Alessandro Lever

Lever's 17 sparks Grand Canyon past Northern Iowa, 73-62

Published Dec. 19, 2018 11:27 p.m. ET

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Alessandro Lever scored 17 points and Grand Canyon won its first non-conference road game in three years by closing out Northern Iowa, 73-62 on Wednesday night.

Coming off a bad loss at Texas, the Lopes abandoned 3-point range, where they were just 6 of 25, and attacked the basket for a flurry of dunks, layups and free throws.

Lever attacked the basket and drew a fifth foul from Shandon Goldman, then attacked again to earn two free throws that put Grand Canyon up, 62-54 with 3:45 left. Tim Finke attacked the basket to draw two free throws, then made an acrobatic steal to set up a fast-break basket by Gerard Martin that put the game away.

The Lopes (6-5) held Northern Iowa to just two points over a 10-minute stretch of the first half to take a 21-9 lead, then scored 24 points over the final 6:40 to seal the win.

A.J. Green hit five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 25 points for the Panthers (4-7).

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