GCU

Oscar Frayer's dunks, timely rebounds fuel GCU over UIC

Richard Obert
azcentral sports
Grand Canyon University forward Oscar Frayer (4) slaps hands with head coach Dan Majerle in the game against San Diego State at GCU Arena in Phoenix, Ariz. December 7, 2016.

Oscar Frayer is turning into Grand Canyon's high-flying highlight reel in a short time in his college career.

His two electrifying dunks in less than a minute turned up the volume from the Havocs.

But it was his defense and rebounding down the stretch that helped GCU hold off the University of Illinois-Chicago 73-69 before 6,804 fans on Saturday night at GCU Arena.

Senior point guard DeWayne Russell shook off his first big shooting slump (5 for 21 from the field) with a driving basket with 2:07 left to give GCU (5-4) the lead, 69-68.

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He later found Keonta Vernon down low for a basket and a free throw after a foul and a 72-69 lead with 58 seconds left.

Then Frayer kept a possession alive, rebounding Russell's miss that forced the Flames (4-5) to foul Russell with 12 seconds to play.

Russell made one of two free throws, and UIC turned the ball over.

"That's just being an athlete," GCU coach Dan Majerle said of Frayer's clutch rebound. "He goes in there and crashes it."

Russell finished with 18 points, drawing fouls and cashing in with 7 of 9 free throws.

Even though GCU made only 1 of 7 3-pointers in the second half and shot just 28.9 percent from the field in the second half while the Flames shot 55 percent, the Antelopes forced 19 turnovers. GCU had 10 turnovers in the game, and Russell was brilliant with his passing with five assists and one turnover.

The feed to Vernon on a pick-and-roll was clutch.

"We practice the pick-and-roll all the time," said Vernon, who had 15 rebounds, playing much of the second half with four fouls. "I love when me and DeWayne are in the  game together, period. It was just perfect timing."

Vernon had 15 points and Frayer 14. Forward Darion Clark, who had to come out for a spell with an injury, had 11 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes.

GCU had the open looks. But with miss after agonizing miss, GCU wasn't able to get out of the cold shooting spell for four minutes in the second half, watching a nine-point lead turn into a three-point deficit with 3:41 left.

MORE: Defense, freshmen bail out GCU in win over SDSU

GCU shot 40.3 percent for the game and withstood UIC's 48 percent shooting and 6 of 10 3-pointers by coming up with 14 steals and staying even on the boards (36-36).

Frayer had four steals, a block and four rebounds, two on offense during a crucial late stretch. Guard Shaq Carr came off the bench  for three steals.

The 6-foot-6 Frayer grabbed a Fiifi Aidoo lob with one hand from behind his head and dunked it. That electrified the crowd.

"Oh my God, that lob," Vernon said. "I jumped out of my seat. It was crazy. That was definitely a momentum boost."

Moment later, Frayer made a steal and scored on a two-handed jam. He almost had a third dunk in a row but a lob pass was too far out of his reach. Grand Canyon seemed to be on its way with a nine-point lead.

But the Flames heated up.

Dikembe Dixson had 19 points and Tuarkus Ferguson 16. Each made a pair of 3-pointers.

GCU got down 6-0 less than two minutes into the game, prompting Majerle to call time out. He didn't want visions of SIU-Edwardsville haunting him again at home.

The Antelopes returned much more energized and active on defense.

RELATED:Grand Canyon basketball rise puts ASU on notice

The Flames went on a three-minute scoring drought as GCU went on a 16-4 run during a four-minute stretch that gave the Antelopes a 31-23 lead.

A lineup with three point guards – Russell, Carr and Aidoo – ignited them.

Carr had a steal that led to Russell's three-point conversion on the other end, and Carr drove hard to the basket for two points.

Gerard Martin, who had to come out earlier because of a slight ankle sprain, returned and nailed a 3 during the run.

"Our guys played hard," Majerle said. "We found a way to win. We had great stops. Keonta was beautiful with 15 and 15. He was a man out there. He's won a lot of games for us."