Wolverines fall at GCU in critical matchup 68-57
Fardaws Aimaq hit a career milestone as he reached 1,000 career points in Thursday night’s 68-57 loss to Grand Canyon in Phoenix. Aimaq led the Wolverines with 19 points and 19 rebounds while recording his nation-leading 26th double-double on the season.
GCU arena, home to the Havocs student section, was called the toughest place to play in the nation by Rick Pitino when he took his Louisville squad there in 2016. Although UVU is somewhat familiar with the environment, they struggled mightily to shoot the ball in a gym packed with nearly 7,000 screaming fans.
The Wolverines went 1-14 from beyond the arc and 12-25 at the free-throw line. UVU had 13 turnovers in the game which resulted in 18 points for the Lopes.
“Our guys fought hard, but we missed some open shots,” said UVU head coach Mark Madsen. “We’ve been much better this season from three and the foul line and if a few of those shots drop, it’s a different game. We’re hungry and we’re going to be ready on Saturday. It will be an unbelievable game and we will be ready.”
UVU had no answer for senior guard Holland Woods II, who transferred to GCU from Arizona State before the 2021-22 season, as he led all scorers with 22 points. Sophomore guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. added 15 points of his own while shooting 50% from beyond the arc for the Lopes.
Connor Harding got things started in a low-scoring affair as he had the first five points of the game for UVU. The Wolverines’ only lead of the first half came while they were up 2-0 with 19 minutes to go till halftime. Over the next 19 minutes, UVU would find themselves in two different scoring droughts spanning over three minutes each. Despite the scoring woes, the Wolverines were only down six points at the half.
UVU cut into the Lopes’ lead early in the second half after they went on a 6-0 run, their largest run of the game. Aimaq gave his team their only lead of the second half after he hit a jumper in the paint to go up 37-36 with 13:47 remaining in the game. On the ensuing GCU possession, Holland II drove into the lane and drew contact for the foul, and made the shot. Holland II completed the 3-point play to put GCU up 39-37.
The Wolverines had a chance to take the lead a few minutes later after GCU freshman guard Chance McMilian fouled Aimaq putting him on the line to shoot two free throws. While Aimaq was shooting, GCU head coach Bryce Drew was assessed a technical foul for arguing with the officials and UVU was awarded two technical free throws. The Wolverines would fail to capitalize on this opportunity going 1-4 at the line. From that point on the Lopes didn’t look back, eventually reaching their largest lead of the game 63-50 with two and a half minutes to go.
Thursday night’s game was an important one for the Wolverines in terms of seeding for the WAC tournament that begins March 8 in Las Vegas. Coming into the game UVU held a one-game lead over Abilene Christian in the conference standings. With UVU’s loss and ACU defeating Dixie State 80-64 on Thursday night the Wildcats and Wolverines both moved to 10-7 in conference play. ACU holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping the season series against UVU.
Falling to the seventh seed in the WAC tournament means the Wolverines would have one less day to rest and prepare as they are scheduled to play Tuesday night. UVU still has a chance to climb back up to the sixth seed with a win on Saturday in Las Cruces against New Mexico State and an ACU loss vs Tarleton.
Saturday’s game will tip-off in the Pan American Center at 7 p.m. MST and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and ESPN 960 AM radio.
Brice Larson is currently a Junior at UVU majoring in communications with an emphasis in journalism and media studies. He enjoys everything about sports and one day hopes to become a college football analyst and play by play commentator.