Big night for UA, GCU
Arizona wins conference title; GCU falls short
UA takes on USC for the Pac-12 Tournament championship, while Grand Canyon University eyes its first NCAA Tournament berth.
Arizona, embroiled in off-court drama for much of the 2017-18 season, captured the Pac-12 Tournament championship Saturday with a 75-61 victory over USC in Las Vegas. Star freshman Deandre Ayton had another monster game for the Wildcats, scoring 32 points and grabbing 18 rebounds.
Grand Canyon, meanwhile, couldn’t complete a rally against New Mexico State and fell 72-58 in the WAC final.
LAS VEGAS – Keonta Vernon tried to will history. Casey Benson tried to give his last college chapter a heroic ending. Freshman Alessandro Lever tried to take over late.
But, in the end, it was the school that has owned the Western Athletic Conference that wouldn’t let No. 3seed Grand Canyon have its breakthrough moment.
Top-seed New Mexico State refused to wilt to GCU’s relentless pressure and powered its way into the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night with a 72-58 victory for the WAC basketball tourney title at Orleans Arena.
After a Benson drive that also got him a free throw for a three-point play, Vernon blocked a shot that ignited a Lever 3-point play. The few hundred Havocs behind the GCU basket erupted in cheers, their team down just 6054 with 4:23 to play.
The Aggies (28-5) quickly ended GCU’s hope to become only the third team since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams to reach the tournament in its first year of Division I eligibility.
Six points off a turnover and a missed 3 put the Aggies back in control with a 13-point lead with 2:49 to play.
Lever slammed his hand to the floor as the ball trickled behind him and out of bounds during the Aggies’ last decisive run.
For more than 15 minutes Saturday, Grand Canyon had New Mexico State sputtering. It was feeling good about making history, getting to the NCAA Tournament.
Then, it all vanished in the dizzying blur of Zach Lofton points and Jemmerio Jones rebounds.
They ignited a 19-4 run in the last four minutes of the half, putting GCU in an 11-point hole.
GCU (22-11) led 18-14 with the offense this time running through Vernon, who had 11 of his team’s points.
But the Antelopes let down their guard in the last four minutes of the half, and the Aggies seized their moment with Lofton scoring 10 points, including a 3 just before the half ended, to take a 33-22 lead. Jones, the WAC Player of the Year, had 14 rebounds and 10 points in the half, once drawing a foul on Vernon for overly trying to box him out on the glass.
A.J. Harris scored off a turnover and hit a 3 during that run. Benson was GCU’s only offense during that stage, scoring on a couple of drives.