Grand Canyon reaches final of WAC tournament
Grand Canyon has watched — and waited — for four years.
As it moved from Division II to Division I, there was a four-year transition period during which the Antelopes were not eligible for the postseason.
That wait is over.
And now they’re one win from their first NCAA Tournament appearance after beating Utah Valley 75-60 Friday night at Orleans Arena in the Western Athletic Conference tournament semifinals.
Grand Canyon faces New Mexico State at 7 p.m. Saturday in the final, with the winner getting the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Zach Lofton scored 31 points to lead New Mexico State to an 84-79 victory over Seattle in the other semifinal.
“We’ve been talking about this for a long time,” Grand Canyon senior Josh Braun said. “Since Coach (Dan) Majerle recruited me, that’s all we talked about is preparing for it, like, ‘We’re getting ready for the tournament five years from now.’ Every WAC season, that was our tournament leading up to this, and so it is a little surreal. It’s exciting.”
After a third-place finish in the regular season, the Antelopes (22-10) are making noise in the conference tournament, delighting a loud, colorful student section.
Freshman Alessandro Lever didn’t have to wait those long years, but he’s certainly done his part in the Antelopes’ run. He scored 29 points Thursday against Missouri-Kansas City and 15 Friday against Utah Valley.
Braun finished the semifinal with 15 points, and fellow senior Keonta Vernon scored 14.
It was a game the Antelopes led throughout, though Utah Valley (22-10) cut the deficit to four points in the second half. Akolda Manyang led the Wolverines with a game-high 18 points.
“We took a big punch in the second half and really sustained it and made some big plays down the stretch, so I’m very proud of our guys sticking with it,” Majerle said. “This is what we’ve been playing for. That’s a very good Utah Valley team, and we played excellent.”
And now his team is just one win from dancing.
“It’s finally here. It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for,” Vernon said. “Coach Majerle’s been on us from day one about it. If you heard some of the things that he’s said to us about it, you’d be a little freaked, but, like I said, it’s the moment we’ve been waiting for, and I believe that we’re ready for it.”
WAC women semifinals
No. 2 CSU Bakersfield 61, No. 3 Grand Canyon 55 — Alexxus Gilbert had 14 points for the Roadrunners, Vanessa Austin scored 13 and Aja Williams 11. Brie Mobley scored 16 for Grand Canyon.
No. 4 Seattle 84, No. 1 New Mexico State 61 — Kamira Sanders scored 19, Kallin Spiller 18 and Alexis Montgomery 16 for the Redhawks. Brooke Salas and Gia Pack scored 18 for New Mexico State.
Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.
