![]() Midtgaard went to work in the final 13 minutes and had 12 points and eight rebounds. GCU quickly reasserted itself with 7-foot center Asbjorn Midtgaard scoring on a jump hook and Oscar Frayer nailing jumper to make it 55-39. McMillian, who had 14 points off the bench on Friday, made 3 of 4 3-pointers in the half.Ī 6-0 run in 1:41 by NMSU trimmed GCU's lead to 51-39 with 13:12 to play. ![]() "I give all the glory to God.I played with a lot of freedom and just played basketball." He finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, no turnovers and three steals in a game that even topped his magical Friday night performance. "This is what I came here for and to get it done it's a big accomplishment in my career," he said. Drew called it the best week of Blacksher's season. ![]() The former Phoenix Shadow Mountain two-time All-Arizona player made 6 of 7 shots, all three of his 3-point attempts, and had three rebounds and a steal.īlacksher was named the WAC Tournament Most Valuable player. GCU picked up where it left off in Friday's 81-47 semifinal rout of Seattle University with sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., brilliant on both ends of the court and great bench play from guard Chance McMillian.īlacksher had 15 points in the first half, including his third 3-pointer to close it to give the Lopes a 41-26 lead. The Antelopes (17-6) now will get to participate in their first Selection Sunday, waiting to see who they'll get in Indianapolis to start the national tournament. "Then to be able to celebrate with these guys and do something that Grand Canyon has never done before, man, I don't get sentimental very much, but this one is very special." "Yeah, 23 years ago that happens," Drew said. ![]() It was a surreal Saturday night for Drew, celebrating the moment with the GCU players. It's just really special to see that celebration out there today." We are a school of faith and there is just a lot of redemption going on with our team at our school. "My whole focus has been on our school, on our players in the program. For myself personally, I felt a mission to come to GCU, I felt a heart to coach to the best of my ability to help GCU get to an NCAA Tournament. "Any time you go through trials and tribulations, it makes you stronger," Drew said. They did it with three COVID-19 interruptions, and on the 23rd-year anniversary of Bryce Drew's magical March Madness moment, hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer for his dad Homer's Valparaiso's team to shock Mississippi in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.ĭrew, in his first year leading the Antelopes as head coach, found vindication after being fired at Vanderbilt two years ago and spending last season as an ESPN college basketball analyst. In their first seven years in the WAC, GCU was owned by the Aggies, who kept the Lopes out of the NCAA Tournament in the 2018 and '19 by winning the WAC championships. It had never beaten NMSU (12-8) more than once in a season before this year. It was the third time this season that GCU beat the Aggies. GCU defeated New Mexico State, 74-56, Saturday night for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship at Las Vegas' Orleans Arena. The Antelopes are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history after dismantling the team that always got in their way with defense, toughness on the boards, clutch bench play and sharpshooting. In its eighth year in Division I, Grand Canyon's basketball team broke through. View Gallery: New Mexico State battles Grand Canyon for WAC title
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