Lever carries Grand Canyon over Illinois St. 68-63
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Alessandro Lever scored 23 points as Grand Canyon narrowly beat Illinois State 68-63 in the Paradise Jam on Monday.
GCU led for 35 of the 40 minutes. Jovan Blacksher Jr. gave the Lopes a 62-57 lead with 3:49 to go on a driving three-point play and Lever made an up-and-under basket to make it 64-61. J.J. Rhymes had a key offensive rebound, and Isiah Brown and Rhymes made and two free throws apiece.
Brown added a career-high 21 points and Blacksher had 10 points and six rebounds for Grand Canyon (3-5). Rhymes added 10 points in his first Division I start.
Zach Copeland tied a career high with 21 points for the Redbirds (2-4), whose losing streak reached four games. Dedric Boyd added 10 points, and Jaycee Hillsman had seven rebounds.
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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
Game Information
- Referees:
- Kyle Regetz
- Scott Bennett
- Ryan Martin
2023-24 Western Athletic Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Grand Canyon | 17-3 | - | 30-5 |
Tarleton State | 16-4 | 1 | 25-10 |
UT Arlington | 13-7 | 4 | 20-14 |
Seattle U | 11-9 | 6 | 23-14 |
Utah Valley | 11-9 | 6 | 16-16 |
Stephen F. Austin | 10-10 | 7 | 18-15 |
Abilene Christian | 10-10 | 7 | 16-18 |
California Baptist | 8-12 | 9 | 16-17 |
Utah Tech | 7-13 | 10 | 11-20 |
Southern Utah | 5-15 | 12 | 10-21 |
UT Rio Grande Valley | 2-18 | 15 | 6-25 |
2023-24 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Indiana State | 17-3 | - | 32-7 |
Drake | 16-4 | 1 | 28-7 |
Bradley | 13-7 | 4 | 23-12 |
Belmont | 12-8 | 5 | 20-13 |
Northern Iowa | 12-8 | 5 | 19-14 |
Southern Illinois | 11-9 | 6 | 19-13 |
Illinois State | 9-11 | 8 | 15-17 |
Murray State | 9-11 | 8 | 12-20 |
Missouri State | 8-12 | 9 | 17-16 |
Evansville | 6-14 | 11 | 17-18 |
UIC | 4-16 | 13 | 12-21 |
Valparaiso | 3-17 | 14 | 7-25 |