PARADISE, Nev. (AP) — Ray Harrison scored 18 points to lead six Grand Canyon players in double figures and the Lopes beat top-seeded Utah Valley 89-82 on Saturday night in the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
No. 2 seed Grand Canyon (26-7) clinched its third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and its fourth in program history, all since 2021.
Duke Brennan finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and JaKobe Coles scored 13 for the Lopes. Makaih Wiilliams, Lok Wur and Tyon Grant-Foster added 12 points apiece.
Carter Welling made a jumper that trimmed Utah Valley’s deficit to three with nine minutes to play but got no closer. Harrison answered with two free throws and, after a steal by Collin Moore, Williams hit a step-back 3-pointer with 8:23 remaining and Coles hit two free throws to make it 74-62 about five minutes later.
Tanner Toolson hit 6 of 9 from 3-point range and led the Wolverines with 28 points. Welling scored 18 points and Trevan Leonhardt added 10 with six assists.
Utah Valley (25-8), which had won 10 in a row and 20 of its last 21 games, won the regular season conference title and made its first-ever appearance in championship game. The Wolverines were 0-6 in tournament's semifinals before a 68-55 win over No. 5 seed Seattle on Friday.
Utah Valley used a 19-5 run to take 21-12 lead about nine minutes into the game but Grand Canyon scored the next nine points and then closed with 7-1 spurt to take a 40-33 lead into halftime.
The teams split the regular-season series with each home team winning.
Grand Canyon handily dealt with Utah Valley in Saturday's WAC Tournament championship, winning 89-82.
Ray Harrison led the Lopes to victory over the Wolverines, dropping 18 points with four assists and four boards. As a result, Grand Canyon clinched their fourth NCAA Tournament berth in the last five years.
