GCU men facing a must-win situation
Antelopes missed shot to stay even with NMSU
Grand Canyon is angry at itself. It blew a chance to stay even with New Mexico State for first place in the Western Athletic Conference basketball standings with a rare home loss Thursday to Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
The 72-69 loss no because of the season-ending injury to senior guard Gerard Martin, who tore his ACL earlier this week in practice.
GCU lost because it stopped doing the things that gave it the best start in its six-year WAC history — rebounding, defending, knocking down free throws, hitting 3s, and taking care of the ball.
Now, the pressure is square on the Antelopes for Saturday’s showdown with New Mexico State at GCU Arena. There will be another sellout crowd with Havocs expected to wait overnight to get their spots on the lawn close to the arena.
With NMSU (19-4, 8-1) taking care of CSU-Bakersfield with a 71-70 victory Thursday, the Aggies have the inside edge to be the No. 1 seed at the WAC tournament in Las Vegas in March.
Last year, New Mexico State spoiled GCU’s hopes of making it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, beating the Antelopes in the tournament championship game.
This team just seems to have GCU’s number.
GCU (14-8, 7-2) lost its only other WAC game in Las Cruces, when Johnny McCants hit a half-court shot a the buzzer for a 77-75 win.
Last year, a record crowd of 7,521 showed up at GCU Arena for the New Mexico State game. The Aggies won that game 70-59.
NMSU beat GCU 72-58 for the WAC tourney title and a ticket to the NCAA Tournament last March.
GCU was hoping to carry momentum into this meeting, but the loss to the Vaqueros and losing Marin for the season put the Antelopes in a sober mood.
“I would hope they respond,” coach Dan Majerle said. “We’ve got a really good team coming in here Saturday. We’re still in it. If we win out, we’re still in it. You still have to win the WAC tournament anyway (to get into the NCAA Tournament).
“I’m just disappointed. This team was on a roll and had a lot of confidence. (Thursday night) it just wasn’t the same team, especially at home. We don’t play that way at home.”
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