad we got to play it.” two of his GCU debut’s 17 points, all coming in the second half. (on Trey Dreschel having confidence)“He came from a good program and he’s worked hard. His Jackrabbits sophomore guard David Jenkins hit back-to-back contested 3-pointers but GCU stayed alive with a 3-point play from sophomore center Alessandro Lever, limited to nine points after first- challenge is the point guard position. He’s been a two guard and he’s done a good job at that. He’s half foul trouble, and a Tim Finke backcourt steal that set up a Gerard Martin layup cutting the deficit one of those guys who kind of second guessed. If they’re going under he should just jump up and to three (75-72) with 25.8 seconds remaining. shoot it and make it. He did a good job in the post. That’s another guy like Carlos who is just going to learn. I really feel he’s just going to get better and better as the season goes on and this is just After GCU nearly pressed South Dakota State into a backcourt turnover, Jackrabbits guard David the first game I’ve had with those guys. It’s my job as a coach to learn from this team and come Jenkins made two free throws with 18.3 seconds to go and the Lopes never got a chance to tie in the WAC season, be playing at all cylinders and that’s about Carlos and Michael and Trey, those guys.” final seconds. (on being outrebounded by 13 by a smaller team) “That was one of our concerns, we have really Drechsel, a graduate transfer from Western Washington, moved into the starting lineup for his good size but are we tough enough to rebound and guarding the basketball? We got absolutely Division I debut and showed no nerves on the road with a team-high 17 points. kicked on the boards. That’s a big concern we’ve had, our bigs have to get tougher. We’re big but The starters induced six turnovers in the first seven minutes to build a lead that extended to 20-14 we are not very athletic. Carlos is athletic, Oscar is athletic, Trey is a big guard, so those guys can when Martin hit a 3-pointer with 11:10 remaining in the half. But GCU went scoreless for four minutes rebound but Michael and Alé are big but they’re not very athletic, so they have to find a way to box and fouled often, only to be saved by South Dakota State’s poor free throw shooting (9 for 16). out and rebound a little bit outside of their space but just be stronger and get some rebounds. We did a really bad job of that. Matt Jackson and Roberts Blumbergs, both those guys are more Daum and Jenkins, last year’s Summit League Freshman of the Year, expectedly led South Dakota in finesse bigs so those guys have to find a way to get a lot tougher or we are going to continue to scoring but a surprise starter, freshman Matt Detlinger, hurt GCU by adding nine first-half points. struggle on the boards.” Daum finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Jenkins scored a game-high 31.

#LOPESUP ‹ 27 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

SATURDAY NOV. 10 47 7 P.M. 89 PHOENIX, ARIZ. DELAWARE STATE GRAND CANYON

DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Official Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics “Good win. I thought our guys played hard. I put them through the paces Delaware State vs. Grand Canyon (opening statement) 11/10/2018 8:00 p.m. the last three days after that loss to a very good South Dakota State team. Our guys responded the Delaware State 47 Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min way a coach would want them to. So, that’s great. Hopefully it’s not just a one-game thing and they 15 Ameer Bennett F 2-4 0-0 4-8 2 5 7 4 8 0 3 0 1 32 4 Pinky Wiley G 6-10 3-4 1-2 1 2 3 3 16 1 6 0 2 30 realize that’s the kind of effort they have to play with. So, very proud of our guys, I thought they 5 Jonathan Mitchell G 0-2 0-0 0-2 1 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 21 21 Saleik Edwards G 3-20 3-15 2-2 0 2 2 2 11 1 4 0 2 32 played very well. It was great, but let’s hope they learned their lesson and they continue to play 32 Myles Carter G 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 Justin Ryder 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 24 with that kind of effort every night.” 3 Montrell Horsey 3-9 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 7 2 2 0 1 20 10 Ronald Lucas 0-2 0-0 2-4 0 2 2 4 2 0 3 0 0 17 13 Fahim Jenneto 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 4 3 1 2 0 0 17 (on effort from players)“I didn’t even look at the stat sheet. I thought rebounding-wise in the 23 Jordan Bushrod 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 TEAM 4 6 10 second half, you could just tell out there the effort was better. There was a concerted effort to Totals 15-54 8-22 9-18 8 23 31 24 47 6 20 0 7 200 rebound, I saw the guys trying to box out, I saw guys in the right position defensively when they’re FG % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% Rebounds away from the ball, I saw the effort and that’s all I really care about. You know, we’re still not FT % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% 3 shooting the ball real well. Especially in the first half, free throws, threes, but I told those guys I Grand Canyon 89 Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min think that’ll come. I’m more concerned about the effort, the toughness and playing hard. And they 4 Oscar Frayer F 6-11 2-5 1-2 2 3 5 0 15 3 1 3 1 25 25 Alessandro Lever F 7-9 0-0 0-1 2 3 5 2 14 0 2 0 0 14 took a step forward tonight, so that’s the only stats I really look at. We’re talented, we’ve got a lot 43 Michael Finke F 3-6 0-3 1-2 2 6 8 0 7 0 0 0 0 27 2 Trey Drechsel G 6-10 0-2 3-3 1 7 8 1 15 6 2 0 4 25 of guys who can play, I just have to have guys that play with effort and they did that tonight. That’s 23 Carlos Johnson G 5-13 2-6 1-4 1 5 6 4 13 1 4 0 1 24 5 Matt Jackson 1-3 0-0 2-3 2 1 3 1 4 0 1 0 1 14 what I’m most happy about.” 11 Damari Milstead 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 5 1 0 1 17 12 Roberts Blumbergs 1-4 0-3 0-0 1 3 4 3 2 0 2 2 0 13 15 Raef Gerdes 0-1 0-1 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 (on defensive effort and invidual performances)“Your offense is always better if your defense 24 Tim Finke 4-4 1-1 0-2 1 6 7 1 9 1 0 1 0 21 35 Quinn Smith 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 is good. You get steals, you get outrun, you get rebounds. It’s hard to score and run off of made 42 Gerard Martin 3-4 1-2 2-2 1 1 2 2 9 1 0 0 3 14 TEAM 1 0 1 baskets, so if you get stops and you can get outrun, you know, it’s always easier. I thought our Totals 36-69 6-24 11-21 14 37 51 16 89 17 13 6 11 198 second group and our switching defense, they do a pretty good job at that. Protected the rim a FG % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% lot better tonight, which is big. But, as I said, it’s just the effort. Ale (Lever) got in foul trouble early 6 in the second half, we tried to go to him. I thought Oscar (Frayer) was a lot better. Tre (Drechsel) Officials: Technical Fouls: Delaware State-None. Grand Canyon-None. continues to play really well. I’m happy for Tim Finke, he’s going to start figuring it out, and as I told Attendance: 7122 him, he’s going to be good offensively, but for right now all he’s got to do is play hard, play defense, In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench rebound and just bring his intensity and he’ll start figuring his offense. And he did a good job Delaware State 27 20 47 DST 10 11 9 2 12 GCU 54 29 18 25 25 Grand Canyon 39 50 89 tonight. So, across the board I was very happy.” Last FG - DST 2nd-04:03,GCU 2nd-02:29. Score Tied - 2 times Largest lead - DST None, GCU None Lead Changed - 4 times DST led for 00:00. GCU led for 00:00. Game was tied for 00:00. (on turnovers) “A couple careless turnovers, and they weren’t so much live ball turnovers which isn’t terrible. A couple travels and some bad passes. But, we’ve done a good job in the first two games at not having live ball turnovers where teams go down and score where we can’t get back on defense. So, it was more of just careless passes and a couple travels and things like that. So, I think our turnovers are going to be pretty good this year. We spend a lot of time in practice making RAPID RECAP: sure we have good ball security.” The Lopes routed Delaware State 89-47 Saturday night at GCU Arena for the program’s 16th (on second half) “Yeah, you know, first half we got a pretty good lead when we headed in, so we consecutive victory in a regular-season home opener and the second-largest victory margin of the said we’ve got to go out in the second half and bury them. You know, we’ve got a deep team, we’ve program’s Division I era. just got to keep throwing waves at them, all ten guys. We came out with good intensity and we’ve For anyone who missed GCU senior point Trey Drechsel’s impressive Division I debut on Tuesday, just got to find a way for Carlos (Johnson) to play well in the first half and we’ll be fine. He gets it the transfer from Western Watshington dazzled again by leading the Lopes in points (15), rebounds going in the second half a little bit, but he’s a good player he’s just got to figure it out. Right now, (eight), assists (six) and steals (four) in 25 minutes on Saturday. he’s just having a hard time figuring out how he’s going to fit in as far as scoring, when he should shoot and when he should attack. But he’s a good basketball player, he’ll figure it out.” GCU (1-1) outplayed Delaware State (0-2) in the first half but blew the game open after the Hornets opened the second half with a 3-pointer that cut the Lopes lead to 39-30. (on Gerard Martain) “I think Gerard (Martin) played 13 minutes, and he’s out there and looks like he played 40. That’s how hard he plays. He’s all over the place, takes charges, switches, yells, GCU scored the next 18 points, shutting out Delaware State for nearly five minutes with six of the screams, you know he’s the heart and soul of the team, he’s been here for five years. We’re going points coming from Drechsel to follow up his 17-point debut on Tuesday. The Lopes never stopped to miss him when he leaves because he’s what I’m about. It’s about playing hard, being a good pulling away, taking the lead to 42 after a late pair of 3-pointers by Carlos Johnson. teammate and he leads that second group with his intensity.” Like Tuesday’s loss, GCU senior center Alessandro Lever got into early foul trouble Saturday and left after being whistled twice in the first three minutes. Lever wound up with 14 points in 14 minutes for the game, scoring 10 of them in the Lopes’ dominant 50-20 second half. GCU swingman Oscar Frayer added another 15 points, making six of 11 shots but proving to be just as valuable on defense with three blocked shots, a steal and five rebounds. The Hornets got into foul trouble and allowed 55 percent GCU first-half shooting in the first half, when the Lopes led 39-27 at halftime. Like Tuesday, GCU junior guard Carlos Johnson did all of his scoring in the second half. After scoring 17 in his GCU debut, Johnson scored 13 on Friday. Freshman Tim Finke scored his first points as a Lope and finished with nine points, giving GCU six players with nine points or more.

#LOPESUP ‹ 28 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

MONDAY NOV. 12 59 7 P.M. 76 PHOENIX, ARIZ. JACKSONVILLE GRAND CANYON

DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES:

Official Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics (opening statement) “A win’s a win. It was an ugly one, but we won it. I thought first half we were Jacksonville vs. Grand Canyon 11/12/2018 8:00 p.m. pretty good. Second half came out and they turned up the pressure a little bit. We didn’t match the Jacksonville 59 Total 3-Ptr Rebounds pressure. We missed too many layups, we weren’t strong with the ball, too many turnovers, too ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 14 Jace Hogan F 3-7 0-0 2-2 1 3 4 3 8 2 2 1 0 32 many missed shots. Hopefully we’ll grow from it. Against Delaware State I thought our second half 3 David Bell C 2-3 0-0 0-1 1 1 2 4 4 0 3 1 0 12 was great, this second half was really not very good. As I said, we won the game and we’ll take it. 1 JD Notae G 3-10 2-8 5-6 0 1 1 2 13 2 5 0 2 32 10 Aamahne Santos G 0-8 0-5 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 4 0 0 2 32 Just get back in the gym, start working and get better.” 23 Tyreese Davis G 4-10 0-2 4-5 2 4 6 1 12 2 1 2 3 29 0 Tanner Rubio 4-8 3-6 0-0 0 3 3 1 11 1 0 0 0 22 2 Corey Romich 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 (On bringing guys in early off the bench) “That second group gave us a boost. I probably 5 DeAnthony McCallum 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 1 0 0 1 11 11 Jalyn Hinton 5-6 0-0 1-4 2 4 6 3 11 1 1 2 0 26 should’ve brought them in earlier in the second half but that first group has to learn how to play 13 Bryce Workman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 too. Unless I just decide to play all 10 guys 20 minutes. That starting group is supposed to be TEAM 1 Totals 21-54 5-22 12-20 6 19 25 20 59 13 13 6 8 199 the starting group so, sometimes they have to push through. Can’t always just yank them when FG % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% Deadball things aren’t going right. Especially this early in the season. I wanted to see how they respond. 3FG % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% 4,1 The second group came in in the second half and I don’t think they were much better. Damari Grand Canyon 76 Total 3-Ptr Rebounds (Milstead) was good in the first half, Trey (Dreschel) struggled, Damari stepped up and had a ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 4 Oscar Frayer F 3-8 1-5 1-2 3 4 7 5 8 2 2 0 0 23 really good first half, played well. We have to keep that focus in that aspect, but the second half just 25 Alessandro Lever F 4-8 1-1 6-6 1 2 3 4 15 1 2 0 0 26 43 Michael Finke F 3-5 1-2 0-0 4 2 6 1 7 1 1 0 0 23 wasn’t very good. Rebounding wise I thought we were really good. We had 21 offensive rebounds, 2 Trey Drechsel G 3-9 0-1 0-1 2 3 5 3 6 2 3 1 1 22 out rebounded them by 25, 26 rebounds so that’s better. But the turnovers the last two games, 13 23 Carlos Johnson G 1-9 0-4 1-1 2 1 3 3 3 2 2 0 1 22 5 Matt Jackson 3-6 0-1 1-3 4 4 8 0 7 0 1 0 0 14 and 15, that’s too many.” 11 Damari Milstead 4-9 0-1 1-2 1 2 3 0 9 3 0 0 1 20 12 Roberts Blumbergs 2-3 2-3 2-2 0 3 3 0 8 0 0 0 0 15 24 Tim Finke 2-5 0-1 3-4 1 7 8 2 7 3 2 0 0 23 (On what he liked about Damari Milstead and Tim Finke in the backcourt) “Damari under con- 42 Gerard Martin 2-3 0-1 2-2 0 2 2 2 6 0 2 0 1 13 trol, took some shots, got to the basket and that’s what he does. Tim just plays hard, sometimes TEAM 3 1 4 Totals 27-65 5-20 17-23 21 31 52 20 76 14 15 1 4 201 he’s out of control because he plays so hard. He’s a freshman so it’s helter skelter but he’s good FG % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% Deadball and he’ll figure it out. Tim will play extended minutes a lot. Damari, when he gets his chance to go 3FG % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0-0 0.0% 3 in, that’s what he’s got to do. I know he sat on the bench for a long time but that’s what happens Officials: when you want to see if your first group can get it done. I thought first half he was really good.” Technical Fouls: Jacksonville-None. Grand Canyon-None. Attendance: 6572 (On if Alé is starting to get reestablished) “I’m trying. He’s got to be able to hold onto the ball. In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Alé is just like everyone else, he’s missing layups, he’s not securing the ball on rebounds. I told him Jacksonville 22 37 59 JU 28 12 7 11 22 GCU 38 16 17 7 37 this is a tough year for him. It’s not going to be ‘who’s this kid?’ They know. Every time he’s down Grand Canyon 41 35 76 Last FG - JU 2nd-04:49,GCU 2nd-00:27. Score Tied - 2 times there they are going to be slapping the ball and he’s got to fight through it. I’m on him harder than Largest lead - JU None, GCU None Lead Changed - 2 times anybody. If I can’t yell at my best player, who am I going to yell at? He’s got to get better. Right now, JU led for 00:00. GCU led for 00:00. Game was tied for 00:00. I’ll be honest with you, he’s not very good. He’s not finishing around the basket, he’s getting the ball slapped out of his hands, he’s just not very strong and that’s one thing he’s really got to work on. RAPID RECAP: He’ll do it, he’s a hard worker but it’s my job to be hard on him.” The bench entered seven minutes into the game with score tied and put together an 18-3 run that (on how to keep the team mindset in the present) “Every day, like I said we’ve got to go at it. And sent the Lopes on their way to another home win, a 76-59 blowout of Jacksonville. this isn’t a shot for any guy that I recruit, I told them what to expect. It’s not fun play in the Y this is GCU sophomore reserve point guard Damari Milstead sparked the spurt with some of his best two- high pressure, we need to win. I’m going to be on you non-stop, you know what you signed up for. way play of the season. He scored more points in less than five minutes of the run (seven) than he These guys understand what they are playing in front of, what they are playing for, what I expect. had in the first two games combined (five). So, this is not a surprise to any of those guys, I don’t care if they are young or old, they know, and I’ve made it very clear. I sat with them before they signed and said here’s the pressure and here’s Also off the Lopes bench, sophomore power forward Roberts Blumbergs finished the run and what’s going to happen. As a basketball player that’s what you should love, and they know that I scored eight consecutive GCU points, including two corner 3-pointers that had GCU lead 30-14 with coach them hard, they know that I love them too. They understand not so much see how I talk to 5:52 remaining in the first half. He had missed eight of nine shots entering Monday’s game. you but understand what I’m saying. Because I tell them all the time, if I chew you out, then I swear GCU led 41-22 at halftime with 22 of those points coming from the bench and a 27-9 dominant edge the next minute it’s gone, and I forgot, and I’m focused on the next play, and they should do the on the boards. The Lopes stretched that to their largest lead, 47-22, early in the second half on a same. That’s just being a coach, that’s all there is to it, just got to deal with it. If I can yell at Alé, and 3-point play from junior guard Carlos Johnson, who has scored all 33 of his points this season in the I yell at him more than anyone on that team, if I can yell at Alé I can yell at anybody.” second half. (on if he expected better shooting) “I have, and it’s not there right now. We can’t make a layup However, the starters let Jacksonville get back into the game and the Dolphins kept chipping away right now, so I don’t know what to tell you. Rob made two threes which is great, he makes them all at the lead to be within 11 (66-55) with 4:51 to play. The Lopes did not allow a point again until 46 the time in practice. So eventually it will come, we’ve just got to keep working. We can shoot the seconds remained in the game. ball, believe me we can, if not here right now, it’s not even close right now, I don’t know what to do. We’re just going to keep working, we work on layups every day and we keep missing them, so it’s It helped that GCU restored the reliable scoring sophomore center Alessandro Lever, who was the something we’ll keep working on.” only GCU player to score in double figures. Lever scored 15 points in 26 minutes on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. He scored 14 points in 14 minutes in (on Matt Jackson being healthy) “Yeah, he moves well, Matt’s just got to be a little more confident, Saturday’s win against Delaware State. he’s got to get stronger too, but Matt’s healthy he’s a big part of what we do. He comes in with that second group and we’re able to switch everything, he can get down and guard. So yeah Matt I’m The Lopes grabbed 21 offensive rebounds, leading to a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points. glad, he went through a lot of injuries and tough times, and I’m glad he’s back.” Junior reserve forward Matt Jackson and freshman guard Tim Finke shared the rebounding lead with eight apiece while each also scored seven points. The Lopes’ bench outscored Jacksonville’s subs 37-22.

#LOPESUP ‹ 29 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

FRIDAY NOV. 16 72 7 P.M. 96 PHOENIX, ARIZ. ARKANSAS STATE GRAND CANYON

DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES:

Official Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics (opening statement) “I thought it was a really good win. That’s a team that plays really hard. Grand Canyon vs. South Dakota State 11/8/2018 11:52 a.m. at Brookings, S.D. (Frost Arena) We had no answer for (Ty) Cockfield, we knew he was a really good player. He got it going. Grand Canyon 74 (0-1) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds Sometimes you’ve just got to withstand it and we did a great job in the second half at scoring. ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 25 Alessandro Lever F 3-7 0-2 3-3 1 2 3 3 9 0 0 0 0 24 We couldn’t stop them but we found a way to win the game. Rebounding wise, again, we did a 43 Michael Finke F 4-9 2-6 0-0 1 3 4 1 10 0 0 0 0 26 terrific job. We were hustling, we took some charges and we just found a way to win. And that 02 Trey Drechsel G 6-16 4-9 1-2 0 3 3 1 17 4 2 0 2 32 04 Oscar Frayer G 2-8 1-4 4-5 4 4 8 3 9 0 2 3 1 31 team plays really hard so I was really happy with our win. I thought, again, Damari (Milstead) 23 Carlos Johnson G 5-12 1-4 6-6 3 2 5 2 17 0 1 0 1 23 05 Matt Jackson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 0 0 1 1 13 came in and played extremely well. It was good to see Carlos (Johnson) get it going early, un- 11 Damari Milstead 2-8 0-3 1-2 0 1 1 0 5 0 0 0 1 8 12 Roberts Blumbergs 0-5 0-5 0-0 0 4 4 2 0 1 0 0 1 13 fortunately got into foul trouble. Matt (Jackson) came in, put Gerard (Martin) in late, I thought 24 Tim Finke 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 2 0 3 1 0 1 11 did a really good job. So, I’m happy with that win, that’s a get-away game for us. Our last game 42 Gerard Martin 2-4 1-1 2-2 1 1 2 4 7 0 0 0 1 19 TEAM 1 0 1 here for a while, we go to Wooden Classic and play Seton Hall. So, we’re excited about that and Totals 24-70 9-34 17-20 13 22 35 21 74 8 6 4 9 200 this is a good way to send us off.” FG % 1st Half: 12-37 32.4% 2nd Half: 12-33 36.4% Game: 24-70 34.3% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 6-19 31.6% 2nd Half: 3-15 20.0% Game: 9-34 26.5% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 6-6 100.0% 2nd Half: 11-14 78.6% Game: 17-20 85.0% 2 (On playing two point guards to close the half) “Well, when Damari (Milstead) is playing South Dakota State 79 (1-0) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds well, Trey (Drechsel) is a good player and he’s absolutely a better player when he’s off the ball. ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 24 Mike Daum F 9-20 1-3 1-3 6 7 13 2 20 4 1 0 1 39 But he’s going to be a point guard for us too. So, you’ll see some of that lineup with those two 32 Matt Dentlinger F 4-5 0-0 3-6 3 4 7 3 11 0 2 0 0 36 01 Skyler Flatten G 3-8 2-5 1-2 0 4 4 3 9 1 1 2 1 37 guys, Trey with his size can guard and when we white or switch, that’s a good lineup for us. So, 02 Tevin King G 3-6 0-1 0-0 1 11 12 4 6 1 6 1 1 36 sometimes with the pressure you just want two guards in there, plus Carlos (Johnson) was in 05 David Jenkins G 8-16 4-7 11-15 0 5 5 3 31 1 2 0 0 36 10 Alou Dillon 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 5 foul trouble, Tim (Finke) took a mean shot to the chin, I think he was feeling it a little bit. So, we 23 Owen King 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 6 34 Alex Arians 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 5 just went with that lineup for a little bit and I thought it worked out.” TEAM 2 1 3 1 Totals 28-58 7-17 16-26 14 34 48 19 79 8 16 4 3 200 (On three pointers) “I guess we can’t shoot. I’ve been wrong the whole time, we cannot shoot FG % 1st Half: 13-30 43.3% 2nd Half: 15-28 53.6% Game: 28-58 48.3% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 3-10 30.0% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 7-17 41.2% Rebounds the ball. So, just being aggressive, and like I said Damari (Milstead) did a good job, Michael FT % 1st Half: 9-16 56.3% 2nd Half: 7-10 70.0% Game: 16-26 61.5% 4 (Finke) played well. I still think we can shoot the ball, but I don’t know, maybe not.” Officials: Darryl Smith, Mark Riggs, Luke Schumer Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None. South Dakota State-None. (On talk of the upcoming Wooden Legacy) “I didn’t talk about it, and they better not have. Brookings, S.D. (Frost Arena) Attendance: 1933 2018-19 Season Opener Of course, our guys know that it’s about us getting better and we weren’t happy with the last

In Off 2nd Fast game in the second half. And we knew this team was going to come in and fight, and they Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Grand Canyon 36 38 74 GCU 24 9 8 6 12 did. So, I was very happy with our effort. I’ve talked about playing with a lot of poise. We’re SDK 38 4 18 0 2 South Dakota State 38 41 79 still turning the ball over, some bad mistakes there. Still not communicating defensively, but I Last FG - GCU 2nd-00:26,SDK 2nd-00:39. Score Tied - 8 times Largest lead - GCU by 6 1st-11:17, SDK by 13 2nd-05:15 Lead Changed - 10 times thought the enthusiasm and the effort was a lot better tonight. If we play that hard all the time, GCU led for 11:46. SDK led for 25:15. Game was tied for 02:59. we’ll be okay.” (On Oscar Frayer in the first half) “Just getting him the ball and, you know, flying in there RAPID RECAP: and the way he can jump is very electric, it’s fun to watch. We’re going to have to find a way for him to be able to dribble or catch, because he can’t do either of those two. But Oscar’s my Grand Canyon kept its GCU Arena record immaculate by wiping the floor with Arkansas State guy, I love him and he brings a lot of energy, he plays hard defense. He lost number zero a lot in a 96-72 blowout Friday night, giving GCU the fourth-most home wins in Division I over the because of communication, but when he gets around the basket and we throw lobs to him, he’s past four seasons. pretty electrifying.” GCU’s 52 home wins trail only St. Mary’s (55), Oregon (53) and Louisville (53). The Lopes (On Michael Finke in the second half) “Well it’s not how I can use him, it’s how he’s going to use continued a streak of blowouts on a three-game homestand that sets up GCU to head next himself. There was nothing that we did, I’m not worried about Michael. I’m not worried about week to the Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif., where it will face Seton Hall in the any of our guys. They’ll figure out how to play. When you get new guys it takes a while for a first round on Thursday. coach to figure you out, it takes a while for new players. He’s been in one system for four years, After 42- and 17-point victories on Friday and Monday, GCU (3-1) used an Oscar Frayer-fueled and now he’s here. He’s got to figure out the system and where he’s going to get his shots and burst of 16-3 to close the first half and pull away from the Red Wolves (1-2). Like Monday’s win when to be aggressive. So, I’m not worried about him, I think he’s going to continue to get against Jacksonville, the Lopes bench was crucial to fend off an early threat from the visitors. better and better. We’ve got to get Ale (Lever) going, I don’t know what’s wrong with that kid. He’s just having a hard time finishing. Maybe, like I said, he’s thinking too much. But he’s got to The Lopes used a lineup featuring both point guards, senior Trey Drechsel and sophomore find a way to play a little harder and finish around the basket and just get out of his own head.” Damari Milstead, with Frayer, junior reserve power forward Matt Jackson and senior power forward Michael Finke to keep Arkansas State to 1-of-10 shooting and a shot-clock violation (On the players pushing through the entire game) “Yeah, I thought it was good and I gave over nearly the final six minutes of the first half. guys extended minutes, which I’m going to do sometimes if somebody’s playing well, I’ll keep them out there. Damari (Milstead) played an extended minute roll, that was good. Carlos Finke, the graduate transfer from Illinois, had his best game as a Lopes with 11 of his 15 points (Johnson) played a long time in the first half, Oscar (Frayer) played a long time there for a coming in the second half, when GCU gradually expanded its lead into the 20s. He was one while. So, if guys are playing well, other guys are going to have to suck it up, when they have a of six Lopes players who scored in double figures (Milstead 14, Frayer 13, Drechsel 10, Carlos chance to come in they’re going to have to produce. I told the guys at half time, when you’re a Johnson 10 and Alessandro Lever 10) for the first time in the program’s Division I history. bench player, I’ve been a sixth man that you don’t have time to warm up, you have time in there to get in there and go. I told them you don’t see a cheetah stretch, you’ve got to get in there Milstead also set a career high with five steals, helping the Lopes get into transition. He was a and go. We don’t have a minute for you guys to get loose, you’ve got to be ready to go as soon major cog in a bench that scored 46 points. as you step on the floor. I thought for the most part our guys did a great job of that. I was very GCU shot 49.2 percent form the field and capitalized on getting inside for 46 points in the happy with our game. Now I’ll watch the film tonight and probably not be happy, but right now paint and Arkansas State fouls that led to 27-of-33 Lopes free throw shooting. I’m very happy with them.”

#LOPESUP ‹ 30 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

THURSDAY NOV. 22 82 6 P.M. 75 FULLERTON, CALIF. SETON HALL GRAND CANYON

Official Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Seton Hall vs. Grand Canyon 11/22/2018 7:00 p.m. at Titan Gym (opening statement) “Disappointed. We are at the point of our program’s six years as a Division I Seton Hall 82 (2-2) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds team that we expect to win every game. We knew this was going to be extremely tough, Seton Hall ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 01 Michael NZEI F 2-3 0-0 0-2 0 1 1 3 4 1 2 0 1 36 is a very good team. Very well coached, lot of talent but this is a game that we wanted to come in 23 S. MAMUKELASHVILI F 2-3 0-0 1-2 1 7 8 4 5 1 3 1 0 26 00 Quincy McKNIGHT G 3-7 0-0 5-6 1 4 5 4 11 4 0 0 2 30 and win. Our guys are disappointed, I’m happy with our effort, it was just too much (Myles) Powell. 13 Myles POWELL G 12-16 5-7 11-14 0 7 7 0 40 4 1 0 2 38 22 Myles CALE G 3-5 0-0 2-7 0 3 3 3 8 5 3 0 2 31 He just had one of those games where we knew he was able to do it. We concentrated on him, we 02 Anthony NELSON 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 12 tried different coverages, but he just continued to make big shots after big shots and we couldn’t 14 Jared RHODEN 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 15 Taurean THOMPSON 5-7 1-2 1-2 1 1 2 4 12 0 1 2 0 15 stop him. Credit to our guys, we fought in, we were right there. Had a layup there close to the end 33 Shavar REYNOLDS 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 35 Romaro GILL 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 that just didn’t go down, could’ve changed the game. Got to give them all the credit. They played TEAM 0 2 2 Totals 28-45 6-12 20-33 3 27 30 23 82 15 12 3 7 200 great and Powell is a heck of a player and we just didn’t have an answer for him” FG % 1st Half: 15-23 65.2% 2nd Half: 13-22 59.1% Game: 28-45 62.2% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 6-12 50.0% Rebounds “Just can’t be FT % 1st Half: 7-12 58.3% 2nd Half: 13-21 61.9% Game: 20-33 60.6% (On what they talked about at halftime about trying to defend Myles Powell) 7,1 one guy, he’s got to see a bunch of bodies. That’s what we talked about before the game and we Grand Canyon 75 (3-2) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min tried to blitz him in the second half where we just doubled him off of ball screens. Good players 04 Oscar Frayer F 1-6 1-5 1-2 1 2 3 3 4 4 1 0 0 21 25 Alessandro Lever F 7-14 2-5 4-4 0 6 6 4 20 2 0 1 1 26 find ways to make plays and he absolutely did that. Hats off to him but I was happy with our effort. 43 Michael Finke F 4-9 3-6 0-0 3 2 5 2 11 3 1 0 0 29 02 Trey Drechsel G 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 2 2 4 3 1 2 0 0 18 Our guys fought back and had a chance to win it. Hopefully we can learn from this and continue to 23 Carlos Johnson G 1-4 0-2 2-2 0 0 0 3 4 2 1 1 0 19 05 Matt Jackson 3-4 1-2 0-1 0 0 0 1 7 0 0 1 1 15 get better. I was very happy with Alessandro, he got in foul trouble early, came in and had a really 11 Damari Milstead 7-12 2-4 5-7 0 0 0 2 21 4 3 0 0 25 good game. He’s just a sophomore but I’m learning about my other guys, Michael Finke, Tim Finke, 12 Roberts Blumbergs 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 24 Tim Finke 1-1 1-1 0-0 1 5 6 0 3 1 0 0 0 20 the freshman hit a big shot, played a lot of minutes in the second half. I though Damari came off 42 Gerard Martin 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 3 0 0 2 0 0 19 TEAM *2 1 the bench as a point guard and really gave us some quality minutes and points. As a coach I’m still Totals 25-56 11-30 12-16 5 20 25 22 75 18 11 3 2 200 learning about these guys and my players.” FG % 1st Half: 13-31 41.9% 2nd Half: 12-25 48.0% Game: 25-56 44.6% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 6-16 37.5% 2nd Half: 5-14 35.7% Game: 11-30 36.7% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 5-6 83.3% 2nd Half: 7-10 70.0% Game: 12-16 75.0% 2 (On what he liked about Damari Milstead tonight) “Just the way he played. Trey turned the ball Officials:* - points scored Michael by Greenstein,the other team Rick (wrong Batsell basket) , Kerby Sitton over the first two times he had it. He made one shot, made a lot of defensive lapses and errors. Technical Fouls: Seton Hall-None. Grand Canyon-None. Titan Gym Attendance: 1266 Trey’s a good player he just has to play better. Damari came in and gave us a spark and played. Our * - points scored by the other team (wrong basket) team, I have 10 guys that play and no matter who starts, if the guys playing he’s going to play well. I In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench thought Gerard came in and gave us good minutes defensively, Tim too with his hustle. Damari just Seton Hall 40 42 82 SHU 34 12 6 6 14 GCU 24 14 7 0 31 continues to get better and better and that’s what he’s supposed to do. He was a freshman that Grand Canyon 37 38 75 Last FG - SHU 2nd-00:02,GCU 2nd-01:33. Score Tied - 6 times played sparingly last year and now he’s a sophomore and getting better.” Largest lead - SHU by 10 2nd-09:10, GCU by 2 1st-18:55 Lead Changed - 3 times SHU led for 36:00. GCU led for 01:25. Game was tied for 02:35. (On if the Havocs having an arena rocking is a common occurrence) “Oh, man if you can ever get to Phoenix and watch one of our games it’s that time 100. We rock the place at 7,500 standing room only. We have, this is not a hyperbole, if not the best student fanbase in the country, it’s one of the best. They travel, and they care about our team and we don’t take it for granted. We love it RAPID RECAP: and they just do a great job. That’s one of the best things about Grand Canyon is the support we The Lopes would not go away throughout the Wooden Legacy first-round game, tying the score get from the Havocs and the people that came here are unbelievable.” repeatedly and keeping the Pirates’ lead in single digits before taking its first lead with 2:07 to go and (on if he expected Myles Powell to be that explosive) “I didn’t think he would get 40 but I knew leading again with 1:33 to go. But a 9-0 Seton Hall run stole back the lead from GCU and ended an he was explosive. We watched a lot of film on him and we knew he was a guy that can really get it 82-75 Pirates win Thursday night at Titan Gym. going. We tried to change coverage on him and he hit a bunch of deep three’s and took it to the The Lopes trailed 69-62 before a scoring spurt that began with senior power forward Michael Finke basket and it was just one of those games. Your stars have to be stars and he was a star tonight. battling for a tie-up on the offensive boards. Sophomore point guard Damari Milstead, who scored We tried to do everything we could but he just continued to make those kinds of shots. Am I a team-high 21 points off the bench, sparked the comeback and that freshman guard Tim Finke surprised he got 40? Yeah. Am I surprised he played really well? No because we knew that was continued with a 3-pointer that cut Seton Hall’s lead to 69-68. going to happen. We just have to do a better job collectively as coaches and as a team to not let that happen. But he got it rolling.” The momentum spilled over a Pirates time out and the Lopes took their first lead of the game when Tim Finke found his big brother, Mike, for a 3-pointer and a 73-72 lead. After Seton Hall re-tied the (on if this was the most authoritative he has seen Alè in the post this year) “Yeah, that was the game, Milstead put GCU back ahead with a pullback floater in the lane and a 75-73 edge with 1:33 to old Alè from last year. He had a lot of confidence from last year, made some outside jumpers. Best play. thing is he got into some foul trouble and didn’t foul out. Was good down in the post. I’m happy for him. He works hard and he’s going to have to play like that for us to be good. That’s the best I’ve The Lopes got an ensuing miss from Seton Hall (2-2) but the Pirates rebounded to start the seen him this year but that’s the Alè of old.” game-deciding 9-0 run. (on how the quick turnaround will help down the stretch for the rest of the year) “It’s going to Seton Hall shot 62.2 percent from the field with guard Myles Powell scoring 40 points, which tied be good because we don’t have to think about this game very often. Our kids are very disappoint- James Harden’s tournament record. ed, they wanted to win this thing. To get close and be beat by a good team, as coaches we will be GCU committed three turnovers in the first 2:37 of the game and dug a 10-2 hole to start the game. up all-night watching film not only of this game but either Utah or Hawai’i. Our guys have to come ready tomorrow and just play better. This is like the WAC tournament. This is what we will have to Milstead gave the Lopes the largest lift off the bench, scoring 12 of those 15 points by penetrating the do in the WAC tournament and it’s what we did last year. We are going to have to bounce back from paint and hitting a pair of 3-pointers. the disappointment and find a way to win a game.” Despite Powell and Seton Hall’s 65 percent first-half shooting, the Lopes tied the game on three occasions in the first half and only trailed 40-37 at the break. The Lopes defense was creating havoc with 10 Seton Hall turnovers in the first half.

#LOPESUP ‹ 31 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

FRIDAY NOV. 23 66 6 P.M. 75 FULLERTON, CALIF GRAND CANYON UTAH

Official Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics dominance on the boards (18-7). Grand Canyon vs. Utah 11/23/2018 7:00 p.m. at Titan Gym Grand Canyon 66 (3-3) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Oscar Frayer F 2-5 1-3 0-0 1 3 4 2 5 2 2 0 0 27 (on the Utah game) “I’m disappointed, you know, we came out a little flat for whatever reason. 25 Alessandro Lever F 4-8 1-3 7-12 0 3 3 5 16 0 4 1 0 31 43 Michael Finke F 1-3 1-2 2-3 1 2 3 2 5 1 1 0 0 22 We couldn’t shoot it and defensively we were really bad. Utah was good and we did a bad job, so 02 Trey Drechsel G 3-5 2-4 2-2 0 3 3 1 10 3 2 0 0 21 24 Tim Finke G 4-9 4-8 2-2 0 2 2 5 14 0 1 0 0 32 we dug ourselves a hole. And then we decided to start working a little harder and start to guard a 05 Matt Jackson 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 8 11 Damari Milstead 2-7 0-1 2-2 2 0 2 3 6 4 1 0 1 22 little better and fought our way back into it. But Utah played well. (Sedrick) Barefield had a heck of 23 Carlos Johnson 2-4 0-1 4-5 1 1 2 1 8 0 2 0 0 22 a game, made a lot of nice shots, especially at the end of the buzzer on a lot of them. But I give all 42 Gerard Martin 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 2 1 0 1 15 TEAM 0 2 2 the credit to Utah, bounced back from a tough game last night, came out to play and basically just Totals 19-44 9-24 19-26 7 17 24 21 66 12 14 1 2 200 played better and harder than we did. Which was disappointing, because we were a desperate FG % 1st Half: 8-20 40.0% 2nd Half: 11-24 45.8% Game: 19-44 43.2% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 3-11 27.3% 2nd Half: 6-13 46.2% Game: 9-24 37.5% Rebounds team also. We weren’t happy with the way we played last night and nothing’s changed.” FT % 1st Half: 10-13 76.9% 2nd Half: 9-13 69.2% Game: 19-26 73.1% 3 Utah 75 (3-2) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min (on what impressed him) “Just his poise, we knew he was a good player. He can attack, he can 03 Donnie Tillman F 5-7 2-4 2-2 1 4 5 2 14 0 2 0 0 38 get to the basket, pull up, shoot jump shots. Just seems like there’s somebody, just a back-court 11 Both Gach F 1-2 0-1 8-8 0 3 3 2 10 3 4 0 1 22 20 Timmy Allen F 3-6 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 2 7 0 2 0 1 24 guy that’s going to have a nice game against us every night. The other night it was (Myles) Powell 34 Jayce Johnson F 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 5 0 0 0 0 0 14 02 Sedrick Barefield G 9-16 4-8 4-5 1 1 2 2 26 3 1 0 0 38 with 40. So, we have a hard time guarding right now. He’s the guy that hurt us tonight. He’s a good 01 Jr., Charles Jones 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 05 Parker Van Dyke 2-5 2-5 0-0 0 1 1 1 6 4 1 0 1 18 player, we knew that coming in, and he took advantage of us. We just couldn’t guard him. 9-16, 13 Novak Topalovic 1-3 0-0 0-0 3 3 6 0 2 0 1 1 0 10 4-8 from the three. Just played an all-around good game with 38 minutes. It was just a good, 21 Riley Battin 3-5 0-1 4-5 2 2 4 3 10 2 0 0 0 24 31 Brandon Morley 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 4 0 0 2 1 0 8 productive, solid evening for him. We just have to do a better job of finding him and making him do TEAM 2 2 4 Totals 24-48 8-20 19-22 9 22 31 21 75 12 13 2 3 200 things he doesn’t want to do.” FG % 1st Half: 14-25 56.0% 2nd Half: 10-23 43.5% Game: 24-48 50.0% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 5-12 41.7% Game: 8-20 40.0% Rebounds (on Alessandro Lever) “Well, it’s not going to help us if the rest of our offense doesn’t shoot well. FT % 1st Half: 4-5 80.0% 2nd Half: 15-17 88.2% Game: 19-22 86.4% 1 Right now, our offense is a throw it to Ale and hope he gets hot, pop him on the three-pointer and Officials: Kerry Sitton, Ed Crenshaw, Tom Short Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None. Utah-None. hope he makes it. We just have to have guys that can shoot a little bit better, that can penetrate and Titan Gym Attendance: 2089 kick. Alessandro is a terrific player, has been all of last year and he’s starting to play better now. In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench So that’s good for him, but we’ve got to get guys around him to support him because he’s going to Grand Canyon 29 37 66 GCU 18 15 8 0 16 UTAH 20 16 11 0 18 Utah 35 40 75 start getting double teamed and we can’t rely on him every night to have good nights.” Last FG - GCU 2nd-00:24,UTAH 2nd-01:08. Score Tied - 0 times Largest lead - GCU None, UTAH by 16 1st-09:18 Lead Changed - 0 times GCU led for 00:00. UTAH led for 39:22. Game was tied for 00:38.

RAPID RECAP: The Lopes made it even more difficult by playing from behind for the near entirety of both games Thursday and Friday. Unlike Thursday’s loss to Seton Hall, GCU did not rally to a lead against Utah. The Lopes pulled within one point with 9:52 to go Friday but faded to a 75-66 loss to the Utes at Titan Gym. Despite a 16-point deficit in the first half, the Lopes worked their way into the game with the help of some of sophomore center Alessandro Lever’s 16 points and four 3-pointers from freshman guard Tim Finke (14 points) in his first start. But after a baseline jumper from GCU senior forward Matt Jackson cut Utah’s lead to 48-47 with 9:52 to go, the Lopes missed seven of their next eight shots. Utah (3-2) stretched the lead back to dou- ble-digits with the shooting of senior guard Sedrick Barefield, who scored 26 points after entering the game with a 10.0 scoring average. Utah shot 50 percent from the field while GCU shot 41.9 percent while taking more 3-point shots (9 for 24) than 2-point shots (10 for 20) for the second consecutive game. The Lopes allowed their opponent to get off to a 10-2 start for the second consecutive night. This time, it was even easier with Utah getting four layups. But it only got worse, as Utah later used 14 unanswered points to take a 24-8 lead with 9:10 remaining in the first half. At that point, the Lopes were 2 for 13 from the field and settling frequently for 3-point shots (2 for 10). Junior guard Carlos Johnson, coming off the bench Friday, broke the drought of 5:31 by getting fouled on a drive for two free throws and then finishing a fastbreak for a three-point play. Lever scored all nine of his first-half points in the final 7:31 of the half, helping cut Utah’s lead with a better defensive effort. The Utes went 1 for 5 with three turnovers down the stretch, allowing the Lopes to go into halftime trailing 35-29 after a 10-2 run. After Seton Hall shot 62 percent to beat GCU on Thursday, Utah shot 52 percent in the first half with the help of a 9-0 advantage on second-chance points because of its

#LOPESUP ‹ 32 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

FRIDAY NOV. 25 70 6 P.M. 82 FULLERTON, CALIF. LA SALLE GRAND CANYON

Official Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: La Salle vs. Grand Canyon 11/25/2018 5:00 p.m. at Titan Gym (opening statement) “Happy to win. It was a good victory for us. That’s a tough team to play La Salle 70 (0-7) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds against with their pressure and they just keep coming at you. They play extremely hard, so I was ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 04 Miles BROOKINS F 4-7 0-1 2-2 6 4 10 3 10 2 0 1 1 32 proud of our guys. It wasn’t pretty, but it was good to get a win. That’s a tough team to play against, 24 Jared KIMBROUGH F 1-3 0-0 3-6 2 2 4 4 5 0 0 0 2 12 00 Pookie POWELL G 4-14 0-5 7-7 0 2 2 4 15 0 2 0 1 33 so I was happy for our guys. They’ve been working really hard and we’ve had some disappointing 10 Isiah DEAS G 7-25 3-12 5-7 1 3 4 4 22 1 1 0 1 36 25 Traci CARTER G 1-4 0-1 4-4 0 4 4 5 6 5 3 0 1 34 games here. We’ve been close, but this was a good one for us.” 01 David BEATTY 2-6 2-4 0-0 2 1 3 5 6 1 3 0 1 27 03 Jamir MOULTRIE 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 0 11 11 Ed CROSWELL 1-4 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 9 (on how to limit being down early) “Well we wanted to concentrate on our defense, because we 14 Andrew LAFOND 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ haven’t been good defensively, the way that we want to play. So that’s been really a talking point 31 Cian SULLIVAN 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 6 TEAM 2 2 4 the last day or so of what we did wrong and in the first two games defensively, we wanted to make Totals 21-69 5-25 23-28 16 22 38 29 70 9 11 1 8 200 sure that we came out and locked-down defensively and got better and got back to the way we FG % 1st Half: 6-29 20.7% 2nd Half: 15-40 37.5% Game: 21-69 30.4% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 2-11 18.2% 2nd Half: 3-14 21.4% Game: 5-25 20.0% Rebounds want to play. I thought our guys really concentrated on that in the first-half especially. I knew FT % 1st Half: 6-7 85.7% 2nd Half: 17-21 81.0% Game: 23-28 82.1% 2 with their pressure that we weren’t going to be able to run many plays. We just have to get out in Grand Canyon 82 (4-3) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min the open court and move the basketball. Our best offense was getting stops, and getting out and 04 Oscar Frayer F 1-5 0-2 0-1 0 2 2 2 2 0 3 1 0 20 25 Alessandro Lever F 6-7 1-1 4-6 1 9 10 4 17 0 1 0 0 31 running.” 43 Michael Finke F 2-6 0-2 4-6 2 4 6 2 8 2 1 0 0 19 02 Trey Drechsel G 4-5 1-2 1-3 0 2 2 4 10 2 5 1 0 30 24 Tim Finke G 1-6 0-2 0-0 1 3 4 2 2 2 0 0 1 20 (on how to prepare for the pressure and traps) “Yeah it’s hard to prepare, especially this early 05 Matt Jackson 1-1 0-0 3-4 0 1 1 3 5 2 0 0 0 10 11 Damari Milstead 3-5 1-1 10-12 0 3 3 3 17 2 3 0 0 23 in the year. We haven’t seen that. We will see a little bit of that in our league, but this is the first 23 Carlos Johnson 6-11 0-1 4-5 1 6 7 3 16 2 4 1 1 28 time that we’ve seen that. Then after playing two back-to-back games, and having yesterday off, 42 Gerard Martin 2-2 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 5 2 1 1 1 19 TEAM 0 4 4 we didn’t practice, we just went through a walk-through and went through film. So you really can’t Totals 26-48 4-12 26-37 5 35 40 26 82 14 18 4 3 200 prepare. You just have to tell the guys what to expect and it’s really hard for them because their FG % 1st Half: 14-28 50.0% 2nd Half: 12-20 60.0% Game: 26-48 54.2% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 2-7 28.6% 2nd Half: 2-5 40.0% Game: 4-12 33.3% Rebounds not going to see it until they get out on the floor. So it’s difficult, so that’s why it’s a good win for us.” FT % 1st Half: 1-4 25.0% 2nd Half: 25-33 75.8% Game: 26-37 70.3% 6 Officials: Kerry Sitton, Rick Batsell, Ed Crenshaw (on Alessandro Lever) “Isn’t he cute? Isn’t he so cute. Just a little kid from Italy. No, he has been Technical Fouls: La Salle-None. Grand Canyon-None. Titan Gym Attendance: 1589 great. Ale’s (Lever) been, you know he was, he was great last year as a freshman. A lot has been 1st half 17:47- LS #4 Flagrant 1 put on his shoulders. You know he’s WAC Preseason Player of the Year, so I put a lot of pressure on In Off 2nd Fast Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench him. I yell at him, I scream at him, cause I want him to do really well, but he’s not only a great player, La Salle 20 50 70 LAS 24 11 18 0 12 GCU 38 12 6 4 43 Grand Canyon 31 51 82 but a great person, a great kid and a great ambassador for our school. We’re proud to have him Last FG - LAS 2nd-00:10,GCU 2nd-02:10. Score Tied - 1 times and he gets better every game. He goes the way our team goes. He’s a good scorer and can really Largest lead - LAS by 1 1st-12:32, GCU by 16 1st-04:26 Lead Changed - 2 times LAS led for 01:35. GCU led for 37:18. Game was tied for 01:00. rebound the basketball and the best thing about him is the type of person he is. Just happy to have him.” (on how important the tournament was for the rest of the season) “It’s good. We always want to play great competition and for us to play Seton Hall was great, and Utah, a PAC-12 school, but RAPID RECAP: ever since I’ve been in this program, we’ve always scheduled tough. We’ve played Louisville three times, we’ve played Duke, we’ve played Kentucky, we’ve played Indiana, we’ve played all the big Grand Canyon did not feel good about its first two finishes at the Wooden Legacy but the Lopes teams, so this year I really wanted to schedule hard. I mean our next games, Boise State, we’re closed the tournament with authority on Sunday. playing Nevada, we’re at Texas, we’re at Northern Iowa, we’re at San Diego. We have a really GCU (4-3) used a 17-0 run that kept La Salle scoreless for nearly nine minutes of the first half to leave hard stretch, but thats the way we want to schedule. Hopefully that’ll get us tougher and we’ll be Titan Gym with an 82-70 victory. prepared for when our WAC season starts. It’s going to be a tough stretch, it’s going to be hard to win some games, but that’s what I wanted our guys to do. Get them tougher and it’s important for The Lopes opened the tournament by contending but losing to Seton Hall and Utah but responded us to win the WAC and win the WAC tournament and go to the NCAA’s. That’s they way we’re going with an active defense that forced La Salle into frequent perimeter misses and strips on the interior to get there. That’s the way we wanted to prepare.” during the first half. The Explorers were 4 for 25 from the field when they feel behind 25-9 with 4:30 until halftime but they used GCU fouls to help close the gap to 31-20 by halftime. La Salle (0-7) found its offense to start the second half with guard Isiah Deas getting some of his 20 points. But unlike other previous scoring guards who have hurt GCU, Deas was not efficient, going 7 for 25 from the field. La Salle’s leading scorer, senior guard Pookie Powell, had similar struggles with 4-for-14 shooting. GCU senior center Alessandro Lever recorded his third career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and shared the scoring lead with sophomore point guard Damari Milstead, whose 17 points keyed GCU’s 43-12 advantage in bench scoring. Junior guard Carlos Johnson added 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench. La Salle shot 30.4 percent from the field, recovering slightly in the second half and staying in the game with 23-for-28 free throw shooting.

#LOPESUP ‹ 33 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

SATURDAY DEC. 1 67 7 P.M. 69 PHOENIX, ARIZ. BOISE STATE GRAND CANYON

Official Basketball Box Score - Final Game Time: 7:00 PM Boise St. at Grand Canyon Game Duration: 2:04 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Attendance: 7,317 12/01/18 GCU Arena, Phoenix, Ariz. 2018-19 Men's Basketball Officials: Casey McClellan, Gregory Nixon, Marques Pettigrew (on what the feeling was in the locker room post-game) “Guys were extremely happy which Boise St. - 67 Record: 2-5 they should be. That’s a very good Boise State team, really good. Well coached, been a good FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period TP AS TO ST +/- NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 16-28 57.1% program for a long time. We knew this was going to be a tough game and our guys battled and 11 Zach Haney F 18:57 2-3 0-0 0-0 3 2 5 1 1 4 0 2 0 0 0 -7 3PT% 4-8 50.0% 0 Marcus Dickinson G 36:01 5-7 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 0 0 5 FT% 0-1 0% found a way to win one. We’ve been losing a couple of those lately. Found a way to get a stop 3 Justinian Jessup G 21:20 2-8 1-4 0-0 0 2 2 5 0 5 1 3 2 1 0 10 2nd FG% 11-22 50.0% and a big basket. Just happy. Guys have worked hard, and we have a long way to go but they’ve 13 Pat Dembley G 27:23 4-8 2-5 1-2 0 2 2 4 2 11 1 4 0 0 0 2 3PT% 2-7 28.6% 23 RJ Williams G 37:26 11-14 0-0 1-4 2 5 7 2 5 23 2 4 5 1 1 0 FT% 7-11 63.6% worked hard. That second group really scrapped and had some great performances. It’s 33 David Wacker 21:03 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 5 GM FG% 27-50 54.0% 5 Malek Harwell 15:49 1-3 1-1 4-4 1 0 1 3 2 7 0 1 0 0 1 -4 3PT% 6-15 40.0% what it’s about, just finding a way to win. Good team win.” FT% 7-12 58.3% 21 Derrick Alston 22:01 2-6 1-3 1-2 0 3 3 3 3 6 0 1 0 1 0 -21 Dead Ball Rebounds: 1, 0 Team 0 4 4 0 1 Totals 27-50 6-15 7-12 7 21 28 22 17 67 5 17 8 5 3 -2 (on what the second group brings) “They go a little smaller, we switch, and they go down and Technical Fouls: NONE guard. That’s their identity. That’s what they do. They’ve done it since day one. Their job is to Grand Canyon - 69 Record: 5-3 FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period come in and change the game and they needed to change the game in a hurry and they got TP AS TO ST +/- NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 15-30 50.0% 4 Oscar Frayer F 27:16 4-7 2-4 1-5 1 4 5 0 4 11 0 1 2 0 0 -16 3PT% 4-13 30.8% us out of that hole. Matt and Gerard, there’s something to be said about guys who have been 25 Alessandro Lever F 15:04 1-4 0-2 1-2 0 2 2 0 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 -16 FT% 1-2 50% here five years. They are big culture guys, know how I work, know how this team works. They 43 Michael Finke F 12:59 3-5 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 6 0 2 0 0 0 -18 2nd FG% 11-24 45.8% 2 Trey Drechsel G 26:22 4-10 1-5 1-2 0 3 3 4 4 10 3 1 0 0 1 4 3PT% 3-10 30.0% did an unbelievable job, everybody did. Hopefully guys like Michael, Tim and Alè and those guys 24 Tim Finke G 11:44 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 -11 FT% 9-16 56.3% 11 Damari Milstead 28:16 4-9 1-3 4-5 1 0 1 1 4 13 3 2 2 0 2 13 GM FG% 26-54 48.1% are going to have to bounce back because we are going to need them. That’s team basketball, 23 Carlos Johnson 26:37 5-9 1-2 3-4 1 2 3 3 4 14 1 3 1 0 0 18 3PT% 7-23 30.4% FT% 10-18 55.6% guys stepping up and playing well.” 42 Gerard Martin 26:46 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 4 3 2 1 1 0 2 1 18 5 Matt Jackson 24:56 4-6 2-4 0-0 1 5 6 3 1 10 0 0 0 1 1 18 Dead Ball Rebounds: 6, 0 Team 3 2 5 0 0 (on what it’s like to have so many weapons off the bench)“I don’t know if their weapons, Totals 26-54 7-23 10-18 9 20 29 17 22 69 10 12 5 3 5 2 Technical Fouls: NONE more like bodies. We have to play better no if’s and’s or but’s about it. But there’s a lot of BSU GCU Points from BSU GCU Period by Period Scoring guys we throw out there to give different looks which is nice. I’m happy for Matt. Matt’s been Biggest lead nd st 11 (2 15:12) 6 (1 5:05) Turnovers 11 14 1st 2nd TOT injured and battled through a bunch of stuff. Gerard, I said is a culture guy and he gives his all Best Scoring Run 12 (2nd 15:12) 10 (1st 6:11) Paint 38 28 Lead Changes 11 Second Chance 9 12 BSU 36 31 67 every day in practice. Damari has worked hard. I’m just happy for everybody. The guys who Times Tied 7 Fast Breaks 13 3 GCU 35 34 69 didn’t get it done tonight are going to need to bounce back because we are going to need Time with Lead 29:26 06:15 Bench 13 39 them the next game.” (on Damari Milstead and Carlos Johnson) “Carlos has struggled early but he’s starting to round into shape and starting to figure out how to play. Be aggressive, take the ball to the basket. He’s a hard matchup when he takes the ball to the basket and then he can start pulling up a bit. He’s figuring it out. Damari has been here for a year and a half now. He’s a big part of coming off the bench, give us another ball handler, good on-ball defender and smart. So, I’m happy for all of those guys.” (on if he saw the concentration that he preached in practice) “Did you see 23 steal the RAPID RECAP: ball every time? We actually covered that. Every film I watched we said Williams is going to shoot the gap and steal every entry pass to your man and we gave away three or four of those After losing a double-overtime crusher at Boise State last season, Grand Canyon won a 69-67 thriller tonight. So, we are getting better but those are the little things that are going to hurt you. I tell against Boise State on Saturday night at GCU Arena. our guys players have to be players and you have to make plays and tonight they made plays.” GCU scored on its final six possession of the game and held its collective breath as Boise State ran (on what the value is on closing out a game like this) “The value is that we have a heck of a out of time before taking a potential tying shot one year after the Broncos made a desperation stretch coming and we don’t want to lose at home. I don’t care against who. We knew this was 3-pointer to tie at the end of regulation against the Lopes. going to be a hard game, but we don’t ever want to disappoint this crowd with the support Boise State took a 9-4 lead to start the game. After a Broncos 36-35 first half, Boise State opened the we get night in and night out. We want to make sure we win games here. That’s the most second half with a 7-0 start in the first three minutes and kept GCU scoreless for five minutes. important thing to me. When you’re going on a road trip where we’re playing Nevada, Texas and Northern Iowa then go to San Diego, that’s tough enough. So, you have to win your home After trailing 46-35, the Lopes went on a 12-1 run with all reserves doing the scoring, GCU had not games that’s for sure. That’s a good way to get a feeling of closing out a close game. Especially led since 30-27 until senior forward Gerard Martin took a charge and junior guard Carlos Johnson battling back. It looked fire straights there first half and the second half they started out scored on a spin move for a 57-56 lead with 6:00 to go. strong and we had to dig ourselves out again. A Damari Milstead steal set up an Oscar Frayer go-ahead free throw with 1:13 to play but Boise State (on Alè struggles) “This was a hard game for him and Michael. Guarding smaller guys and retook the lead with 58.1 seconds to go with a follow by R.J. Williams, who led Boise State with 23 Alè just couldn’t get in a rhythm. There was such a big hole I had to make a lineup change. I points and seven rebounds. tell those guys all the time the guys who are getting it done on the floor deserve to play. This is The Lopes answered out of a time out by setting up senior Alessandro Lever to back down his defender about GCU nobody else. But you’re going to give Alè a chance down the stretch because he’s and score a post move, his first field goal of the game to give GCU a 66-65 lead with 40.9 seconds to go. our best player. He’s our best offensive player. He made a big bucket down there, backed the guy down and made a huge shot.” The Lopes kept the lead on free throws, but Boise State took possession trailing 69-67 with 5.2 sec- onds go but Broncos guard Pat Dembley ran out of clock dribbling upcourt before attempting a shot. GCU put five scorers in double figures with the Lopes bench outscoring Broncos reserves 39-13. GCU created four Boise State turnovers and blocked a shot during a stretch that included 10 unan- swered points for a 26-22 lead with 6:11 to go. Drechsel played the first 13:20 of the game, scoring nine with sharp, assertive perimeter shooting.

#LOPESUP ‹ 34 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

SUNDAY DEC. 9 74 3:30 P.M. 66 PHOENIX, ARIZ. #6 NEVADA GRAND CANYON

Official Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Nevada vs. Grand Canyon 12/9/2018 3:30 p.m. at Phoenix, Ariz. (opening statement) “First of all I am proud of our guys. Disappointed we didn’t win. We’ve had #6 Nevada 74 (10-0) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min a lot of those games and we just have to find a way to break through. That’s a very good, Nevada 00 Tre'shawn Thurman * 1-5 0-1 0-0 0 4 4 3 2 2 3 2 4 30 10 Caleb Martin * 3-11 1-8 6-8 2 10 12 2 13 1 2 0 1 34 team. We came out, opened up very strong. Took a punch in the mouth from them and fought 11 Cody Martin * 5-9 0-3 2-3 1 1 2 2 12 4 2 0 1 38 15 Trey Porter * 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 9 back. I thought the second-half we really battled, had some chances there down the stretch to 24 Jordan Caroline * 6-13 2-5 8-10 3 11 14 4 22 1 3 0 0 39 make some shots, some good looks. Just couldn’t do it. They (Nevada) did a good job at doing 02 Corey Henson 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 05 Nisré Zouzoua 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 what they do, which is attack the basket and get to the free-throw line. So disappointed that we 21 Jordan Brown 3-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 6 0 1 0 1 8 22 Jazz Johnson 4-6 3-4 8-8 0 0 0 0 19 3 1 0 0 33 lost, understand that that is a really good team, but overall proud of our guys and it is something TEAM 2 0 2 1 Totals 22-51 6-22 24-29 8 28 36 13 74 11 14 2 7 200 we can build on.” FG % 1st Half: 12-28 42.9% 2nd Half: 10-23 43.5% Game: 22-51 43.1% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 3-11 27.3% 2nd Half: 3-11 27.3% Game: 6-22 27.3% Rebounds (on the difference between the teams at the free throw line)“Yeah you know I said, that’s FT % 1st Half: 7-7 100.0% 2nd Half: 17-22 77.3% Game: 24-29 82.8% 2 their game. They put their heads down and they attack. That’s how they play. We knew that Grand Canyon 66 (5-4) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min coming in. It’s one of the big reasons we played zone. We are not a zone team. We haven’t played 02 Trey Drechsel * 6-10 4-4 0-0 0 3 3 0 16 1 5 0 1 26 04 Oscar Frayer * 3-8 3-6 0-0 1 8 9 2 9 2 0 0 1 33 zone in six years, but we understand that one of their strengths is taking the ball to the basket, 11 Damari Milstead * 5-12 1-3 0-0 1 0 1 4 11 4 5 0 1 36 25 Alessandro Lever * 5-14 1-4 2-3 1 2 3 5 13 2 1 0 0 18 so we hoped that we could slow them down, but they’re good for a reason. They were able to still 43 Michael Finke * 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 1 5 4 4 1 0 0 1 25 05 Matt Jackson 2-3 0-1 2-2 1 3 4 1 6 3 0 0 1 21 attack and did a good job of it. Especially down the stretch. As I said, we missed some shots and 12 Roberts Blumbergs 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 they (Nevada) put their heads down and drew some contact. We did a poor job of moving our 23 Carlos Johnson 2-6 1-2 2-3 1 2 3 3 7 0 3 0 0 16 24 Tim Finke 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 feet. A couple of touch fouls, but they are a good team. ” 42 Gerard Martin 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 4 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 18 TEAM Totals 25-61 10-21 6-8 9 24 33 21 66 15 14 1 5 200 (on Damari Milstead) “Yeah Damari played well. This is his second year. He was put in big FG % 1st Half: 12-30 40.0% 2nd Half: 13-31 41.9% Game: 25-61 41.0% Deadball situations last year and I thought he did a good job. He had five turnovers. Our other point 3FG % 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 5-11 45.5% Game: 10-21 47.6% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 3-4 75.0% Game: 6-8 75.0% 1 guard, Trey (Dreschel) had five turnovers and that’s way too many. We can’t turn the ball over Officials: Greg Nixon, Mike Reed, Darron White against a good team like Nevada, allow them to get out on the break, so that was disappointing. Technical Fouls: Nevada-None. Grand Canyon-None. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Ariz. Attendance: 10172 Damari continues to get better and those two guys especially are going to have to play well for

In Off 2nd Fast us to get better. I’m happy with Damari, he’s got a ways to go, but he’s just a sophomore and he’s Score by Period 1st 2nd Total Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Nevada 34 40 74 NEV 30 12 7 12 25 made big strides.” GCU 25 15 4 3 13 Grand Canyon 32 34 66 Last FG - NEV 2nd-01:37,GCU 2nd-00:14. Score Tied - 3 times Largest lead - NEV by 10 2nd-00:41, GCU by 12 1st-14:12 Lead Changed - 3 times (on if he felt the team their best all season against Nevada) “I thought we played well against NEV led for 22:43. GCU led for 14:08. Game was tied for 03:09. Seton Hall. Had it within a couple points with thirty seconds to go. Nevada was coming off a tough stretch. To play Friday night, late, and then just have one day to prepare. We sat there for a week, so I expected us to play well. To be honest with you, I’m tired of saying our team plays well and we lose, that’s just not who we are. I don’t care if its the number six team or whoever it is. We have high expectations of where we want to be as a program, so yeah, we played well, but I didn’t think we were going to come in here and lose by thirty either. I knew we were going RAPID RECAP: to give them a game. I can’t say I’m happy, you know, we played well, cause that’s just not who Grand Canyon led No. 6 Nevada for 12 consecutive first-half minutes, took a second-half lead and we are and that’s not who I am. We just have to find a way. That is a very good team, but I am not pulled within one point with 2:55 to play in the game but the Lopes could not finish off the upset surprised we hung in there and had a chance. That’s what I expected and to be honest, that’s Sunday in front of a purple-partisan Talking Stick Resort Arena crowd. what our guys expected.” The Lopes made a national impression on a national stage but lost 74-66 to Nevada in the inaugural (on how an opponent like Nevada gets GCU ready for conference play) “Just our toughness. Air Force Reserve Jerry Colangelo Classic. Nevada turned up the pressure a little bit. In our league, we play smaller teams and they are very tough. They get in there and they deny and they go for steals. They out tough you. Our guys, in a Senior point guard Trey Drechsel led GCU with 16 points while Lopes sophomore center Alessandro couple instances, backed away from the ball, ball was on the floor and didn’t go get it. Wasn’t the Lever scored 13 before fouling out in 18 minutes. Junior swingman Oscar Frayer added nine points first one on the floor, not meeting outlet passes, getting the ball stolen, being surprised, loose and a team-high nine rebounds. GCU had its best 3-point shooting game of the season (10 for 21) but balls, rebounds. I keep emphasizing to our guys, that for forty minutes, we have to be the toughest Nevada enjoyed a 24-6 scoring advantage at the free throw line. team on the floor, all the time. That’s not going to change in the WAC. The WAC has gotten very GCU got off to a great start, long before taking an 11-0 lead. GCU students began lining up outside good. It’s a really good conference, with some really good teams that are tough and play very Talking Stick Resort Arena at 7 a.m. and curled around the entrance and along Jefferson Avenue by physical basketball, and play great basketball. New Mexico State almost beats Kansas, there are a late morning. As No. 7 Tennessee toppled No. 1 Gonzaga in the event’s first game, the Havocs made bunch of teams playing well. So hopefully our guys will continue to be tough and not take anything their presence known by occupying five sections at the south side of the arena in addition to two for granted and leave it on the floor for forty minutes and every time you step on the floor.” more sections of Lopes fans. (on if Coach Majerle liked the looks his team got at the end) “Yeah we took a couple bad The Lopes shut out Nevada, the nation’s most efficient offense, for more than five minutes with a rare shots in the first-half. Down the stretch, I thought we had great shots. Damari (Milstead) use of 2-3 zone defense. GCU led 11-0 after the first 5:07 of the game. had a few floaters in there. G (Martin) had a wide-open three, Oscar (Frayer) had one. Carlos (Johnson) did a great job on taking it to the basket, just missed it. That’s the next step, you GCU took its largest lead at 14-2 when Frayer made his second 3-pointer with 14:10 until halftime but have to make shots. Especially good ones. Yeah, I thought we executed well and we got to the the Lopes missed their next nine shots, almost exclusively from the perimeter. Nevada took its first basket. The difference in that game was right there, like I said they (Nevada) came down, made lead with 6:10 to go until halftime as part of an 8-0 run in which the Wolf Pack penetrated the paint. a few big shots, got to the free-throw line, got fouled. We came down and didn’t make shots. Nevada stretched its lead to 30-24 before the Lopes closed well by scoring on their final three first- That’s what basketball is. Taking care of opportunities and making big shots. We didn’t do it. half possessions, including senior power forward Matt Jackson beating the halftime buzzer with a Ale (Lever) made a nice move. Missed the layup, missed the front end of a one and one, Damari jumper to trail 34-32. (Milstead) missed a floater and those all piled up. Especially when there is a couple minutes left in the game.”

#LOPESUP ‹ 35 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

SATURDAY DEC. 15 60 5:00 P.M. 98 AUSTIN, TEXAS GRAND CANYON TEXAS

Official Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Grand Canyon vs. Texas 12/15/2018 5:01 p.m. at Austin, TX (Frank Erwin Center) (opening statement) “Tough one. They just beat us in all facets. They came out shooting the ball Grand Canyon 60 (5-5) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min really well from three. They didn’t feel our pressure. They didn’t feel anything at the beginning. 04 Oscar Frayer F 1-4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 1 1 15 43 Michael Finke F 5-9 3-7 4-5 0 3 3 1 17 0 1 0 0 25 They did exactly what they wanted to anytime they wanted to. Hopefully it’s an eye-opener for our 25 Alessandro Lever C 3-11 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 1 7 1 0 0 0 17 guys. They have to come out and battle every night. Tonight, I don’t think we battled. They just did 02 Trey Drechsel G 2-5 0-3 0-1 0 2 2 1 4 1 1 0 0 18 11 Damari Milstead G 3-7 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 7 5 2 0 1 26 whatever they wanted to do. Yeah, they shot the ball well, but we’ve got to give more resistance 05 Matt Jackson 0-2 0-1 2-2 0 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 23 12 Roberts Blumbergs 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 12 and play better than that. Hopefully our guys will learn from this and get better. We’ll see.” 23 Carlos Johnson 5-14 1-5 2-3 4 3 7 1 13 1 2 1 0 20 24 Tim Finke 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 3 3 0 0 0 24 35 Quinn Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 (on Texas’ confidence on offense) “They did whatever they wanted. We worked on the roll 42 Gerard Martin 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 19 guys, not keeping the body on the big guys, and just throwing it up there. It’s just us, again, not TEAM 3 3 6 Totals 22-61 8-27 8-11 7 18 25 11 60 12 11 3 2 200 being tough enough. I don’t know what they expected. They just imposed their will on us. Right FG % 1st Half: 12-31 38.7% 2nd Half: 10-30 33.3% Game: 22-61 36.1% Deadball from the beginning, we didn’t get any stops and gave up a couple of offensive rebounds right 3FG % 1st Half: 6-14 42.9% 2nd Half: 2-13 15.4% Game: 8-27 29.6% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 8-11 72.7% Game: 8-11 72.7% 1,1 away. We’ve just got to get tougher. Hopefully, it’s an eye opener for a lot of our guys in there. Texas 98 (7-3) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds Sometimes these kinds of losses are good for you. It gets you back to being really grounded and ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 20 Jericho Sims F 2-4 0-0 2-2 0 5 5 1 6 0 1 1 0 20 we’ve hung with some really good teams, but this is just an old fashioned butt whipping. There 21 Dylan Osetkowski F 4-7 2-3 0-0 4 3 7 0 10 0 2 1 0 21 02 Matt Coleman III G 2-4 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 2 6 3 1 0 0 25 was just nothing good about this game at all. We’ll just have to fight back and go to Northern 13 Jase Febres G 6-13 4-10 0-0 3 2 5 0 16 0 1 1 0 20 55 Elijah Mitrou-Long G 6-8 3-3 1-2 0 4 4 0 16 4 0 0 2 28 Iowa and try to find a way to win a game.” 00 Gerald Liddell 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 03 Courtney Ramey 4-6 2-4 0-0 0 4 4 2 10 8 4 0 2 19 (on Michael Finke scoring 17 points) “We’ve got to find a way to get Michael shots. He played 04 Drayton Whiteside 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 05 Royce Hamm Jr. 2-3 0-0 3-4 1 4 5 1 7 0 1 0 1 7 well. He’s got to start looking for those shots. Carlos, was 5-for-14 and 1-for-5 (3FG)—13 points. I 10 Jaxson Hayes 4-4 0-0 1-2 0 6 6 3 9 1 0 2 0 17 12 Kerwin Roach II 6-8 2-3 1-1 0 3 3 1 15 5 1 0 0 22 thought he was good on the offensive boards. With Carlos, he’s one of the guys on the defensive 22 Blake Nevins 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 33 Kamaka Hepa 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 16 side that continues to make the rotational mistakes. Carlos will have to play well for us. I like how TEAM 1 1 2 aggressive he is. Trey took some really bad shots. Ale tried to get down there too low instead of Totals 37-63 16-30 8-11 9 33 42 14 98 22 11 5 5 200 FG % 1st Half: 22-32 68.8% 2nd Half: 15-31 48.4% Game: 37-63 58.7% Deadball just making a move and shooting the ball. He’s bumping and bumping. It just looked like we were 3FG % 1st Half: 10-17 58.8% 2nd Half: 6-13 46.2% Game: 16-30 53.3% Rebounds shell shocked for whatever reason. I thought our guys had a great week of practice. They were FT % 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 6-7 85.7% Game: 8-11 72.7% 1,1 fired up for this game. They were ready to go—had great attitudes yesterday at the shootar- Officials: Joe DeRosa, Antinio Petty, Nathan Farrell Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None. Texas-None. ound. We were ready to go, but Texas just came out and took it to us. They dismantled us right Austin, TX (Frank Erwin Center) Attendance: 8265 from the very beginning—kind of just took our heart. We’ll see how we bounce back.” Score by Period 1st 2nd Total In Off 2nd Fast Grand Canyon 30 30 60 Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench Texas 56 42 98 GCU 22 0 9 2 23 (on the Lopes being able to fight back in other games this season) “We couldn’t get stops. TEX 36 18 6 11 44 Last FG - GCU 2nd-00:19,TEX 2nd-00:33. Score Tied - 0 times They were making threes. We couldn’t get rebounds. We weren’t shooting the ball very well. We Largest lead - GCU None, TEX by 41 2nd-00:33 Lead Changed - 0 times just weren’t tough enough tonight. A team like Texas that beats North Carolina, you know they’re GCU led for 00:00. TEX led for 39:35. Game was tied for 00:25. good. Like tonight, if they shoot the ball like this, they’re going to beat a lot of teams. That’s a top- 10 team if they shoot it like that. It’s not like we got beat by not a very good team. That’s a really good team with a lot of athletes and a lot of length. They played really well. You’ve got to give RAPID RECAP: them a lot of credit, but I was a little disappointed. After we took that initial punch, I just didn’t Everything is bigger in Texas, including the margin of defeat for Grand Canyon. see that fight in the guys for whatever reason.” The Lopes endured their roughest performance of the season on a day that Texas (on there being rotations without Damari Milstead or Trey Drechsel at the point) “I’ve looked again like the top-25 team that beat North Carolina last month. The Longhorns played Gerard at the point guard and he’s the one guy that I know will go out there and play (7-3) jumped out to a 26-11 lead and dominated the first half before cruising to a 98-60 extremely hard. I’m trying to find a way, to be honest with you, to play Rob and give him some victory at Frank Erwin Center. minutes. He’s had some good practices and the only way to do that without taking Ale’s minutes or Michael’s minutes is to try and put G at the point every once in a while, because then we have GCU (5-5) was down by double digits less than seven minutes into the game and it a 10-man rotation and can put guys in. I thought G did a good job at the point. I thought he was only got worse with Texas shooting 69 percent from the field in the first half. The very effective. He’s very smart, knows all the plays and can make good passes. I thought he did Longhorns were coming off a victory against No. 24 Purdue but had just lost Dec. 5 at real well. I’m just trying to figure things out with these guys. I’m trying to get in rotations. I’m home to Virginia Commonwealth, which kept Texas to fewer points in that game (53) trying to play Tim a little more and see how he would do. The thing is we’ve got to get Oscar than the Longhorns scored in a 56-30 first half Saturday. going somehow. He’s just not with it right now.” It was a difficult defensive game for GCU, especially considering Texas has struggled (on what’s important about the response following this game) “I told the guys I’m tired of with shooting this season. The Lopes did not come up with successive defensive stops being the most passionate guy in the room, whether it’s winning or losing, competing, practic- until the final two minutes of the first half. ing, all that stuff. I’m tired of being the most passionate one. These guys have to want it. They have to bounce back. We’ll see. Hopefully this will be an eye opener and these guys will come out Texas had its way with GCU all over the court. The Longhorns made 16 of 30 from at Northern Iowa and play tougher and play better and get back to fundamentals. I don’t know 3-point range and scored 36 points in the paint. Texas guards Jase Febres and Elijah if this is a good loss or a bad loss. I don’t know if it’s going to help us or not, but it will be a good Mitrou-Long each scored a team-high 16 points. character builder for our guys to see how they bounce back.” GCU senior power forward Michael Finke was a rare Lopes bright spot with a (on if this could turn out to be a good loss) “Loyola Chicago, who went to the Final Four last season-high 17 points. Junior guard Carlos Johnson added 13 points and a team-high year, they lost a 30-point game in conference early in the year, so you can take it either back. You seven rebounds. GCU shot 39 percent from the field but had its bench outscored 44- can bounce back. This is a good team. If Texas shoots like that, they’re going to beat a lot of peo- 33 with the Longhorns moving leading scorer Kerwin Roach II (15 points) out of the ple. They’re really talented. They were top-25 before they got beat a couple times. Our guys just starting lineup. have to realize they have a long way to go and have to get back to work and take this to heart. There are some things you can forget but other things you can’t. You’ve got to understand that we have to get better.”

#LOPESUP ‹ 36 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

WEDNESDAY DEC. 19 73 7:30 P.M. 62 CEDAR FALLS, IOWA GRAND CANYON NORTHERN IOWA

Official Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Grand Canyon vs. Northern Iowa 12/19/2018 7:30 p.m. at McLeod Center (on the Lopes responding well when challenged by Northern Iowa) “In the beginning, I Grand Canyon 73 (6-5) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min thought we really jumped on them and they fought back. Then in the second half, we started off 02 Trey Drechsel * 3-6 1-4 2-2 0 3 3 2 9 3 1 1 0 24 04 Oscar Frayer * 4-8 2-5 0-0 3 4 7 2 10 0 0 0 1 32 ok, but then A.J. Green , their freshman who is just a terrific player, kind of got it going. Credit to 05 Matt Jackson * 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 2 2 0 0 24 our guys because we really fought back and had great composure. We just started to throwing 11 Damari Milstead * 4-10 3-6 0-1 2 5 7 2 11 2 2 0 3 34 25 Alessandro Lever * 4-9 0-2 9-10 1 4 5 2 17 2 0 0 0 31 the ball to Ale, which we did all of last year. He did a good job of getting to the line and creating 12 Roberts Blumbergs 1-2 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 7 23 Carlos Johnson 4-8 0-1 1-2 2 1 3 3 9 0 4 0 0 13 some passes and guys made some big shots. We got some crucial stops down the stretch and 24 Tim Finke 3-7 0-2 3-6 3 5 8 0 9 3 1 0 2 19 42 Gerard Martin 3-6 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 6 2 0 1 1 16 some rebounds. It was a great effort. We needed this one bad. This is a hard place to play. Ben TEAM 2 1 3 (Jacobsen) has a really good team, but they’re struggling a little bit. We knew this was going to be Totals 26-58 6-25 15-21 15 26 41 14 73 14 10 3 7 200 FG % 1st Half: 12-25 48.0% 2nd Half: 14-33 42.4% Game: 26-58 44.8% Deadball a hard game, so this is a good win for us.” 3FG % 1st Half: 4-13 30.8% 2nd Half: 2-12 16.7% Game: 6-25 24.0% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 1-3 33.3% 2nd Half: 14-18 77.8% Game: 15-21 71.4% 2 (on the defensive effort) “Yeah, they played hard. The best thing about it is I thought they Northern Iowa 62 (4-7) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min played more disciplined. When you do that and play hard, probably good things are happening. 03 Tywhon Pickford * 2-6 0-0 0-0 2 5 7 0 4 1 0 0 1 34 To be fair, with Texas, if you play teams like that and they’re hot from behind the three, there 04 AJ Green * 9-16 5-8 4-5 2 1 3 5 27 2 7 0 1 34 10 Miles Wentzien * 1-4 1-1 2-3 0 1 1 1 5 0 1 0 0 29 is not a whole lot you can do. Now, we shouldn’t have lost by 38, but I thought we were very 11 Trae Berhow * 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 5 5 0 0 1 2 0 0 14 34 Luke McDonnell * 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 4 2 2 0 0 0 18 undisciplined. For those guys to fight back – their their attitude has been great. It was great 12 Lincoln Conrey 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 20 Shandon Goldman 1-4 0-0 1-2 1 2 3 5 3 0 1 2 0 19 before Texas and it’s been great since we’ve been here. We had a spirited practice yesterday. 22 Wyatt Lohaus 5-9 3-5 2-2 0 0 0 1 15 1 1 0 0 29 Our shootaround today was great. I give all of our credit to our guys because they’ve taken all of 24 Isaiah Brown 1-7 1-3 0-0 0 3 3 1 3 1 1 0 0 17 30 Spencer Haldeman 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 2 1 0 0 6 this to heart and you can tell they wanted to win and they’re a good group. They really started TEAM 4 1 5 Totals 21-53 11-21 9-12 10 20 30 19 62 10 14 2 2 200 focusing. Hopefully, this will be a couple steps forward and we can build on it and go home and FG % 1st Half: 8-26 30.8% 2nd Half: 13-27 48.1% Game: 21-53 39.6% Deadball get some hook cooking and play there, then we have another tough trip to San Diego.” 3FG % 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 6-11 54.5% Game: 11-21 52.4% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 9-12 75.0% Game: 9-12 75.0% 0 (on Northern Iowa only getting to the free throw line 12 times) “Yeah, that was one of our Officials: Gerry Pollard, Rick Crawford, Dave Cusick Technical Fouls: Grand Canyon-None. Northern Iowa-None. emphases. We didn’t want to put them at the line. They didn’t shoot a free throw in the first half. McLeod Center Attendance: 3394 They go it rolling a little bit. We fouled A.J. Green a couple of times on shots and fouled them on Score by Period 1st 2nd Total In Off 2nd Fast Grand Canyon 29 44 73 Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench a three, and that’s just being overaggressive and not letting them get shots. Overall, I thought Northern Iowa 21 41 62 GCU 0 12 16 0 26 UNI 0 8 4 0 24 we did a pretty good job of playing physical without fouling. Ale down there, and guys just being Last FG - GCU 2nd-01:38,UNI 2nd-00:45. Score Tied - 2 times patient and feeding him—they were doubling him a lot and finding cutters and hitting big shots. Largest lead - GCU by 14 2nd-18:49, UNI by 2 2nd-06:58 Lead Changed - 2 times I thought Tim Finke played really well for us. He played a lot of minutes crashing the boards. GCU led for 00:00. UNI led for 00:00. Game was tied for 00:00. Defensively, he was good. It was just a good stepping stone for our guys and give us some confidence.” (on attacking the basket when they were struggling and limiting the threes) “I smarted up. I’ve been trying to get everybody involved in the motion offense. Everybody wants to touch it and to get their shots. I told the guys, ‘I tried it their way and it’s not working so we’re going to feed RAPID RECAP: the big fellow.’ If we get threes going into the post and then coming out, those are great threes. Grand Canyon had not won a non-conference road game in three years and had not always We’ll continue to feed Ale. He’s our best player. He’s struggled a little bit this year finishing down closed out opportunities this season. there but we’ve got to keep him working down there. I thought our other guys did a great job. It was solid down there, and we just have to keep building guys. I thought Tim’s minutes were But playing at a place where the hosts have won 79 percent of their games, GCU responded to good. Carlos did some really good things. Trey was good making some shots, a little careless a Northern Iowa comeback and closed out the Panthers for a 73-62 victory at McLeod Center. with the ball—Damari, the same thing. We’ve just got to keep growing. I just like the fight of our The Lopes (6-5) were stinging from a bad loss at Texas and soothed it by taking command guys. Their attitude has been unbelievable and they’ve worked extremely hard.” with a dominant defensive first half. Northern Iowa (4-7) took its first lead of the game with 7:40 to go and were ahead 51-49 with 6:58 remaining but GCU stopped leaning on 3-pointers (on Damari Milstead limiting turnovers in the second half) “He gets into the paint and he and put Northern Iowa away with a run of slams, layups and free throws. doesn’t protect it. He gets in there and is kind of loose with it when everyone is stripping at it. He’s just a young guard. He’s really just a sophomore. He’s a very young sophomore. He has to GCU went on a 13-3 run that finished with Alessandro Lever getting more involved in the continue to know when to kick it out and when to protect it and what’s a good shot. He threw interior. He fouled out Northern Iowa center Shandon Goldman and drew another foul for a bad pass to Gerard on the break. It was a good idea, but it wasn’t there, so he should pull it free throws that put the Lopes ahead 62-54 with 3:45 to go. GCU put the game away when out. We’re just learning things that Damari has to do, but he’s been big for us all year. Trey is still Tim Finke, whose brother Michael sat out with a foot injury, attacked to draw two free throws learning too. He’s a guy that came from Division II and played the two-guard. We played him at and then came up with an acrobatic steal that set up by a fastbreak layup by Gerard Martin. the point, but sometimes when he’s at the point, he looks to score a little too much instead of The Lopes scored 24 points over the final 6:40 of the game for one of its best offensive facilitating the ball back and getting open shots. He’s probably one of our best open shooters stretches to follow one of its best defensive stretches in the first half. and set shots as far as threes. I’m just proud of our guys. It could’ve gone sideways there when we had that lead and they took the lead back. We just fought back. It was great.” GCU held the Panthers to two points over 10 minutes of play for a 21-9 lead five minutes before halftime. Northern Iowa went scoreless for nearly six minutes but got back into the game by (on playing without Michael Finke) “We’re going to have to have everyone rebounding. I making four consecutive 3-pointers to have a manageable 29-21 halftime deficit. thought Ale did a good job. Tim was good on the boards. We have big guards. Trey is a big guard. Lever led GCU with 17 points, hitting nine of 10 free throws and adding six rebounds. The He has to get in there and rebound. I’m always on Oscar on rebounding and being more physical Lopes only made 6 of 25 shots from 3-point range but were 20 for 34 inside the arc and only down there. Matt didn’t have a great game, but he does so many other things down there just made 11 turnovers in the game. defensively. Just his presence down there defensively, the way he switches and talks.” Northern Iowa shot 42 percent from the field and only scored nine points at the free throw (on the postgame mood in the locker room) “They’re a happy group right now because they line. Panthers guard and leading scorer A.J. Green hit five 3-pointers to score a season-high want it more than anybody. I’m proud of them because I’ve been on them pretty hard and the 25 points but the remainder of the Panthers starting lineup combined for only seven points. coaching staff has and they’ve been really good at receiving it and trying to get better.”

#LOPESUP ‹ 37 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

SATURDAY DEC. 22 64 7:00 P.M. 85 PHOENIX, ARIZ. MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE GRAND CANYON

Official Basketball Box Score - Final Game Time: 7:08 PM Mississippi Val. at Grand Canyon Game Duration: 1:54 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Attendance: 7,255 12/22/18 GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ 2018-19 Men's Basketball Officials: Marc Beasley, Kevin Virinillo, Charles Rydzak (on what he told the team during halftime) “I just told them we discussed it before the game Mississippi Val. - 64 Record: 2-12 that win or lose we had to step forward. Against Texas I thought we took a couple steps back, FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period TP AS TO ST +/- NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 11-24 45.8% UNI we took a good step forward. Tonight, the first half was just really bad. We want to continue 33 Aleksa Koracin C 12:02 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 0 1 2 0 1 0 -4 3PT% 2-3 66.7% 1 Dante Scott G 30:25 5-8 2-3 0-0 1 3 4 0 0 12 3 2 2 0 0 -14 FT% 3-3 100% to get better, we’ve got San Diego and the WAC season right around the corner. We can’t afford 3 Jordan Evans G 22:27 3-14 1-2 3-3 0 5 5 3 2 10 0 1 1 0 1 -14 2nd FG% 14-32 43.8% 24 Gregory Holloway G 21:48 3-4 1-1 4-4 2 1 3 1 3 11 0 2 0 0 0 -13 3PT% 4-10 40.0% to slip back into bad habits, we want to improve on good habits and we didn’t do that in the first 12 Lorenzo Hunt 19:33 3-4 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 6 1 0 0 0 0 -1 FT% 5-7 71.4% 10 Emmanuel Ejeh 11:53 1-4 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 2 2 3 0 1 1 0 1 -8 GMFG% 25-56 44.6% half, especially that first group. So, as a coach you’re very disappointed in that. I understand that 20 Fritz Lucien 02:58 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -6 3PT% 6-13 46.2% FT% 8-10 80.0% 5 Tereke Eckwood 13:43 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 -12 some guys want to get home, some guys are leaving tonight, tomorrow morning, get a little bit 15 Michael Green 16:14 4-10 2-5 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 10 0 1 0 0 0 -16 Dead Ball Rebounds: 1, 0 of a break. And you have a tendency to look past teams. If we want to be really good we can’t do 32 Kaleb Allison 09:13 2-3 0-0 0-1 1 0 1 5 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 -8 2 Torico Simmons 07:24 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 -3 that, so that was a little disappointing.” 25 Gregory Jones-Rollins 12:27 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 -9 0 Zachary Barnes 03:35 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 21 Patrick Rucker 05:59 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 (on getting the ball to Alessandro Lever and his performance in the second half) “I tried 23 Lacurtis Allen 10:19 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 Team 1 3 4 0 0 at the beginning, they were playing a zone, a matchup zone, and to be honest he wasn’t very Totals 25-56 6-13 8-10 6 22 28 22 13 64 10 15 5 1 2 -21 Technical Fouls: NONE good, at the end of the first half his plus minus was 11. The worst on the team. So, the wake-up Grand Canyon - 85 Record: 7-5 message was pretty much to him at half time. Our reserves came in and they were all plus and FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period TP AS TO ST +/- NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 13-28 46.4% everybody but Oscar was a zero. And our starters were all minus with Ale leading the way with 4 Oscar Frayer F 26:50 5-10 5-9 1-2 1 4 5 3 1 16 2 1 2 0 0 14 3PT% 4-12 33.3% 5 Matt Jackson F 23:39 4-6 0-1 0-1 2 2 4 2 3 8 3 1 0 0 0 10 FT% 4-7 57.1% 11. So, if he’s our best player he can’t be minus 11 on the floor. I just wanted to throw the ball into 25 Alessandro Lever F 21:01 10-17 1-4 5-6 2 3 5 1 3 26 0 4 0 0 0 1 2nd FG% 17-30 56.7% 2 Trey Drechsel G 14:01 1-3 0-2 0-1 0 0 0 2 1 2 3 0 1 0 0 2 3PT% 3-11 27.3% him, I said we’re going to do a lot down the stretch. We got our size mis-matched so we might as 11 Damari Milstead G 31:00 2-5 0-1 2-2 1 1 2 2 3 6 3 3 1 0 1 14 FT% 14-17 82.4% 24 Tim Finke 21:22 2-5 1-2 0-0 0 6 6 1 0 5 2 0 1 0 0 20 GMFG% 30-58 51.7% well use it if they’re going to try and take advantage of us on the defense side, then we’ve got to 23 Carlos Johnson 24:42 4-8 0-2 8-9 0 3 3 0 8 16 2 0 3 0 0 15 3PT% 7-23 30.4% FT% 18-24 75.0% 42 Gerard Martin 24:22 0-2 0-2 0-0 2 0 2 0 1 0 6 0 1 1 0 19 take advantage on the offensive side. You know, Ale’s usually pretty good in there, so did a good 12 Roberts Blumbergs 13:03 2-2 0-0 2-3 0 4 4 2 2 6 0 0 0 1 0 10 Dead Ball Rebounds: 1, 0 Team 3 3 6 0 0 job there. We tried to punch Rob a little bit and get Carlos in there. And it seemed to work out.” Totals 30-58 7-23 18-24 11 26 37 13 22 85 21 9 9 2 1 21 Technical Fouls: NONE (on Oscar Frayer scoring 16 points including tying a career-best five 3-pt field goals MVSU GCU Points from MVSU GCU Period by Period Scoring Biggest lead st nd made) “He was good, he made some shots, he was five for nine, that’s fine. I’m more concerned 9 (1 12:39) 24 (2 1:20) Turnovers 14 14 1st 2nd TOT Best Scoring Run 7 (1st 14:11) 15 (1st 6:33) Paint 20 42 about his rebounds, he had one offensive rebound which isn’t good enough, he had five -re Lead Changes 2 Second Chance 4 12 MVSU 27 37 64 Times Tied 2 Fast Breaks 12 17 bounds. So, once again you can’t tell Oscar that was a good game because you shot well. That’s GCU 34 51 85 Time with Lead 06:35 28:57 Bench 25 27 going down a slippery slope with him, because there will be games where he doesn’t shoot well. If he’s going to be one of our best players, he has to contribute defensively, he has to contribute rebounding the basketball, he’s got to be a leader. So, I can’t go in there and say you played great because you were five for nine from three. Because there are going to be games where he doesn’t shoot it well. He’s just got to be overall a good player and hopefully hit more shots than RAPID RECAP: he misses, but he needs to pride himself on rebounding and playing good defense.” Grand Canyon held an employee party that started early Saturday outside GCU Arena but the (on the upcoming matchup with San Diego) “They’re really good. They’re a veteran team Lopes’ basketball party inside GCU Arena got off to a late start. that’s been around, that’s got guys back from last year, that’s playing extremely well. So, I expect it to be a really good test for us. They’re a really good team. We knew that schedule coming in, we The Lopes (7-5) used a 15-0 run and a defensive stretch of holding Mississippi Valley State without a knew this would be a hard game in San Diego, then we start the WAC season. I expect our guys field goal for nearly 10 minutes to take command. With sophomore Alessandro Lever scoring a team to have a good break, a good couple days off, but to be mentally tuned in when they come back.” season-high 26 points, GCU won 85-64 to extend its regular season home winning streak to 12 games. (on the play of the bench tonight) “That’s their job too. When Gerard comes off the bench, The Delta Devils made one last push on the Lopes early in the second half, cutting the lead to 43-34 that’s his job is to defensively provide energy. Carlos is starting to figure that out a little bit, so with 16:35 remaining in the game. But with Lever scoring 15 of GCU’s first 20 points of the second those guys and Tim Finke, again, with his hustle and how hard he plays. So that’s those guys’ half, the Lopes began the blowout. GCU went on an 11-0 run for a 54-34 lead Lever made 10 of 17 role. Carlos is going to be a guy that tries to score a bit more, but he’s pretty good defensively shots and grabbed five minutes in 26 minutes for his second 20-point game of the season. when he tunes in. But Tim and Gerard, that’s exactly what they’re supposed to do. They’re GCU junior guard Carlos Johnson added 16 points, scoring half of his points on free throws, supposed to come in and provide as a spark and change the game with their hustle and how while junior swingman Oscar Frayer also scored 16 points. The Lopes outscored the Delta they play.” Devils 42-20 in the paint and shot 57 percent from the field in the second half. The Lopes emerged sluggishly and trailed 16-7 before a lineup of sophomore point guard Damari Milstead and reserves scored 15 unanswered points. The GCU defense, which held Northern Iowa without a field goal for nearly seven minutes Wednesday, kept Mississippi Valley State from making one for almost 10 minutes of the first half Saturday. The Lopes stretched the first-half lead to as much as 13 points before the Delta Devils closed the gap to 34-27 at halftime. GCU takes a Christmas hiatus before returning to action next Saturday at San Diego, which is 7-0 at home this season and 9-3 overall.

#LOPESUP ‹ 38 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

SATURDAY DEC. 29 58 7:00 P.M. 61 SAN DIEGO, CALIF. GRAND CANYON SAN DIEGO

Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Grand Canyon vs San Diego 12/29/18 7 p.m. at San Diego, CA (Jenny Craig Pavilion) (on having San Diego on the ropes late) “I don’t know if we had them on the ropes. We were Grand Canyon 58 • 7-6 down and we battled back. We got up a point, but we were down most of the game. We kept on Total 3-Ptr Rebounds fighting back, so it’s not like we had them up by 12 and let them off the hook. That’s a really good ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min team and we battled them. We made a few mistakes down the stretch, but it’s not like we let them 04 Frayer,Oscar f 1-2 0-1 4-5 0 3 3 2 6 0 0 1 2 21 05 Jackson,Matt f 1-2 1-1 1-2 0 1 1 3 4 2 0 1 0 19 go. We didn’t complete the game and couldn’t come out with a win.” 25 Lever,Alessandro c 10-24 2-6 5-6 2 4 6 3 27 0 1 0 1 38 02 Drechsel,Trey g 4-9 2-3 0-0 1 5 6 2 10 3 0 0 0 34 (on Piniero’s two late three-pointers) “The last one, I put in five guys that could switch it. The 11 Milstead,Damari g 2-8 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 5 1 2 0 0 26 guy caught it and literally had five seconds to stare at the basket and shoot it, so yeah that’s a 23 Johnson,Carlos 3-6 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 4 6 0 2 0 2 19 24 Finke,Tim 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 19 mistake. Why does that happen? I don’t know. It’s a lack of talking. It’s the thing that we talk about 42 Martin,Gerard 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 4 4 3 0 4 1 0 0 24 all the time with our team. They just don’t want to talk to each other. I’ve got five guys out there. Team 0 0 0 1 Totals 21-54 6-17 10-13 5 23 28 18 58 10 7 2 7 200 I took Ale out and I took Carlos out. I put two guys in there that could switch everything, and we

FG % 1st Half: 11-30 36.7% 2nd half: 10-24 41.7% Game: 21-54 38.9% Deadball didn’t switch it. The guy literally stood there and stared at it and made a wipe-open three, when 3FG % 1st Half: 2-9 22.2% 2nd half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 6-17 35.3% Rebounds that’s the one thing that could really hurt us, so yeah, that’s a mistake.” FT % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd half: 10-13 76.9% Game: 10-13 76.9% 1 San Diego 61 • 11-4 (on Lever’s 18 first-half points and what he said to get other guys going in the second half) Total 3-Ptr Rebounds “I said somebody else has got to help. I was expecting them to start doubling Ale. The guy played ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min 00 PINEIRO,Isaiah f 4-13 2-3 7-8 2 10 12 1 17 0 0 1 1 39 19-and-a-half minutes in the first half and you can’t expect him to go down there and carry the 15 FLORESCA,Alex f 4-7 0-2 2-2 0 1 1 2 10 3 1 2 0 33 whole load so somebody has got to step up. Trey (Drechsel) made a few shots and that was fine, but 25 MASSALSKI,Yauhen f 3-5 0-0 1-1 2 2 4 5 7 2 2 3 0 18 we just had a hard time scoring. We can’t shoot 6-for-17 for three. Trey made two and Alessandro 01 WILLIAMS,Tyler g 3-6 1-3 1-2 0 8 8 0 8 4 4 0 0 38 03 CARTER III,Olin g 6-14 3-6 4-5 1 6 7 1 19 3 4 0 1 39 made two, but it’s a team that I thought could be able to shoot the ball. Right now, for whatever rea- 02 CALCATERRA,Joey 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 1 18 son, we can’t find it. Right now, Alessandro is the only guy that can really put the ball in the basket.” 13 MARTINEZ,Jose 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 23 SULLIVAN,Finn 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Team 1 1 2 1 (on San Diego’s seniors stepping up at the end) “Yeah, that’s why they’re a good team. They’ve Totals 20-48 6-16 15-18 6 30 36 12 61 13 12 6 3 200 been around for a long time. They’re very experienced. They’re very talented. We’re missing one FG % 1st Half: 10-28 35.7% 2nd half: 10-20 50.0% Game: 20-48 41.7% Deadball of our best players in Michael Finke, who is a fifth-year guy out of Illinois—but it’s all fair in love 3FG % 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd half: 3-8 37.5% Game: 6-16 37.5% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 5-7 71.4% 2nd half: 10-11 90.9% Game: 15-18 83.3% 2 and war. It’s a game that we battled and couldn’t score in the first half, but we kept a good job of

Officials: Jeff Ketchu (R), Dennis Flannery (U1), SirAllen Conner (U2 keeping them to 28 points. They came out hot in the second half and we did a better job there Technical fouls: Grand Canyon-None. San Diego-None. late, but as you said, we had a couple breakdowns and those threes really hurt us.” Attendance: 2603

Score by periods 1st 2nd Total In Off 2nd Fast (on limiting Piniero’s scoring) “We tried to keep him from going right and getting to the basket. Grand Canyon 24 34 58 Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench GCU 24 12 2 0 6 San Diego 28 33 61 He’s a talented kid and we knew we’d have a hard time with him, but for the most part we did a good USD 26 2 2 0 0 job. He back cut us a few times, but that’s what they’re good at. This is a really efficient offensive Last FG - GCU 2nd-03:13, USD 2nd-01:00. Score tied - 5 times. Largest lead - GCU by 3 1st-10:20, USD by 9 2nd-17:05. Lead changed - 8 times. team, and for us to hold them to 42 percent shooting is really good, especially the way we’ve been GCU led for 02:19. USD led for 35:38. Game was tied for 02:03. playing defense as of late. Defensively, we were there, but we just couldn’t score enough baskets. If you hold San Diego to 61 points, you think you have a pretty good chance to win the game.” RAPID RECAP: (on prepping for WAC play) “We know what Utah Valley does. They’re very good. They’re experi- enced too. They’ve got some talented guys. It’s just us continuing to work, talk on defense, finding Grand Canyon played its toughest non-conference schedule to prepare for WAC play as best it a way to get guys to score and continuing to work on our game. We know the league is going could. GCU (7-6) nearly became the first of eight visitors to win at San Diego this season but did to be tough this year, whether it’s home or away. Unfortunately, we start at home without our not make a FG in the final three minutes of a 61-58 loss Saturday night at Jenny Craig Pavilion. students, but we’ll still have a great crowd there. We’re playing against Utah Valley and Seattle, Lopes sophomore center Alessandro Lever scored a season-high 27 points, including 18 of two of the top teams in the league. It’s going to be a daunting task right away, but if we want to GCU’s 24 first-half points. The Lopes held one of the most efficient offenses in the nation to win the league, we’re going to have to go through some people and this is a good way to start.” 41.7 percent shooting but the lead exchanged six times in crunch time until two late 3-point- ers by senior Isaiah Pineiro put the game away for San Diego (11-4). (on getting Lever back to a point where he’s scoring) “If I didn’t leave him in, we would’ve scored two points. If I took him out, I don’t think we would’ve scored. He had 18 of the 24, but I don’t want to GCU went on a 9-0 run to take a 52-51 lead with four minutes to go for its first advantage since play Ale 20 minutes. He works hard down there and that’s tough for him to play that many minutes. If midway through the first half. Senior point guard Trey Drechsel scored all 11 of his points in he’s the only guy scoring, you don’t have much of a choice to take him out. We did a much better job in the second half, hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer before the teams traded baskets down the the second half of spreading it around a little bit and guys making big shots, so that was good.” stretch. After Pineiro’s first 3-pointer gave San Diego a 58-56 lead with 2:18 to play, Lever tied the game with two free throws with 1:14 to play but Pineiro hit another 3-pointer for the 61-58 (on Roberts Blumbergs not seeing the floor tonight) “Yeah, that’s just hard. Rob has been lead with 58.7 seconds to go. working hard in practice. With Ale having 18 in the first half, I can’t take him out. I can’t take him out for very long. It’s just hard sometimes to get Rob in there. Matt and G do such a good job, not that GCU had two closing possession but a Lever post-up missed the rim and, following a San Diego miss, junior guard Carlos Johnson missed on a drive. The Lopes shot 38.9 percent from Rob doesn’t, but sometimes life isn’t fair, man. I feel bad for Rob. He’s a good kid. He works hard, but the field but only committed seven turnovers. sometimes you can’t play everybody. I’d like to play all these guys a lot more minutes than I can, but there comes a time when the guys that have been around and produced are going to play.” GCU’s issue with slow starts continued when San Diego took an 8-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. Lopes head coach Dan Majerle decided in recent games that GCU’s (on the benefits of a tough nonconference schedule) “I don’t know. Yeah, I hope so. I think it’s offense would go through Lever more often and the WAC Preseason Player of the Year and always good when you play good teams. Losing sucks and you’ve got to be able to handle it and Lopes’ leading scorer only came off the floor for less than a minute of Saturday’s first half. make sure you’re looking at getting better instead of looking at the losing. We played everybody tough, except for Texas. That was an aberration of how bad we played and how great they played, With San Diego not doubling Lever early, his post advantage spurred a 9-0 GCU run that took but for the most part in our nonconference season, I thought we played everybody really well. a lead but the lack of supporting scorers could not hold the lead. Despite Lever’s 18 first-half Obviously, we wanted and probably should’ve gotten a couple wins out of that, but it’s a growing points, GCU trailed 28-24 at halftime because the other Lopes only went 3 for 12 from the field. process and hopefully we’ve learned from it and hopefully we’ll learn from this. Our guys, we harp GCU was missing senior power forward Michael Finke for the third consecutive game but his on it all the time, but we have a problem talking. I don’t know what it is, but we have a problem starting replacement, senior Matt Jackson, led the team’s outstanding defensive job on San talking. Hopefully this will put a spark under somebody and they’ll start communicating with Diego senior power forward Isaiah Pineiro. each other out there and we won’t have these slip-ups.”

#LOPESUP ‹ 39 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

THURSDAY JAN. 3 60 6:00 P.M. 71 PHOENIX, ARIZ. UTAH VALLEY GRAND CANYON

Official Basketball Box Score - Final Game Time: 6:00 PM Utah Valley at Grand Canyon Game Duration: 1:53 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Attendance: 7,205 01/03/19 GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ 2018-19 Men's Basketball (opening statement) “Great win. Really was. We’re 1-0 in our new season. That’s a good Utah Officials: Chris Rastatter, Doran Gotschall, Mike O'Neill Utah Valley - 60 Record: 11-5 (0-1) Valley team that keeps pushing and I thought our guys really played well, sustained a run, I FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period TP AS TO ST +/- thought obviously Matt Jackson was great. Nobody is happier than I am for him. He’s went NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 9-24 37.5% 44 Baylee Steele C 26:33 3-4 0-0 6-6 3 4 7 2 3 12 0 0 0 0 0 1 3PT% 2-8 25.0% through a lot in his career with his injuries. Has never said a word and just worked. So, very 0 Isaiah White G 33:12 2-7 0-1 2-2 2 6 8 0 1 6 0 4 0 2 1 -1 FT% 6-7 85.7% happy for him, happy for everybody. That was a great team win. Guys got it done when we needed 2 Jake Toolson G 36:04 4-9 0-2 0-0 1 7 8 0 2 8 1 3 1 0 0 -16 2nd FG% 12-32 37.5% 10 Benjamin Nakwaasah G 27:37 6-11 2-4 1-1 0 2 2 4 2 15 0 1 1 0 1 -7 3PT% 1-7 14.3% to. Rebounding wise, really good. I thought defensively, we were really tuned in and did a good 11 Conner Toolson G 35:14 2-11 1-6 0-0 0 4 4 3 5 5 0 2 0 1 0 -20 FT% 9-9 100% job. Very happy with this win, obviously.” 20 Drew Cotton 00:47 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 GMFG% 21-56 37.5% 25 Wyatt Lowell 12:54 1-3 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 -2 3PT% 3-15 20.0% FT% 15-16 93.8% 3 TJ Washington 14:12 1-6 0-0 4-5 0 2 2 4 3 6 2 3 1 0 1 2 (on on how strength of schedule prepared the team for WAC play) “I don’t know, we’ve always 15 Connor MacDougall 13:27 2-5 0-0 2-2 1 0 1 5 1 6 0 2 0 0 0 -12 Dead Ball Rebounds: 0, 0 tried to play good competition. It can go both ways, losing drains you. You can fracture the team Team 3 1 4 0 0 Totals 21-56 3-15 15-16 10 28 38 21 17 60 3 16 3 3 3 -11 when you lose, cause things are never good and our guys have had a great attitude, even when I Technical Fouls: NONE haven’t, and they stayed positive and they’ve worked, so that’s good. They knew that this was our Grand Canyon - 71 Record: 8-6 (1-0) FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period real season and we want to win the WAC and we’re a long ways away. It’s just one home victory, TP AS TO ST +/- NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 12-34 35.3% but it was a great start for us, cause like I said, Utah Valley is a very good team, they’ve had a great 4 Oscar Frayer F 25:22 3-9 2-6 0-0 2 2 4 3 1 8 1 1 0 0 0 8 3PT% 3-16 18.8% 5 Matt Jackson F 31:16 6-10 0-3 7-8 2 6 8 1 5 19 1 0 1 1 1 20 FT% 10-11 90.9% non-conference schedule and it’s a big win for us. It’s a confidence booster.” 25 Alessandro Lever F 26:24 5-12 1-3 3-3 1 4 5 2 5 14 4 0 1 0 1 9 2nd FG% 12-30 40.0% 2 Trey Drechsel G 28:41 1-6 0-4 4-6 2 2 4 4 4 6 2 1 2 0 1 9 3PT% 1-8 12.5% (on how GCU got after it in the first half and getting loose balls)“Yeah we had to. We said that 11 Damari Milstead G 28:09 3-8 1-4 1-2 0 2 2 3 1 8 8 3 3 1 0 7 FT% 9-13 69.2% 23 Carlos Johnson 22:57 3-8 0-0 4-4 2 3 5 1 4 10 1 2 2 0 0 7 GMFG% 24-64 37.5% we’re 0-6 when we lose the rebounding battle, and we’re 7-0 when we win the rebounding battle. 43 Michael Finke 12:45 2-4 0-2 0-1 1 2 3 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 -4 3PT% 4-24 16.7% FT% 19-24 79.2% So every timeout I was looking at the stat sheet and I was giving up the rebound totals and the first 24 Tim Finke 14:04 1-6 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 42 Gerard Martin 10:22 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 4 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -3 Dead Ball Rebounds: 3, 0 half we were beating them pretty bad. Then in the second half, it was nip and tuck, and we ended up Team 4 0 4 0 1 beating them 40 to 38. So now we’re 8-0. So we knew that we’d have to get every loose ball and play Totals 24-64 4-24 19-24 14 26 40 17 21 71 17 9 9 3 3 11 Technical Fouls: NONE good defense, but rebounding is the key. That’s a good rebounding team. We knew Utah Valley could UVU GCU really rebound, so we knew that would be a key for us.” Points from UVU GCU Period by Period Scoring Biggest lead st st 1 (1 18:32) 11 (1 1:31) Turnovers 10 16 1st 2nd TOT Best Scoring Run 7 (1st 10:05) 9 (1st 13:36) Paint 30 36 (on defense being important when struggling to score) “It has to be. I told them, we can’t Lead Changes 4 Second Chance 13 11 UVU 26 34 60 shoot, so we better be able to score. We were, 4-24 from three, and we’re not taking bad shots. So Times Tied 1 Fast Breaks 13 12 GCU 37 34 71 Time with Lead 00:36 38:29 Bench 14 16 hopefully it’ll click-in, and I keep saying that all the time. We work on it all the time. Our guys are in the gym all the time, they make extra work. They stay after, they get there before. So defense is something you can do every day. That’s something we hung our hat on last year. We were really good at it and I think our guys are starting to take pride in it. This is two games in a row, first San Diego and this, that we’ve shut down two realty good offensive teams and that’s what won this game for us.” (on Alessandro Lever’s ability to pass the ball when he gets double teamed) “Yeah he did a good job. You know I’m hard on Ale (Lever) and he was sick all last night. He was throwing up all this morning, didn’t even go through shoot around. So, he’s a tough kid and I push him harder than RAPID RECAP: anybody. So he’s going to get that kind of attention and he’s done a good job of being able to battle The Lopes stretched their regular-season home winning streak to 13 games and opened WAC down there and he’s still learning on the double team and things like that. Ale is a great kid and a play with a 71-60 Thursday night victory against Utah Valley in front of 7,205 fans at GCU Arena. terrific player and it’s my job to push him as hard as I can. I’m probably too hard on him, but live with it.” Utah Valley (11-5) entered Thursday having won 10 of its previous 11 games and five in a row but only shot 37.5 percent from the field. The Wolverines entered the game with a season shooting (on wanting someone to step up on offense, and if he thought it would be Matt Jackson) percentage of 48.3 and wound up scoring 15.5 points below their season average. “I didn’t know who it would be. It doesn’t surprise me. Matt’s a very smart player who’s going to take advantage of it. He did a great job in the first-half, made some key baskets down the stretch, GCU (8-6) needed its defense to overcome cold 3-point shooting (4 for 24) but benefited made some free throws. I thought Carlos (Johnson) was really effective off the bench. Not only from senior power forward Matt Jackson scoring a career-high 19 points and grabbing a getting to the line, but just his effort defensively and his intensity. So I thought he did a really good career-high tying eight rebounds and sophomore point guard Damari Milstead adding a career-high seven assists. Sophomore center Alessandro Lever added 14 points but the best job also. Like I said, I’m happy for Matt (Jackson). We’re going to have to have other guys step up. GCU effort was defense against Utah Valley cousins Jake and Connor Toolson. The pair entered You know Ale, they are going to really key on him, every team that we play. It’s not like Ale is going the game averaging 30.1 points per game combined but went 6 for 20 combined. to go out and get 20.” GCU held the lead for the final 36 minutes of the game but its hold got more tenuous after (on closing the game out) “Just their toughness. Their will to win. They’ve always play hard. They leading 37-26 at halftime. The Lopes were shooting 30 percent in the second half as Utah Valley play hard. They want to win. We don’t always do the right thing, but we try. We got a bit of a toughness shaved their lead down to one. to us, which is nice, and we have some veteran leadership to us. With Matt (Jackson), and G (Gerard Martin) who have been here for five years. Damari (Milstead). Trey (Drechsel) is a senior. Oscar The 10-2 stretch put GCU back in command with a 59-50 lead as Utah Valley senior big man (Frayer) has been here for three years. So hopefully with these guys and what they’ve been through Connor MacDougall, a Phoenix product, fouled out with 4:44 remaining. with the WAC and what we went through last year in the tournament that that has helped us.” The Lopes needed more players to step up on offense to help sophomore center Alessandro (on limiting the Toolson’s) “Just locking in. We knew that both those guys we couldn’t allow them Lever, who took 17 first-half shots Saturday on the way to a season-high 27 points. Jackson to hurt. We’ve had a propensity to let really good players go off on us. Seton Hall, we can just go on posted his season scoring high in the first half with 12 points, one off his career high. and on. We knew that those two kids could really shoot and get it going. Whoever was guarding him Jackson helped the Lopes get off to one of their better starts, especially during a stretch in had to lock into him and not stray away from him, keep an eye on him, show on ball screens, and not which they held Utah Valley scoreless for 4 1/2 minutes to take a 17-9 lead. give him too many good looks. But theyre both really good players.” GCU struggled with 3-for-16 shooting from 3-point range in the first half but shot 50 percent inside the arc and held the Wolverines to 38 percent shooting with 10 turnovers. It was Utah Valley’s lowest-scoring first half since Nov. 16, when it was 1-3 before winning 10 of 11 games.

#LOPESUP ‹ 40 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

SATURDAY JAN. 5 58 6:00 P.M. 71 PHOENIX, ARIZ. UTAH VALLEY GRAND CANYON

Official Basketball Box Score - End of 2nd Period Game Time: 6:00 PM DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Seattle U at Grand Canyon Game Duration: 1:51 Attendance: 7,293 01/05/19 GCU Arena, Phoenix, AZ (opening statement) “Very happy, with our performance. Obviously when we hold that team 2018-19 Men's Basketball Officials: Brent Meaux, Eric Anderson, Ryan McDaniel to 33, 34 percent shooting, that’s a heck of a defensive night. Especially with that team. They Seattle U - 57 are very efficient offensively. They can really play. So the two things we talk about, defensive FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period TP AS TO ST +/- NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 11-27 40.7% rebounding. Out rebounded them 42-31, again, really good. Proud of our guys. We did what 1 Myles Carter F 32:19 2-10 0-0 2-2 1 3 4 5 1 6 0 3 0 1 0 -19 3PT% 4-5 80.0% we were supposed to do. By no means did we think it would be easy and it wasn’t. Very happy 5 Matej Kavas G 37:35 6-8 3-3 1-2 0 7 7 2 4 16 0 1 1 0 0 -16 FT% 3-5 60% 13 Morgan Means G 33:15 1-10 0-2 0-1 1 4 5 1 4 2 3 1 2 0 1 -18 2nd FG% 8-29 27.6% with how we played. We just have to keep that edge. We have to keep playing that way and 23 Terrell Brown G 34:28 5-16 0-0 2-4 0 6 6 4 3 12 3 3 0 0 0 -7 3PT% 1-5 20.0% understand that that’s how we’re going to win. Can’t be happy, but we can be satisfied that we 24 Delante Jones G 29:58 4-8 2-3 5-7 1 2 3 3 5 15 0 3 1 0 0 -15 FT% 11-15 73.3% 10 Aaron Nettles 13:05 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 -3 GMFG% 19-56 33.9% won. Home games. Now we have to go on the road and win, so we have to keep that edge” 12 Mattia Da Campo 02:52 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -3 3PT% 5-10 50.0% FT% 14-20 70.0% 35 Riley Grigsby 07:00 1-2 0-0 4-4 1 1 2 1 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 5 Dead Ball Rebounds: 4, 0 (on Trey Drechsel) “You know we talked about rebounding and Trey is a very big guard. He’s ath- 11 Rip Economou 03:49 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 15 Trey'von Hopkins 05:39 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 letic, he’s strong, he’s big and I’m not surprised. I’m surprised it took him this long to do it. We’ve Team 2 1 3 0 0 talked about rebounding, about if we win the rebounding war, we’re going to win the game and Totals 19-56 5-10 14-20 7 24 31 18 20 57 6 11 5 1 1 -14 Technical Fouls: NONE he took it upon himself. He had ten rebounds at half. So I don’t know why he didn’t get 20, but he Grand Canyon - 71 got 14 which is nice. So we have to have our guards, sometimes it’s hard for our bigs, when they FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period TP AS TO ST +/- NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 13-31 41.9% are down wrestling guys, for them to get rebounds, so our guards have to come back and we talk 4 Oscar Frayer F 19:13 1-6 1-3 0-0 1 1 2 3 1 3 0 2 1 1 1 9 3PT% 3-9 33.3% about our guards our big, so Trey did a fantastic job of rebounding the basketball and that’s the 5 Matt Jackson F 25:02 2-5 0-2 0-0 0 4 4 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 FT% 3-3 100% 25 Alessandro Lever F 24:35 6-12 2-4 1-1 1 1 2 4 4 15 3 1 1 0 0 -2 2nd FG% 15-29 51.7% type of effort we have to have to win.” 2 Trey Drechsel G 30:56 7-11 1-2 0-0 2 12 14 3 3 15 2 2 1 0 0 14 3PT% 4-9 44.4% 11 Damari Milstead G 32:46 5-8 0-1 3-4 1 3 4 1 3 13 7 3 0 0 0 -2 FT% 5-7 71.4% (on the team sticking to the game plan) “Well it’s the same game plan we’ve done for six years. 43 Michael Finke 13:46 2-5 2-3 0-0 0 4 4 1 3 6 3 0 0 0 0 16 GMFG% 28-60 46.7% 23 Carlos Johnson 23:10 4-11 0-2 4-5 1 4 5 4 3 12 0 3 1 0 0 7 3PT% 7-18 38.9% I think this team is starting to figure out that they have to do it to win and they understand how FT% 8-10 80.0% 42 Gerard Martin 15:45 1-2 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 3 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 15 important the WAC play is and they understand that it’s not working when they take mental laps- 24 Tim Finke 13:55 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 14 Dead Ball Rebounds: 0, 0 15 Raef Gerdes 00:52 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2 es, and we don’t work hard. I told them one of our strengths is our depth. We got guys that can Team 3 1 4 0 0 come in and out. We have guys that can play. So when you’re on the floor, you have to play hard. Totals 28-60 7-18 8-10 10 32 42 20 18 71 18 14 4 1 1 14 Offensively, you have to play hard defensively, you have to rebound, and to do that, guys have to Technical Fouls: NONE SU GCU buy-in. I tell them all the time, just do what the coaching staff asks you and what we practice Points from SU GCU Period by Period Scoring Biggest lead st nd and we’ll be fine. Let it be my fault. If it doesn’t work, it’s my fault, and they’ve really bought into 6 (1 11:59) 21 (2 5:47) Turnovers 11 15 1st 2nd TOT Best Scoring Run 7 (2nd 1:39) 12 (1st 5:36) Paint 24 32 that. They try to do the exact stuff they are doing and they are doing it great. They’re doing an Lead Changes 1 Second Chance 6 10 SU 29 28 57 Times Tied 3 Fast Breaks 2 10 unbelievable job. I’m really happy for them and I think they understand now that for us to win, GCU 32 39 71 Time with Lead 07:27 28:46 Bench 6 21 we’re going to have to be good defensively and they are buying into it.” (on seeing what the coaches are preaching, paying off in the games)“Well it’s good, because they are taking ownership. I’ve told them forever that I can coach what I want, but this team isn’t going to be good till they take ownership, and they want to be good. It’s their team. It’s their team. Our guys are starting to take ownership of that and they’re holding each other accountable and they understand it. They want to be good. That’s the best feeling a coach ever has, when they judge themselves and the police themselves and they hold each other accountable and they want RAPID RECAP: to be good. When you get success, I’ve talked about in the nonconference, losing games is hard GCU (9-6) topped Thursday’s victory with a 71-57 win against Seattle on Saturday night. The and sometimes it can fracture you, but not this team. They’ve done a good job of staying positive Lopes won their 14th consecutive regular-season home game with more of its improved and working harder and trying to get better and sometimes it takes a while, and by no means do I defense and another Lope having a career-best game -- senior guard Trey Drechsel tallied think we are there, because we have a long way to go, but I see us starting to turn the corner.” team highs for points (15) and rebounds (14). (on Seattle’s 3-point attempts) “No they take a lot of threes. They shoot almost as many as we Seattle (12-5) was off to the program’s best start in 55 years because of an offense that was do and they shoot it at a high rate, they shoot almost 40 percent from three. First half, they were shooting 47.3 percent from the field. The Redhawks only shot 33.9 percent on Saturday to wind four for five and I was mad at those five because guys were lazy on it and they left some strong up with 24 fewer points than their season average. corner threes. We knew they were going to be able to shoot threes. We had to stay home on them GCU led for nearly the final 29 minutes on Saturday after defense and rebounding established and not let that be a big weapon which is what we do. After the first half we did a good job.” an advantage and some of the Lopes’ best offense of late stretched the lead. GCU put four scorers in double figures, led by Drechsel and Lever each scoring 15. (on what the Lopes need to do next game at New Mexico State) “Battle. Especially since they lost their first game at Cal Baptist. I’m sure they’re not feeling very good about themselves. It’s The Lopes opened the second half by outscoring the Redhawks 27-5 over the first 10:06, when going to be a battle every time GCU and New Mexico State play, no matter where it’s at. I expect Drechsel scored 11 of his points. GCU shot 52 percent from the field in the second half and had them to be ready to play and we will be ready to play and it will be two of the better teams at a a 21-6 advantage in bench scoring for the game. really good place to play. It will be exciting. Its what college basketball is about. We went in there The Lopes held Seattle leading scorers Morgan Means and Myles Carter to 3-for-20 shooting last year and played really well, didn’t end up finishing the job and lost. But it you’re a college for eight combined points, which is 23 less than their season average. Carter fouled out with basketball player this is the fun games to play in. four points while Means, normally a sharpshooter, went 1 for 10 for two points. (on what it means to start the WAC schedule at home) “Home means everything to everybody. The team’s defensive turnaround put GCU in position to win by holding its fifth consecutive As you can see so far, I haven’t checked the scores now, but that first game, all the home teams opponent to less than 30 points in the first half. That included shutting out Seattle for a stretch won. It’s going to be hard to win on the road in the WAC and if you want to be good and take care of 6:27 that built a 26-17 Lopes lead. GCU turned 5 Seattle first-half turnovers into 10 of its 32 of business, you better win at home, especially in this place. Again we had an unbelievable crowd, points. Carlos Johnson and Gerard Martin combined for eight first-half points and were key even without our students here. Very thankful for that. Can’t wait for the Havocs to be back. It cogs in the 12-0 run that took the lead. Seattle scored 12 of its 29 in the final 3:49 to pull within would even turn this place up even larger. We always want to win at home, cause we know how one point, but the Lopes took a 32-29 lead into halftime . important it is to people around here and how important it means to us, cause it’s so hard to get on the road and win. ” GCU had twice as many rebounds as Seattle (20-10) at one point and finished the half with a 23-13 advantage because senior guard Trey Drechsel grabbed 10 first-half rebounds, his sea- son high for a game. No Lopes player had posted a double-digit rebounding half since Keonta Vernon on Jan. 28, 2017.

#LOPESUP ‹ 41 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

THURSDAY JAN. 10 75 7:00 P.M. 77 LAS CRUCES, NM. GRAND CANYON NEW MEXICO STATE

Official Basketball Box Score - Final Game Time: 7:05 PM Grand Canyon at New Mexico St. Game Duration: 2:10 DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Attendance: 5,482 01/10/19 Pan American Center, Las Cruces, NM 2018-19 Men's Basketball Officials: Randy McCall, Michael Irving, D.G. Nelson (on what he told the team after the game) “That we have to keep our heads up; we play Grand Canyon - 75 Record: 9-7 Saturday. What can you say? They made a half-court shot. What are you going to tell them? They FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period TP AS TO ST +/- battled hard. They deserved to win it, but didn’t. We play Saturday, so we can either let this linger NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 13-26 50.0% 4 Oscar Frayer F 31:39 6-10 3-6 0-0 2 1 3 3 2 15 1 0 1 2 0 -1 3PT% 6-13 46.2% and hurt us or we can move on and got to UTRGV and get back to winning ways.” 25 Alessandro Lever F 34:45 3-12 0-6 2-3 1 6 7 4 6 8 2 2 1 0 0 10 FT% 9-12 75% 43 Michael Finke F 11:42 1-3 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 -5 2nd FG% 15-33 45.5% 2 Trey Drechsel G 26:55 1-6 0-4 2-3 1 7 8 3 1 4 3 2 0 0 1 -14 3PT% 2-12 16.7% (on the game staying close throughout the game and the toughness of the Lopes) “Yeah, I 11 Damari Milstead G 25:16 5-9 1-3 2-2 1 4 5 3 2 13 0 2 2 1 0 1 FT% 2-3 66.7% thought we did a good job and this is a tough place to play. That’s a good team and we battled. We 42 Gerard Martin 23:33 5-6 3-4 0-0 1 4 5 1 2 13 1 0 1 0 0 4 GM FG% 28-59 47.5% 23 Carlos Johnson 24:06 6-8 0-0 4-5 1 4 5 3 3 16 0 5 0 0 0 1 3PT% 8-25 32.0% knew we were going to take some hits, and our guys kept on battling in the second half. I think FT% 11-15 73.3% 12 Roberts Blumbergs 04:49 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -12 they got up by six and we battled back and took the lead again. Our guys played hard. They’re 24 Tim Finke 17:15 1-4 1-1 0-0 2 0 2 1 0 3 1 2 1 0 2 6 Dead Ball Rebounds: 0, 1 Team 0 0 0 0 0 heartbroken right now, but the best thing about it is it’s just one day and we play again.” Totals 28-59 8-25 11-15 10 27 37 24 18 75 8 13 6 3 3 -2 Technical Fouls: NONE (on winning the rebounding battle, especially down the stretch)“That’s what we’ve talked about. New Mexico St. - 77 Record: 12-4 FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period If we win the rebounding battle, we’re going to win the war. Usually that happens, but a half-court shot TP AS TO ST +/- NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 14-33 42.4% stopped that. I thought our guys did a better job of really concentrating and getting the rebounds, 13 C.J. Bobbitt F 06:30 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -5 3PT% 5-12 41.7% 15 Ivan Aurrecoechea F 27:57 10-14 0-0 0-0 3 8 11 2 2 20 1 2 2 0 0 -4 FT% 5-13 38.5% especially in the second half. Offensive rebounds wise, we only had one in the first half, but we ended 4 JoJo Zamora G 21:13 1-5 0-2 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 2 0 2 0 1 1 -5 2nd FG% 16-27 59.3% up with 10 offensive rebounds, so we did a better job in the second half of crashing the boards.” 11 Keyon Jones G 28:21 4-8 3-7 1-3 0 5 5 2 2 12 3 0 1 0 0 5 3PT% 4-9 44.4% 12 AJ Harris G 34:04 4-10 1-3 0-1 2 0 2 2 3 9 7 3 0 0 1 5 FT% 3-6 50% 20 Trevelin Queen 04:35 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 GM FG% 30-60 50.0% (on Damari Milstead’s his big plays in the final minute)“Damari has been really good, and he 5 Clayton Henry 01:07 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3PT% 9-21 42.9% FT% 8-19 42.1% just gets better. Just a sophomore, he does a really good job of running our team. He’s a good 1 Shunn Buchanan 05:56 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 -3 3 Terrell Brown 27:04 4-9 4-5 3-6 1 2 3 0 4 15 1 1 0 0 0 -3 Dead Ball Rebounds: 4, 2 individual defender and has a knack for the big plays. I’m proud of him. I thought their big center, 10 Jabari Rice 01:21 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2 Aurrecocechea, he dominated Ale. He really did. Ale didn’t want anything with him down there. 22 Eli Chuha 12:03 0-0 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 2 4 2 1 3 0 0 0 6 35 Johnny McCants 29:49 7-9 1-2 2-7 1 4 5 2 7 17 0 0 0 2 0 14 He played great. McCants, besides hitting that shot, had 17 (points). Their bigs played really well.” Team 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 30-60 9-21 8-19 9 23 32 18 24 77 14 13 3 3 3 2 (on if Alessandro Lever’s defensive struggles with Aurrecocechea carried over to the of- Technical Fouls: NONE fensive side) “I don’t know. Ale just has to get tougher. I’ve put a lot on him. He’s our best player GCU NMSU Points from GCU NMSU Period by Period Scoring Biggest lead nd nd and we’re going to go to him. He’s got to do a better job on the defensive end. He gets sealed and 5 (2 18:32) 6 (2 9:37) Turnovers 17 15 1st 2nd TOT Best Scoring Run 7 (2nd 7:26) 8 (2nd 9:37) Paint 32 40 he gets scored on. Down here, he’s going to get fouled. He’s going to get hit. He’s going to get Lead Changes 13 Second Chance 10 13 GCU 41 34 75 double-teamed. Again, he’s just a sophomore. Ale has been great for us and he will be great for Times Tied 11 Fast Breaks 10 5 NMSU 38 39 77 us, but these are games he has to grow from. He just has to get tougher.” Time with Lead 12:34 21:34 Bench 32 34 (on Gerard Martin’s performance) “Yeah, it was big. He hit three threes and then that little fake RAPID RECAP: handoff where he collected the board, good defense. It was too bad he hurt his ankle. I tried to put him The most remarkable Grand Canyon comeback turned into the most devastating loss Thurs- back in and he said he couldn’t play. He stepped up and I thought he did a really good job. Carlos was day night at New Mexico State. After Damari Milstead’s scored twice off steals in 12 seconds good, especially in the first half. In the second half, he made some buckets. Oscar made a few shots, to give the Lopes a lead, New Mexico State sophomore Johnny McCants drained a half-court which was nice. But I just feel bad for the guys. They work so hard and had a chance to win the game.” shot at the buzzer to crush GCU 77-75 in front of a Pan American Center crowd of 5,482. (on playing the Aggies closer each time they come) “Yeah, we’re getting better. We should be The Lopes nearly pulled off their first victory on the WAC champ’s court. GCU (9-6, 2-1 WAC) won the boards, limited turnovers and produced balanced scoring to achieve all of its pre- getting better. We say this a lot, but we’re getting closer. That’s just a hard way to lose, man. You game goals. The Lopes even came up with clutch plays but had no answer for a 50-foot shot don’t know what to tell the guys because a guy throws it half court in. We just have to let it go. We by a player who had missed five of seven free throws. play on Saturday and need to find a way to win there and get back home. That was a tough one.” The Lopes (9-7, 2-1 WAC) were trailing 74-69 with 1:47 to go but Milstead scored six unanswered (on the tough part of losing on a half-court shot) “That’s tough for us and the kids. This points, starting with a floater a minute before his amazing late-game sequence. NMSU led 74-71 would’ve made us 3-0 and those guys would’ve been 0-2, and to win on their home floor would’ve when Milstead’s stunting ball pressure prompted All-WAC point guard A.J. Harris to cough up been huge. We would’ve had a chance to go 2-0 on the road trip, but as I said, strange things his dribble to Milstead, who darted off to a breakaway layup with 25 seconds remaining. happen in basketball and you have to bounce back.” After the ensuing inbound, Milstead poked the ball loose from behind Harris in the backcourt and to teammate Oscar Frayer, who fed it back to Milstead for a go-ahead layup and a 75-74 (on the game remaining close the whole way) “No, we played well. We didn’t get a couple stops lead with 13 seconds remaining. NMSU went to the free throw line on the ensuing possession down the stretch. There was some miscommunication on the lob dunk. A.J. Harris hit the step- but Terrell Brown missed both attempts, leaving GCU ahead with 6.6 seconds remaining. back three, so I was a little disappointed with our communication. In practice, we talk about talking and not losing guys and that’s just the result of not talking. On the back-door lob, they’re The Aggies (12-4, 1-1) put Trey Drechsel on the line in the bonus situation with 3.3 seconds go to. supposed to switch it, but they didn’t switch it because they don’t talk. I told those guys, when we Drechsel missed the first free throw and McCants dribbled three times ahead on the left side start getting really good, if we stop that, maybe we win the game. There are a lot of things that before launching the shot shy of the half-court line, where a mid-court celebration pile ensued. happened in the game, but I thought we played really well. We played hard. Our guys, I’ve never Carlos Johnson led GCU’s scoring with an aggressive and efficient 16 points, his third consecu- questioned how hard our guys play or the will to win because they have all that.” tive double-digit scoring effort off the bench. The Lopes put four scorers in double figures for the second consecutive game with Frayer adding 15 and Milstead and Gerard Martin each scor- (on four players scoring in double figures and offensive balance) “It is, but we need Ale to ing 13, a season high for Martin. Alessandro Lever was limited to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting. score for us. We’re going to have guys step up. One night it was Matt Jackson. Tonight, it was Gerard. We have the capability of guys to step up and be that second or third guy, but Ale is the Neither team ever lead by more than six points. The Lopes had kept the previous five oppo- nents to 39.7 percent shooting from the field. NMSU shot 50 percent on Thursday, scoring guy that we need to focus and get him the ball. We tried to get him going a little bit. We’re going most of its points in the paint with 40 there. to have other guys step up, but Ale has to score for us.” The Aggies shot better from 3-point range than normal, hitting 9 of 21 after coming into the game (on the strength of guards Carlos Johnson and Trey Drechsel inside) “Carlos is a great post with a season clip of 31.5 percent. Lever and Drechsel were 0 for 10 combined on 3s but Frayer player. He’s a four-man in a two-guard’s body. He’s really strong down there and knows how to score and Martin each made three 3s. An ankle sprain sidelined Martin for the final 5:13 of the game. around the basket. We’ve got to take care of that size and both Trey and Carlos do a good job of that.” A pair of 3s gave NMSU its largest lead of the game, 59-53, with 9:37 to go but the Lopes (on having something to prove at UTRGV) “I don’t think those guys even remember UTRGV responded out of a Majerle time out with two big plays by freshman guard Tim Finke --- a because they never remember the year before because it’s happened a couple of times. The 3-pointer off strong ball movement and a steal that set up a Johsnon fastbreak layup. The teams traded the lead five times in the final 7:26 with Milstead scoring nine of the Lopes’ final biggest thing is we have to get over this one. These guys wanted this game so bad and I know 13 points to thrill a full section of Havocs who dotted the NMSU arena’s “Whiteout” with purple. how I feel. Those guys, I can imagine how 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds feel, having it in their grasps.”

#LOPESUP ‹ 42 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

SATURDAY JAN. 12 69 7:00 P.M. 65 EDINBURG, TEXAS GRAND CANYON UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY

Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Grand Canyon vs UT Rio Grande Valley 1/12/19 7:00 p.m. at Edinburg, TX (UTRGV Fieldhouse) (on the win) “That’s the thing about this game and that team. You can’t draw anything up. I told the guys, ‘There’s not a play I can drop in the huddle,’ because they’re just going to run and jump and trap Grand Canyon 69 • 10-7, 3-1 WAC and it just comes down to playing basketball. Anytime you get out of here with a win, no matter how Total 3-Ptr Rebounds ugly or no matter how it happens, you’re extremely fortunate. Our guys did a great job of just battling. ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min They got down and could’ve folded. They didn’t, especially after what happened on Thursday. Carlos, a 04 Frayer,Oscar f 4-9 3-7 0-0 1 4 5 4 11 2 3 1 1 36 43 Finke,Michael f 4-7 2-4 3-3 3 2 5 4 13 2 2 0 1 26 16 percent 3-point shooter, makes a huge 3. Damari played really, really well. It’s a beautiful win to me 25 Lever,Alessandro c 1-7 0-1 2-4 2 1 3 3 4 1 2 0 1 22 because this is a tough place for us to play.” 02 Drechsel,Trey g 0-5 0-3 0-0 0 5 5 1 0 2 5 0 0 31 11 Milstead,Damari g 9-16 5-7 2-3 2 5 7 2 25 5 2 0 0 39 (on Damari Milstead’s career-high 25 points and clutch play) “We had a meeting last night and I told 12 Blumbergs,Roberts 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 8 him, ‘You’re a mentally tough kid. The only problem you have is you can’t overcome being tired. You’re 23 Johnson,Carlos 3-8 1-1 4-6 1 5 6 3 11 0 3 0 1 24 so mentally tough that you should be able to do that.’ Tonight, he played 39 minutes and had big, big 24 Finke,Tim 2-3 1-2 0-2 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 0 14 Team 2 3 5 1 production for us. He just keeps getting better and that’s great. He deserves it. He works hard and he’s Totals 23-56 12-25 11-18 13 27 40 19 69 12 19 1 4 200 a great kid. He’s about the team. He listens. I just couldn’t be more proud of our guys. That’s a game

FG % 1st Half: 11-27 40.7% 2nd half: 12-29 41.4% Game: 23-56 41.1% Deadball that could’ve went the other way and we just found a way to battle and a way to get it done.” 3FG % 1st Half: 7-12 58.3% 2nd half: 5-13 38.5% Game: 12-25 48.0% Rebounds FT % 1st Half: 7-9 77.8% 2nd half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 11-18 61.1% 3 (on how the team handles pressure situations) “They just kept on battling. They had a lot at stake UT Rio Grande Valley 65 • 9-10, 1-2 WAC after what happened Thursday. They want to be WAC champs and you can’t go on an 0-2 road trip, Total 3-Ptr Rebounds especially when you wanted to win that first one. As I told them, ‘It’s up to you guys.’ There’s not a whole ## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min lot I can do over there as a coach when the team just traps and jumps.’ You can’t run a play so it just 03 Winn III, Terry f 8-15 0-0 7-10 1 3 4 2 23 1 3 1 1 30 comes down to playing basketball. Guys made some big plays. We finally started getting some stops 11 Varner II, Lesley f 1-3 0-0 4-4 0 1 1 3 6 1 3 0 0 23 there in the second half. For a while, we couldn’t stop them. It’s hard to get anything going when you 14 Levi, Javon g 3-11 0-2 2-2 1 5 6 4 8 8 2 0 3 34 22 Jackson, Jordan g 4-7 1-1 2-2 0 0 0 1 11 1 0 1 3 26 keep taking the ball out of the basket. We did it on the defensive end and started getting some stops.” 23 Smith, Tyson g 2-6 2-3 0-0 0 3 3 2 6 0 2 1 2 32 00 Bowie II, Greg 0-1 0-1 2-2 0 2 2 4 2 1 1 0 0 19 (on playing a shorter rotation without injured players Gerard Martin and Matt Jackson)“It’s 01 Hainna, Solomon 0-2 0-0 3-4 0 3 3 1 3 1 0 1 1 19 tough, especially in a game like this because our bigs are guarding small forwards. It’s tough for Ale 12 Gueye, Ndene 3-7 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 3 6 0 0 1 0 9 (Lever) and Michael (Finke) to play on a guard out there. Our two heart and soul guys, Gerard and Matt. 15 Dibiamaka, Uche 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Gerard tried to go and just couldn’t do it. So with those two guys missing, it’s tough but we gutted it out.” 21 Fontaine, Isaiah 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Team 2 3 5 1 Totals 21-52 3-7 20-24 6 24 30 21 65 13 12 6 10 200 (on making 12 of 25 3-pointers) “Well, we got the right guys shooting them. Damari has been a good 3-point shooter. He was last year. Michael has to find a way to get more shots. Oscar has started to FG % 1st Half: 10-27 37.0% 2nd half: 11-25 44.0% Game: 21-52 40.4% Deadball 3FG % 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd half: 1-3 33.3% Game: 3-7 42.9% Rebounds come around so that was good and then Carlos with that big one. Tim had a big 3 for us and that’s one FT % 1st Half: 6-6 100.0 2nd half: 14-18 77.8% Game: 20-24 83.3% 2 of the things he has to do, spot up and make 3s for us. In the first half, that’s really what got us that lead. Officials: Scott Tierney, James Ford, Aaron Schlessinger Sometimes, you just have to find a way, especially in a scrambling situation. They’re going to double Ale Technical fouls: Grand Canyon-None. UT Rio Grande Valley-None. Attendance: 725 and not let anything in the post so you’ve got to make shots.”

Score by periods 1st 2nd Total In Off 2nd Fast (on Oscar Frayer’s activity) “That’s what Oscar has to do. He’s got to be very active and not rely on his Grand Canyon 36 33 69 Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench GCU 16 8 15 2 16 jump shot. He hit a few early but his activity defensively with the way he can block shots and rebound UT Rio Grande Valley 28 37 65 UTRGV 24 16 2 10 11 the basketball. He’s got to continue to get better at that but overall another great effort.” Last FG - GCU 2nd-01:02, UTRGV 2nd-05:03. Score tied - 11 times. Largest lead - GCU by 8 1st-00:04, UTRGV by 8 2nd-06:14. Lead changed - 4 times. (on making 19 turnovers) “A little concerned. This is a team that forces 18 turnovers a game and we GCU led for 16:30. UTRGV led for 15:53. Game was tied for 07:37. had 19 but I still think we’re really too careless with the ball. It really doesn’t set in for a while that you RAPID RECAP: can’t make one-handed passes or you can’t wait for the ball to come you. You have to attack the ball to go get it. Anytime you spin dribble, somebody’s going to be there.” Grand Canyon came up with another clutch road comeback but made this one stand Saturday (on the consistent energy the team displayed) “They knew that this was a game that we couldn’t lose night. The Lopes trailed 65-59 at UT Rio Grande Valley but scored 10 unanswered points over if we had the dreams that we had. We had a great team meeting last night after a long day of travel. We the final 2:50 of the game to win 69-65 at UTRGV Fieldhouse. sat down and really had a heart-to-heart and talked about some things. These guys have been resilient Damari Milstead scored a career-high 25 points and added a career-high tying seven re- all year long and they listen to what I say and I think they take it in. They showed it here tonight. We knew bounds with five assists while scoring nine of GCU’s final 13 points for the second consecutive it was going to be a tough game and it wasn’t looking good there for a while but our guys dug deep and game. GCU (10-7, 3-1 WAC) held UTRGV (9-10, 1-2) without a made field goal for the final 4:59 just found a way to win. It just shows the character of our guys and how hard they play.” of the game and kept the Vaqueros to 40.4 percent shooting from the field. (on Alessandro Lever scoring four) “This is a tough game for him. This is an up-and-down press. Oscar Frayer started the 10-0 finish with a 3-pointer with 2:35 to go and Milstead followed I can’t just throw it into him. When I do throw it into him, they’re going to just trap him. I know he’s that up with another 3 to tie the game and prompt a UTRGV time out. The Lopes made 12 of 25 frustrated and he should be. It’s tough and I ask a lot of him. I’m on him. He’s guarding guys that are 3s with Milstead making 5 of 7, Frayer hitting 3 of 7 and Michael Finke making 2 of 4. five inches shorter than he is and they’re quick and I ask him to keep in front. He’s getting beat up down there. I feel for the kid but I’m not going to stop pushing him. He’s going to be fine. We just got to keep GCU’s intense first-half defense slipped some in the second half with fouls and the Vaqueros’ working on him. I told him, ‘When we throw that ball in the post and they double, just accept the double post play against the short-handed Lopes, who were missing injured top defenders Gerard team and make plays for other play.’ These type of games are hard to play. It’s like when we played Martin and Matt Jackson. The Lopes grabbed 13 offensive rebounds to hold a 15-2 advantage LaSalle. There’s just so much trapping. They want to speed up the game. They want to take you out of in second-chance points. For the third consecutive game, GCU had four double-digit scorers your comfort zone and not let you run your plays and they did a good job of it. He (Lew Hill) did a great with the last two of them occurring without Alessandro Lever scoring in double digits. job of coaching that team and almost pulled out a win for them.” Johnson, a 16.7 percent 3-point shooter this season, made the go-ahead shot by sinking a 3 (on Carlos Johnson making the go-ahead 3-pointer) “That’s one of the reason I recruited Carlos and for a 68-65 lead with 1:02 to go. J.J. (Rhymes). J.J. is redshirting. Both of those kids are extremely tough, not only physically but men- tally. And you saw that in Carlos at New Mexico State. Carlos is one of those guy who doesn’t shy away The Lopes defense established itself in the first half by keeping the Vaqueros out of the paint from the moment. He doesn’t always do the right thing. He’s still turning the ball over too much but he’s and forcing them into late shot clock situations. UTRGV went nearly seven minutes without making a learning. But hee has a lot of onions, as Bill Raferty would say, and is not afraid of the big moment. So is field goal and made its only push when its pressure created transition opportunities for a 23-19 lead. Damari. They’re tough kids. They’ve got a lot of confidence in their ability. They’re not going to shy away from anybody. That was a big shot.” From there, Johnson’ helped start a 17-5 finish to the half. The defense again held UTRGV with- out a field goal for five minutes and the Lopes offense had its best stretch at the end of the half, (on recovering from Thursday’s loss) “I give our guys a lot of credit. When that ball went in Thursday when Milstead made his second and third 3-pointers of the game and Finke added another 3. night, I told our guys, ‘That was a shock.’ For 15-20 seconds. And I still really can’t believe it. You see it and you can’t believe it because it was so quick and it was such a great shot. You had the game in your GCU made 7 of 12 3-pointers in the first half to make up for 10 first-half turnovers and another grasp. I can imagine what’s it’s like for our guys who are 18, 19, 20, 21 years old who played their butts slow start from Lever, who missed all five of his first-half shots. UTRGV applied heavy full-court off and had never won at Las Cruces and it’s a team that we want to beat. To see that shot go in, you’ve pressure, prompting the Lopes to make a season-high 19 turnovers but they still took more shots got to give them a lot of credit for staying the course and fighting and finding a way to win just two than the Vaqueros because seven of the eight players grabbed at least one offensive rebound. nights later. I’m just really proud of our guys.”

#LOPESUP ‹ 43 › MEN’S BASKETBALL //

THURSDAY JAN. 17 46 7:00 P.M. 80 PHOENIX, ARIZ. CHICAGO STATE GRAND CANYON

Official Basketball Box Score - Final Game Time: 7:00 PM DAN MAJERLE POSTGAME QUOTES: Chicago St. at Grand Canyon Game Duration: 1:49 Attendance: 7,113 01/17/19 GCU Arena, Phoenix, Ariz. (opening statement) “Good win. I thought we did some good things. Way to many turnovers, but 2018-19 Men's Basketball Officials: Marc Beasley, Kerby Sitton, Charles Rydzak I thought in the second half we did a better job. Did what we were supposed to do and now we’re Chicago St. - 46 Record: 3-14 FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period going to have to come in Saturday and played really well against Kansas City. I think Chicago State TP AS TO ST +/- NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 12-32 37.5% is a team that, that coach is doing a terrific job, he really is. It’s his first time he’s been there. Runs 13 Christian Jacob F 19:58 4-11 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 4 1 8 2 1 2 0 1 -5 3PT% 0-6 0.0% 21 Cameron Bowles F 30:56 3-6 0-0 1-2 0 4 4 1 2 7 0 2 2 1 0 -24 FT% 2-4 50% a lot of really good stuff and he’s going to have that program pretty good in a little bit. He does a 1 Rob Shaw G 32:21 6-11 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 1 1 12 0 10 1 0 0 -36 2nd FG% 8-19 42.1% 3 Travon Bell G 20:39 1-7 0-4 0-0 1 3 4 3 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 -10 3PT% 0-4 0.0% good job. I thought our guys were excited with our crowd back and out students back. It’s always 10 Anthony Harris G 30:34 2-6 0-2 5-7 0 5 5 2 7 9 3 3 1 1 0 -32 FT% 4-7 57.1% fun to play in front of the Havocs. They were terrific as always. Happy for Rob (Blumb ergs). He 23 Patrick Szpir 15:15 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 -25 GMFG% 20-51 39.2% 2 Delshon Strickland 19:51 1-4 0-2 0-2 1 2 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 -24 3PT% 0-10 0.0% has worked hard. Hasn’t gotten a whole lot of playing time, but took advantage of it tonight and FT% 6-11 54.5% 15 Noah Bigirumwami 07:58 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 -4 22 Michael Johnson 07:39 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 Dead Ball Rebounds: 2, 0 did a good job, so I was happy for him. We’ll take it, we’ll move on and get ready for Saturday.” 32 Eugene Witherspoon 10:22 3-4 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 2 0 6 0 4 0 0 0 -6 5 Jordan Reed 02:31 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -3 (on the key to Robert Blumbergs success) “Just being a little bit stronger. Using his size. Made 0 Ken Odiase 01:56 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -3 Team 0 2 2 0 0 his first shot which was nice. He’s an athletic kid. He shows it in practice a lot. He’s just a little Totals 20-51 0-10 6-11 5 27 32 23 13 46 8 23 7 3 1 -34 timid in games, as far as being aggressive. If he catches it around the basket, he’s going to finish. Technical Fouls: NONE Grand Canyon - 80 Record: 11-7 He’s probably one of our best shooters in practice. He’s just got to have the confidence to make FG 3P FT Rebounds Fouls Blocks Shooting By Period TP AS TO ST +/- it in a game. He’s really a kid that can stretch the floor. Like I said, I am happy for him. He’s strug- NO. Name Min M-A M-A M-A OR DR TOT PF FD BS BA 1st FG% 16-28 57.1% 4 Oscar Frayer F 20:51 3-4 2-3 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 8 2 1 1 1 0 17 3PT% 5-11 45.5% gled a bit the last year and a half and he’s been practicing hard. Ale (Lever) had an off night, and 25 Alessandro Lever F 17:13 2-6 0-2 3-6 0 1 1 3 4 7 1 5 0 0 0 13 FT% 6-10 60% 43 Michael Finke F 18:39 2-6 0-2 0-0 1 6 7 1 1 4 2 1 0 0 1 15 2nd FG% 13-28 46.4% Rob came in and played well. So we rewarded Rob with a start in the second half and I’m happy 2 Trey Drechsel G 23:52 4-6 0-0 3-5 1 5 6 1 5 11 4 0 1 0 0 27 3PT% 2-11 18.2% for him. He’s a kid that has worked hard.” 11 Damari Milstead G 26:22 4-9 0-3 3-5 0 3 3 1 3 11 2 4 2 0 1 13 FT% 9-15 60% 23 Carlos Johnson 27:16 5-9 0-1 2-4 4 2 6 0 3 12 4 2 2 0 0 21 GMFG% 29-56 51.8% 42 Gerard Martin 14:39 2-2 2-2 1-2 1 2 3 4 2 7 1 2 0 0 0 24 3PT% 7-22 31.8% (on how important Blumbergs mobility can be as a big man) “Ah, I don’t know. We have to get FT% 15-25 60.0% 12 Roberts Blumbergs 21:30 4-6 1-2 1-1 0 4 4 1 4 10 2 1 3 0 1 21 Dead Ball Rebounds: 3, 0 Ale (Lever) playing well. I mean Ale is player of the year. Preseason pick. First-Team All WAC. We 24 Tim Finke 24:05 3-5 2-4 2-2 0 3 3 1 1 10 2 0 1 0 0 21 15 Raef Gerdes 05:33 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2 have to figure that out. He has to figure it out. I think Ale is in his own head right now. His free Team 0 2 2 0 0 Totals 29-56 7-22 15-25 7 29 36 13 23 80 20 16 10 1 3 34 throws, takes a couple bad threes, when he doesn’t have to. They are beating the living, you know Technical Fouls: NONE what, out of him down there and he’s not getting the calls. Some of it is because he flops so much. CSU GCU Points from CSU GCU Period by Period Scoring He has to just handle his business down there. He has to take some of the contact. Not flop, play Biggest lead st nd 3 (1 19:01) 36 (2 6:00) Turnovers 10 23 1st 2nd TOT Best Scoring Run 6 (1st 3:32) 17 (1st 10:37) Paint 34 38 through it and score. Sometimes he wants to get too much contact and tries to get too close Lead Changes 4 Second Chance 6 12 CSU 26 20 46 to the basket or tries to bull somebody over instead of using his finesse. He’s struggling right Times Tied 1 Fast Breaks 12 13 GCU 43 37 80 Time with Lead 02:15 36:51 Bench 8 39 now, but it’s no secret, we’re going to need him if we want to go where we have to go. I hope Rob continue to play well and he’ll get minutes, but Ale is still our guy and he has to play well. Periord. RAPID RECAP: (on having a lot of different players scoring)“We’ve been able to win some games. Ale (Lever) After a road trip of wild finishes, Grand Canyon left nothing to the imagination in its return to GCU didn’t play well at New Mexico State, didn’t play well at UTRGV, hasn’t played well in a while. We Arena by trouncing Chicago State 80-46 for its 15th consecutive regular-season home victory. have guys that can step up. We have other bigs. We have guys coming off the bench. Gerard (Martin) has played well. Matt (Jackson) has been hurt, but he’s been a guy that has had big The Cougars held early leads until the Lopes (11-7, 3-1 WAC) went on a 21-2 run for a 24-8 lead games for us. Yeah we have, you know when we started this year, we thought one of our big that was too much for Chicago State to weather. The final margin was GCU’s second largest of strengths was our depth. Guys that can come off the bench and score. We’ve had several guys the season and the biggest of its WAC history. Chicago State’s 46 points was the least GCU has do that for us. Carlos (Johnson) has been a staple, as far as guy’s coming off and getting some allowed in a WAC game. points for us. I’m not going to lie, we need Ale to play better So we will keep working at it.” It was a balanced scoring attack for GCU with Damari Milstead scoring in double figures for the (on what they anticipate for Saturday’s matchup against Kansas City) “UMKC, I think they are fourth consecutive game and Carlos Johnson doing it for a fifth consecutive game. The Lopes put down at half to Bakersfield. That’s a hard place to play. They will be ready for us. They are a team five players in double-digits for points as they shot 57.1 percent from the field. It was the fourth that again, has some good guards that are smaller. They have some tough guys, that are going consecutive game that GCU had four players score in double figures. to present us with some matchup problems. Just have to continue to hopefully play our type of defense and control the basket, as far as rebounding and shoot the ball well. Playing at home, we It was GCU Roberts Blumbergs’ first-half performance that might prove to be the best product have to take care of home business. It’s hard enough to win on the road, but UMKC will be a great of the victory. Blumbergs has struggled with his shot, fouls and holding onto playing rotation challenge for us.” time throughout this season but he had his best stretch of the season Thursday night. With a team-high eight points in the first half, Blumbergs earned a start for the second half in place of (on the ball movement improving) “Getting there. Have to catch it. Too many fumbles, but yeah, Alessandro Lever and finished with 10 points. we’ve really been concentrating on moving the ball and not being so stagnant. So we’re doing a better job of that, especially against a team that plays zone, like Chicago State did. It can be Coming off their best 3-point shooting game of the season on Saturday (12 for 25), the Lopes a problem if you’re just standing around, so you want to move and cut and we’ve been really perhaps showed that their perimeter touch is turning a corner before a cool finish put them at concentrating in on that in practice, so I think it’s getting a little bit better that we’re not just following 7 for 22 from the arc against Chicago State (3-15, 0-3 WAC). Meanwhile, the Lopes did standing. We’re moving the ball, moving bodies and looking for each other.” not allow the Cougars to make a 3-pointer on 10 attempts. (on Raef Gerdes usual shooting zone) “Raef lost his mind, man. I think it went to his head. I said Chicago State pushed back with a series of second-chance opportunities and GCU turnovers the other day in practice, that Raef has moved up the ladder. He’s now our best shooter on our in the first half to trail 32-24 but GCU closed the half on an 11-2 run, including four points and a team. When he got in the game, he took that first one on the swing from about 30 feet. I guess charge taken from Blumbergs during the stretch. that was a heat check from practice. He has to get back to the drawing board.” With Gerard Martin returning, Chicago State shot just 37.5 percent from the field to become GCU’s eighth opponent to shoot less than 40 percent or less this season.

#LOPESUP ‹ 44 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // PLAYER CAPSULES

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Finished as the storied Hutchinson CC (Kansas) program’s No. 7 all- GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS -- 0 18-19 0/0 time scorer with 1,295 points over two seasons. REB -- Career 0/0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 »» Earned first team NJCAA and NABC All-America honors along with J.J. AST -- being named the Jayhawk Conference and Region 6 Player of the Year. MISCELLANEOUS STL -- »» Helped the Blue Dragons to a 35-2 record and an NJCAA Division I RHYMES PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... National Championship as a freshman in 2016-17. Guard 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK -- »» Helped state championship teams at Shadow Mountain HS (Phoenix) Jr. • 6-4 • 205 18-19 MIN -- as a sophomore in 2014 and senior in 2016. Phoenix, Ariz. Total »» Was a two-year Shadow Mountain teammate of Carlos Johnson.

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Set to redshirt the season after transferring from Northwestern. GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 19, vs. Maryland, 2/15/17 1 18-19 0/0 »» Hit a go-ahead basket with 1:30 left in OT and sealed the win with a REB 4, 4x, last vs. Brown, 12/30/17 Career 60/2 11.4 2.3 2.5 1.0 0.3 34.9 79.6 28.0 pair of free throws over Michael Finke’s Illinois team on Dec. 1, 2017. ISIAH AST 6, vs. Lewis, 12/19/17 »» As a freshman in 2016-17, was the Wildcats’ fifth-leading scorer and MISCELLANEOUS STL 2, 5x, last vs. Sacred Heart, 11/24/17 top freshman scorer at 6.9 points per game. BROWN PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Part of a squad that led Northwestern to its first NCAA Tournament Guard 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, vs. Dayton, 12/17/16 appearance in the program’s 112-year history. Jr. • 6-2 • 175 18-19 MIN 34, at Purdue, 2/1/17 »» Was the Washington Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015-16 after Lynnwood, Wash. Total 11 5 1 averaging 33.8 points and 6.0 rebounds.

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Grabbed a season high 14 rebounds against Seattle U which was the GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 32, vs. Concordia, 11/30/17 2 18-19 18/18 8.9 4.6 2.7 0.8 0.2 45.4% 65.8% 30.4% second highest total by a guard in Lopes’ Division I era. REB 17, vs. Concordia, 11/30/17 Career 82/79 11.9 6.0 3.2 1.1 0.2 43.2 78.9 32.0 »» Appeared in 64 career games for Division II Western Washington with TREY AST 10, vs. Douglas, 11/15/17 61 starts, averaging 12.8 points. MISCELLANEOUS STL 5, at MSU Billings, 1/13/18 »» Earned first team All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference honors as a DRECHSEL PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... redshirt junior in 2017-18 after starting all 29 games and averaging 14.9 Guard 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, 2x, last vs. Alaska Anchorage, 2/4/16 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists. R-Sr. • 6-6 • 205 18-19 9 1 1 3 3 8 5 3 MIN 40, 5x, last vs. Saint Martin’s, 3/2/18 »» Recorded a career-high 32 points in a Nov. 30, 2017 win over Concordia Woodinville, Wash. Total 50 12 10 9 6 3 3 8 5 3 and had another 30-point game against Tampa on Dec. 17, 2017.

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Only player with 10 or more blocks, team leader in three pointers made GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 23, at New Mexico State, 2/10/18 4 18-19 18/18 8.6 4.2 1.3 0.9 0.8 43.1% 54.2% 38.0% with 30, no other player has made more than 17 threes. REB 15, vs. UMKC, 3/8/18 Career 82/71 8.8 4.7 1.1 1.1 0.8 43.9 59.4 33.0 »» 3 point field goal percentage has risen to 44% in conference play. OSCAR AST 5, vs. Utah Valley, 3/9/18 »» Named to the Preseason All-WAC team, earning first-team honors in MISCELLANEOUS FRAYER STL 4, 3x, last at UTRGV, 2/8/18 the coaches poll and second-team recognition in the media poll. PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Named to the All-WAC Defensive Team in 2017-18. Forward 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 4, 2x, last vs. William Jessup, 1/23/18 »» Became known as GCU’s human highlight reel, earning WAC Top Play Jr. • 6-7 •190 18-19 7 2 4 1 6 10 MIN 42, at Chicago State, 1/28/17 honors on seven occasions as a sophomore in 2017-18. Oakland, Calif. Total 36 1 5 1 3 9 14 4 30 34 »» Had a putback dunk at Illinois go viral on Dec. 30, 2017, being featured on SportsCenter and Bleacher Report.

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Started five straight games for the first time since 1/23-2/6, 2016. GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 19, vs. Utah Valley, 1/3/19 5 18-19 15/5 5.6 3.3 1.3 0.3 0.4 54.5% 67.9% 25.0% »» Reached the 30 minute mark for the second time in his career against REB 8, 4x, last vs. Utah Valley, 1/3/19 Career 102/21 4.3 2.9 0.9 0.3 0.3 42.0 65.8 31.4 Utah Valley, the first time since 2014 against Great Falls. AST 5, 2x, last vs. Utah Valley, 2/24/18 »» Returned to the floor last season after going 597 days without playing MATT MISCELLANEOUS STL 2, 5x, last at Chicago State, 1/18/18 in a college game due to five surgeries for hip and back issues. JACKSON PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Scored in double figures four times throughout his junior season Forward 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, vs. South Carolina State, 3/14/16 including a season-high 12 points against Grambling State on Dec. 9. R-Sr. • 6-8 • 230 18-19 2 1 3 1 2 3 MIN 31, vs. Utah Valley, 1/3/19 »» Scored a career-best 13 points after draining three 3-pointers in a win Melbourne, Australia Total 11 1 1 5 3 9 15 against Utah Valley as a sophomore on Jan. 16, 2016.

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Set career highs in points (25), rebounds (7), and minutes (39) at UTRGV. GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 25, vs. UT Rio Grande Valley, 1/12/19 11 18-19 18/10 10.8 2.7 3.4 1.3 0.1 43.6% 76.4% 36.2% »» Team leader in points per game (14.0) and assists per game (4.4) in REB 7, 2x, last vs UT Rio Grande Valley, 1/12/19 Career 44/10 7.1 1.5 2.0 0.8 0.1 44.5 80.4 40.9 conference play. DAMARI AST 8, vs. Utah Valley, 1/3/19 »» Saw action in 26 games during his freshman campaign, averaging 9.4 MISCELLANEOUS MILSTEAD STL 5, vs Arkansas State, 11/16/18 minutes and 4.5 points. PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Led team with 52.6 percent 3-point shooting (minimum 10 attempts), Guard 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 1, 3x, last vs. New Mexico St., 1/10/19 going 10 for 19 last season. So. • 6-2 • 190 18-19 10 2 5 2 1 10 8 1 MIN 39, vs UT Rio Grande Valley, 1/12/19 »» Also led team in free throw percentage (minimum 25 attempts), going Hayward, Calif. Total 12 2 5 2 1 12 12 1 48 for 57 (84.2 percent) last season. »» Had a streak of 22 consecutive free throw makes from Dec. 9 to Feb. 1.

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Scored a season-high 10 in 21 minutes against Chicago State on Jan. 17. GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 25, vs. UT Rio Grande Valley, 1/13/18 12 18-19 12/0 2.9 2.1 0.3 0.3 0.5 36.4% 87.5% 19.0% »» As a freshman, appeared in 33 games and averaged 5.2 points. REB 8, 3x, last vs. William Jessup, 1/23/18 Career 45/7 4.6 2.8 0.7 0.3 0.3 36.8 76.2 21.2 »» Had first double-digit scoring game with 14 points against Norfolk ROBERTS AST 6, vs. Norfolk State, 11/20/17 State on Nov. 20, 2017. MISCELLANEOUS STL 3, 2x, last vs. Chicago State, 1/17/19 »» Scored a season-high 25 points against UT Rio Grande Valley on Jan. BLUMBERGS PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... 13, 2018. Set GCU’s D-1 mark for points in a game by a true freshman. Forward 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, 2x, last vs. Delaware State, 11/10/18 »» Played on the Latvian National Team. So. • 6-10 • 220 18-19 1 1 4 MIN 31, vs. Norfolk State, 11/20/17 »» Learned about U.S. culture after living with an American family whose Ventspils, Latvia Total 5 1 1 2 3 1 5 7 father, Flo Hartenstein, played basketball at Oregon.

#LOPESUP ‹ 45 › MEN’S BASKETBALL // PLAYER CAPSULES

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Played five minutes against Chicago State and attempted three shots. GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 1, vs Delaware State, 11/10/18 15 18-19 3/0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0% 50.0% 0.0% »» Played two minutes and made a free throw in GCU debut. REB -- Career 3/0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 0.0 »» Helped Summit Christian Academy (Mo.) to a 67-33 mark during his RAEF AST -- four-year career. MISCELLANEOUS STL -- »» Averaged 15.0 points as a senior for the team’s second-highest GERDES PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... scoring average. Shot 38.6 percent from 3-point range. Forward 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK -- »» Shared the court as a senior with younger brother Jared, a freshman. Fr. • 6-7 • 185 18-19 MIN 5, vs Chicago State, 1/17/19 The brothers represented the Eagles’ top two rebounders in 2017-18. Lee’s Summit, Mo. Total »» Father, Daniel, played basketball at Wartburg College from 1983 to 1987. Ranks in the program’s top 10 for career blocks (65).

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Transfered to The Walker School (Ga.) for his senior season, returning GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS -- 22 18-19 0/0 from injury to score 24 points including the game-winning free throw REB -- Career 0/0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 in the team’s come-from-behind playoff victory on Feb. 16, 2018. AST -- CALEB MISCELLANEOUS »» Earned All-Region honors. HOLIFIELD STL -- »» As a freshman at Pace Academy (Ga.), shared the court with his older PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... brother Elijah, a senior, in 2014-15. Both earned All-Region 6 honors. Guard 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK -- »» Was a teammate of Wendell Carter Jr., the No. 7 pick in the 2018 draft. 18-19 Fr. • 6-2 • 185 MIN -- »» Father, Rick, played professional baseball for five organizations. Duluth, Ga. Total

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Raised points per game to 12.3 and three point field goal percentage to GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 19, vs. Arizona State, 2/16/17 23 18-19 18/5 10.9 4.4 0.9 0.9 0.2 43.7% 76.5% 18.4% 25%, and scored in double figures in each conference game. REB 12, vs. Arizona State, 2/16/17 Career 66/9 6.7 3.0 0.6 0.4 0.2 43.8 68.1 21.1 »» GCU is 8-3 when Johnson scores 10 or more points. AST 4, vs Chicago State, 1/17/19 »» Second on the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game. CARLOS MISCELLANEOUS STL 3, vs Mississippi Valley State, 12/22/18 »» Ruled immediately eligible after transferring from Washington. JOHNSON PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Saw action in all 31 games as a freshman for the Huskies in 2016-17. Guard 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 1, 10x, last vs. Texas, 12/15/19 Averaged 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds, second-most points per game Jr. • 6-3 • 215 18-19 12 4 1 2 6 2 MIN 35, vs. Arizona State, 2/16/17 among the team’s freshmen behind Markelle Fultz. Centralia, Ill. Total 20 1 1 4 1 2 6 2 »» Appeared in only 17 games during his sophomore season in 2017-18 under first-year head coach Mike Hopkins.

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Averaging 16.6 minutes and 4.0 points per game in WAC play. GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 14, vs Utah, 11/23/18 24 18-19 18/3 4.4 3.2 1.2 0.5 0.1 41.5% 56.5% 41.4% »» Set career highs in minutes (32), points (14), 3-point field goals (4), in his first REB 8, 2x, last vs Jacksonville, 11/12/18 Career 18/3 4.4 3.2 1.2 0.5 0.1 41.5 56.5 41.4 career start against Utah in the Wooden Legacy Tournament. TIM AST 3, 3x, last vs Northern Iowa, 12/19/18 »» A four-star recruit, became most touted signing in program history. MISCELLANEOUS FINKE STL 2, 2x, last vs San Diego, 12/29/18 »» Regarded as Illinois’ No. 2 recruit by ESPN.com as a high school player. Guard PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Tallied 2,015 career points to become Champaign-Urbana’s all-time 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 1, vs Delaware State, 11/10/18 leading scorer. Fr. • 6-6 • 195 18-19 2 4 3 2 MIN 32, vs Utah, 11/23/18 »» Helped lead the Maroons to a 3A regional title in all three seasons at Champaign, Ill. Total 2 4 3 2 the school after transferring for his sophomore season. »» Earned All-Area first team honors all four years of high school.

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Ninth in the WAC in scoring and is the team leader with 13.4 points per GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 30, vs. Seattle U, 2/22/18 25 18-19 18/18 13.4 4.2 1.3 0.3 0.1 44.2% 74.7% 28.3% game. REB 10, 3x, last vs. Seattle U, 2/22/18 Career 51/44 12.7 4.4 1.2 0.4 0.3 45.4 76.2 31.3 »» Scored in double figures in six straight games from Nov. 10-25. ALESSANDRO AST 4, 3x, last vs. Utah Valley, 1/3/19 »» Selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year. MISCELLANEOUS LEVER STL 2, vs. Utah Valley, 3/9/18 »» Named to the 21-member watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... Center of the Year award. Center 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, 2x, last vs. Utah Valley, 3/9/18 »» In 2017-18, earned All-WAC first team honors and was named the So. • 6-10 • 230 18-19 11 3 1 6 3 2 2 MIN 37, 2x, last vs. Utah Valley, 2/24/18 conference’s Freshman of the Year. Bolzano, Italy Total 28 12 4 2 17 11 1 6 11 »» Led GCU with 12.2 points per game with an uptick to 15.8 during WAC. »» Played on the Italian 18U and 20U national teams.

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» His 13 points against New Mexico State were the most since scoring 14 GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 17, vs. Central Michigan, 12/03/15 42 18-19 17/0 3.8 2.5 1.4 0.6 0.3 50.0% 81.8% 40.0% against UT Rio Grande Valley on 1/14/17. REB 10, vs. Seattle U, 1/21/17 Career 116/57 4.2 3.0 2.0 0.9 0.3 38.5 62.5 32.4 »» As a junior in 2017-18, came off the bench and saw action in all 34 GERARD AST 7, 3x, last vs. Seattle U, 1/21/17 games. MISCELLANEOUS MARTIN STL 7, vs. SIUE, 11/28/16 »» Earned WAC All-Defensive Team honors as a sophomore in 2016-17 PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... after leading the Lopes with 42 steals. Guard 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 2, 3x, last vs. Little Rock, 11/18/17 »» Career-high came as a redshirt freshman at Central Michigan on Dec. R-Sr. • 6-7 • 225 18-19 1 2 3 4 MIN 40, 3x, last at Chicago State, 1/28/17 3, 2016 where he knocked down five 3-pointers. Manly, Australia Total 10 1 1 7 11 22 21 »» A two-time conference champion at Scots College in Sydney with a 20.0 scoring average.

2018-19 / CAREER AVERAGES CAREER HIGHS NOTES »» Averaging 16.8 minutes, 6.0 points, and 4.2 rebounds per game in WAC play. GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3PT% PTS 24, vs. Western Carolina, 12/5/15 43 18-19 15/13 8.0 4.6 1.1 0.1 0.0 47.8% 74.1% 34.1% »» Scored 13 points in 26 minutes against UT Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 12. REB 16, at Minnesota, 1/23/16 Career 108/63 8.0 4.2 0.9 0.2 0.2 47.0 63.3 35.9 »» Appeared in 89 career games at Illinois, averaging 8.9 points and 4.3 MICHAEL AST 5, at Iowa, 2/18/17 rebounds with 47.3 percent shooting. MISCELLANEOUS STL 3, at Northwestern, 2/7/17 »» A three-time All-Academic Big Ten selection. FINKE PTS REB AST DOUBLE- LED GRAND CANYON IN... »» Scored in double figures in 13 games with two 20-point performances Forward 10+ 20+ 10+ 5+ DOUBLE PTS REB AST STL BLK BLK 3, vs. DePaul, 11/17/17 last year. Had nine points including a late 3-pointer in an Illini win over R-Sr. • 6-10 • 235 18-19 4 1 1 2 MIN 36, at Minnesota, 1/23/16 the Lopes in Champaign, Ill. on Dec. 30, 2017. Champaign, Ill. Total 38 3 4 1 3 1 1 2 »» Finished prep career ranked fourth all-time at Centennial HS (Ill.) with 1,425 points.

#LOPESUP ‹ 46 ›