Dan Majerle did not have a pleasant experience during his homecoming at Talking Stick Arena as his Lopes put on a disappointing performance against St. John’s in the Valley of the Sun Shootout on Tuesday night. Grand Canyon’s performance was disappointing in what was suppose to be a national break out party for GCU on national TV.
The school’s student section, the Havocs, made the 8 mile trip to Talking Stick Arena, showing up with 1,500 strong. However despite the energy the Havocs brought, the Lopes were not able to overcome a very scrappy St. John’s team.
St. John’s maintained a comfortable lead for 35 minutes of the game, but the Lopes were able to make the game interesting in the final minutes of both halves. The Lopes did not make a field goal during an 8 minute stretch in the first half, allowing the Red Storm to go on a 13-1 run. This helped St. John’s build a 27-19 lead with 3:28 to go in the half, but the Lopes bursted out an 11-2 run in the final two minutes to make it a two point game. That is the closest GCU would get the rest of the game before Shamorie Ponds made a three in the final minute to send St. John’s into the break with 32-27 lead.
In the second half, St. John’s led by as much as 15 points. However, the Lopes were able to make a late run to make it a 7 point game with 1:55 to go. The Lopes were not able to make key shots to complete the improbable comeback. Shamorie Ponds scored 17 points in the second half, and Justin Simon hit key free throws down the stretch, finishing with 17 total points. Simon was also a huge factor defensively, since he was the main factor for Josh Braun’s 5-16 shooting performance. GCU guard Casey Benson scored a career high 18 making late 3 point pointers to keep the Lopes in the game. However, his six turnovers proved to be costly.
The Lopes fell to 5-2 after 68-60 loss to St. John’s. The Red Storm was able to use smothering defense to overcome GCU’s late comeback runs to hold onto a 68-60 victory. Star sophomore point guard Shamorie Ponds lead St. John’s with 28 points on 10-21 shooting with 4 assists, and he added 5 steals on the defensive end. Without second leading scorer Lovette, Ponds took the initiative, carrying the Red Storm on the offensive end.
Throughout the game, the Lopes were dismantled by costly turnovers and poor shooting. The Lopes did not take care of the basketball, giving up 21 turnovers against an aggressive defense that ranked 3rd in turnover percentage heading into the game. The Lopes’ cold shooting slump, where they hit 8-59 from three over their past two games, carried over Tuesday night as the Lopes shot 8-32 from three and shot 30% (20-66) overall from the field.
Despite the poor shooting performance, the Lopes showed resilient effort on the defensive end, holding St. John’s to 39.6% shooting. While recognizing the Lopes played hard against a tough team, head coach Dan Majerle made it clear he expects more from his team;
“Every team that we played goes off the floor, saying, ‘Man, you played hard,”’ Majerle said. “That’s great. But it’s not good enough anymore. I want to be a hard-playing team that’s really good. I know we have the players. But are they going to get on it and get out of their ways.”
Majerle commented on Lopes’ shooting saying; “We can’t shoot the ball whether it’s from the free-throw line, 3-point line, layups. It’s not just happening right now. Playing hard is great but you have to play smart and good after a while.”
Dan Majerle expects a lot more from his team during their first season of post season eligibility. The Lopes were picked to win the WAC and make the NCAA tournament, but they are playing way below their capabilities right now.
They will try to get back on track when they play Grambling State Saturday night. St. John’s will travel to California to play No. 16 Arizona St in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Staples Center.
