GCU hits timely shots, uses late run to beat UVU


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OREM, Utah — For whatever reason, the Utah Valley University men's basketball team has struggled to close out games in which it leads late.

On Saturday night against Grand Canyon University, it was the same story. GCU used a 19-5 run late in the second half to knock off the Wolverines 77-71 at the UCCU Center in Orem.

"Proud of my guys," UVU head coach Mark Pope said. "They played their rear ends off, really, really hard. Played together. Really, really competed. Couldn't ask for any more in that sense.

"But this game is so eerily similar to all these games where we kind of end the last five minutes with a lead, close to a lead or right in the game and the game just slows down to a high ball screen and we can't guard a high ball screen and we can't execute a high ball screen. Everybody knows it … teams abandon their offense and all they do is go to high ball screens … and we have to figure out how to execute that."

GCU improves to 19-9 overall and 8-3 in the WAC while UVU drops to 11-15 overall and 3-8 in conference play.

Saturday night's contest mimicked the first matchup between UVU and GCU on Jan. 7 in Phoenix. GCU went into halftime with a 35-33 lead following an 80-foot buzzer-beater by Shaq Carr. The halftime score in the January matchup was 38-35.

However, UVU was out to prove something different would happen. Ivory Young scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second half on four 3-pointers. His final 3-pointer came at the 8:59 mark, and that is when it all went south for the Wolverines.

GCU went on a 19-5 run over the next seven minutes to take control. Josh Braun led the GCU charge as he scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half. It was the first time in four tries that the Wolverine defense was able to hold Braun under 30 points.

"We did a great job, defensively, on assignments," Pope said. "For the first time ever, Josh Braun is under 20 points, and he averages 32 against us. He made some big shots down the stretch. But I thought, game plan-wise, we were solid."

Unfortunately, the defensive effort on Braun wasn't enough for UVU to overcome its late-game offensive woes. The Wolverines scored just five points over the final four minutes and were forced to foul down the stretch. Although GCU didn't hit every free-throw attempt, it did just enough to seal the win.

"It's hard for us offensively because we haven't found the right mix of guys that can make good decisions," Pope said. "We just don't have good decision-makers there right now. I haven't done a good job coaching our guys."

UVU had 20 turnovers in the game compared to just 12 for the Lopes.

Isaac Neilson finished with a double-double for UVU with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Brandon Randolph and Kenneth Ogbe finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

DeWayne Russell and Carr were the only other Lopes to finish in double figures. Russell had a game-high 18 points and Carr finished with 11 points.

UVU goes on the road for two games next week. The Wolverines are at New Mexico State on Thursday and then at UTRGV on Saturday. Tipoff is schedule for 7 p.m. MST on Thursday and 6 p.m. MST on Saturday.


Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. He is a communication major at UVU and will graduate in the spring of 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias

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