Blacksher sparks GCU in opening rout of Grambling State
Junior point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. looked as if he picked up where he left off in Las Vegas last spring in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
That MVP play was back in Grand Canyon’s season-opening 74-53 rout of Grambling State on Tuesday night before a sellout crowd of more than 7,000 fans at GCU Arena.
Blacksher, who navigated GCU to its first WAC Tournament title and first NCAA Tournament appearance last season, had all 16 of his points in the first half on 6 of 9 shooting, including 3 of 5 3pointers. He also had three assists and was instrumental on the defensive end, holding the Tigers to 21% shooting and 0 of 5 threes.
“He’s playing high-level basketball,” coach Bryce Drew said. “He’s making open shots. He’s making plays for his teammates. He’s defending. It’s a good way to say he really picked up where he left off last year.”
GCU had the Tigers buried by halftime with a 40-18 lead. That tied for third-fewer points allowed by GCU in the first half in the Division I era. The lowest was 14 in 2016.
Grambling State didn’t hit double digits until Malik Lamin hit a free throw with 4:21 left in the half. By then, GCU had built a 24-10 lead with a fast tempo led by Blacksher.
GCU had nine turnovers in the half but had 29 rebounds to Grambling State’s 10.
This appears to be a much deeper team than last year, more athletic with the bigs, who can get out and run.
A couple of times, 6-foot-10 Dima Zdor was out in front of the guards to finish the break for dunks.
Blacksher’s growth from last year is noticeable. Once he started knocking down a couple of 3s, he was able to get his man out, and then blew by him for layups.
“I definitely feel comfortable,” the former Phoenix Shadow Mountain player said. “I went out there and let the game come to me.”
Gabe McGlothan, a rugged power forward, showed off a new 3-point shooting touch. He made his first two tries before missing. He had 11 points and six rebounds as he returned to the familiar sixth-man role he filled last year.
GCU had 43 rebounds, 15 on the offensive end. The rebounding was spread around. Guard Holland Woods II had five rebounds and four assists.
“We’re going to have to defend at a high level and rebound at a high level,” Drew said. “I think one of our strengths is our four bigs able to crash the boards and move and defend. And we’re getting more strength from our guards this year.”