Grand Canyon guard Chance McMillian (2) keeps the ball away from Southern Utah guard Cameron Healy (10) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the men’s Western Athletic Conference Tournament Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Ronda Churchill, Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ray Harrison scored 20 of his 31 points in the first half to put Grand Canyon comfortably in front and Gabe McGlothan scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half as the Antelopes eased past Southern Utah 84-66 to win the Western Athletic Conference tournament championship Saturday night.
Grand Canyon (24-11) came into the tournament as the No. 5 seed and posted wins over three higher seeds en route to the title, beating No. 4 seed Seattle in the quarterfinals and top-seeded Sam Houston in the semifinals. The win over the third-seeded Thunderbirds give the Lopes the conferences automatic berth into the NCAA tournament, their second berth in three years.
Yvan Ouedraogo’s jumper to take a 27-26 lead with six minutes left in the first half sparked an 19-3 run that featured four 3-pointers from Harrison. The Lopes led 44-31 at intermission and it stretched to as many as 18 points in the second half.
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Harrison hit 10 of 18 shots from the field and was 5 of 7 from three-point range while grabbing eight rebounds and passing for eight assists. McGlothan hit 9 of 12 from the floor and drilled two of his …read more
Source:: Deseret News – Sports News