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
2024-25 Western Athletic Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Grand Canyon | 0-0 | - | 8-4 |
Abilene Christian | 0-0 | - | 8-5 |
Southern Utah | 0-0 | - | 8-6 |
Utah Valley | 0-0 | - | 7-6 |
California Baptist | 0-0 | - | 6-6 |
UT Arlington | 0-0 | - | 6-7 |
Seattle U | 0-0 | - | 4-8 |
Tarleton State | 0-0 | - | 4-10 |
Utah Tech | 0-0 | - | 4-10 |
2024-25 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Indiana State | 2-0 | - | 8-4 |
Drake | 1-0 | 0.5 | 11-0 |
Bradley | 1-0 | 0.5 | 10-2 |
Belmont | 1-0 | 0.5 | 9-3 |
Northern Iowa | 1-0 | 0.5 | 7-5 |
Murray State | 1-1 | 1 | 6-5 |
Illinois State | 0-1 | 1.5 | 8-4 |
UIC | 0-1 | 1.5 | 7-4 |
Missouri State | 0-1 | 1.5 | 7-5 |
Valparaiso | 0-1 | 1.5 | 7-5 |
Southern Illinois | 0-1 | 1.5 | 5-7 |
Evansville | 0-1 | 1.5 | 3-9 |