Grand Canyon one win away from reaching NCAA Tournament in 1st year of eligibility

Richard Obert
The Republic | azcentral.com
Grand Canyon at their WAC Tournament game vs. Utah Valley.

LAS VEGAS – Grand Canyon built a big lead Friday night, but as it has done so often this season, it went into hibernation, painfully trying to find ways to score.

Turnovers. Careless passes. Missed layups.

Finally, Casey Benson made a floater, Keonta Vernon lofted a couple of sweet shots over the outstretched hand of 7-foot, 243-pound Akolda Manyang, and the No. 3 Antelopes found themselves one win away from reaching the NCAA Tournament in their first year of eligibility with a 75-60 Western Athletic Conference tournament semifinal victory over No. 2-seed Utah Valley at Orleans Arena.

With eight seconds left, before GCU finished the game shooting technical free throws, the couple hundred Havocs who made it to Vegas chanted, "We're going to the 'ship!"

GCU (22-10) will play for the WAC tournament title Saturday at 8 p.m. against top-seed New Mexico State. A win would put it into the NCAA Tournament as an automatic berth.

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After finishing up with his media requirements, some fans stuck around, chanting, "Thunder Dan!" to coach Dan Majerle, who is on the brink of making history in his fifth year taking his program from Division I infancy to this spot.

"It feels unbelievable," Majerle said. "I was talking about my emotions yesterday, just getting through that first one. Jitters were for everybody. I think they were a little nervous because they waited five years."

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Senior guard Josh Braun waited the longest. He was Majerle's first recruit after the former Suns player and assistant came to GCU.

Braun showed nerves Thursday missing the only three shots he took – all 3-pointers – but was saved by a couple of underclassmen, 6-foot-10 freshman Alessandro Lever and 6-6 wing Oscar Frayer to escape Kansas City 77-74.

This time, it was the upperclassmen setting up this chance to dance.

Braun scored right off the start on a layup, swished a pull-up jumper to end the first half and give the Antelopes a 41-27 lead, and knocked down three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point shot with 6:35 left that stretched GCU's lead to seven.

It's been a season-long struggle for Braun, who had a total of two points in two previous Utah Valley meetings, before Friday when he scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

As Braun explained how he needed to be aggressive, Majerle took over the question, saying, "Sorry, Josh, I made a conscious effort to get him the ball early."

"He's such a great player, we've got to get him shots," Majerle added. "I told him, just catch it and shoot. Just get it going. To his credit, he's never been down. I mean, it's tough. He's the Preseason (WAC) Player of the Year, and he's really struggling. As he said, the guys trust him. We trust him. We knew he was going to break out of it. I just made a decision, we're going to go to him early and see what he's got. He's going to go down swinging. He's a big player in big moments."

GCU went nearly six minutes in the second half without scoring after building a 41-27 halftime lead, as Utah Valley (22-10) closed to within four after being down by as many as 18.

Lever, who got the Antelopes going with three straight 3s in the first half, picked up his fourth foul with nearly seven minutes left and GCU leading by four.

Less than minute later, Benson picked up his fourth foul.

But Vernon, a senior who has has been the blue-collar worker under coach Dan Majerle during the grinding seasons to become WAC tourney eligible, came up big down the stretch.

Vernon finished with 14 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 50 seconds left.

Lever had 15 points after scoring 11 in the game's first eight minutes.

But it was Vernon to the rescue. Vernon scored GCU's next eight points during a two-minute stretch to give GCU a 10-point lead with two minutes to play.

"You're open for a reason," Majerle said to Vernon. "He stepped up and made some big shots. That's what you want out of your seniors."

The Wolverines didn't make a field goal over a five-minute period after cutting it to 51-47 on Manyang basket with 7:48 left. They were held to just 3 of 19 shooting from the arc. GCU prides itself on defending 3-point line.

"I didn't have a good game (Thursday)," Vernon said. "The team pushed me. I talked to Josh and made sure he stayed aggressive. Everybody is going to have their nights.

"(Saturday), as long as everybody is clicking at once, we're going to be a problem."

After playing its worst first 10 minutes of basketball in Thursday's quarterfinal, getting down by 18 to No. 6 Kansas City, Grand Canyon played its 10 best to open Friday's game against Utah Valley.

With Braun finally getting going and Lever throwing in three consecutive 3-pointers, the Antelopes led 27-9 with nearly 11 minutes still left in the half.

GCU had to battle back from an 18-point hole in Thursday's 77-74 win over Missouri-Kansas City.

This time, the Antelopes came out loose and determined, never letting a cold-shooting Utah Valley team find success on the offensive glass.

But with Manyang being aggressive around the rim, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds, Utah Valley made it a game in the second half, before GCU's defense took over again and the veterans made the biggest plays down the stretch.

"We've been talking about this for a long time," Braun said. "Every season, we treated WAC play like our tournament. It is a little surreal. It's exciting."

More:Freshman Alessandro Lever's 29 points carries GCU in WAC Tournament opener

GCU basketball:Dan Majerle turns up the heat as season builds towards tournament

Women's semifinal

GCU lost to CSU Bakersfield 61-55 earlier in the day in the women's WAC tournament semifinal.

Brie Mobley (16 points) and Jessica Gajewski combined for 30 of GCU's points.

GCU got beat in the paint and on the break. It gave up 10 fast-break points and 28 points in the block. It also gave up 23 points off of turnovers. GCU was held to 33 percent shooting in the final quarter.

Aja Williams had 11 points and 10 rebounds for CSU Bakersfield.