Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
.png&width=100&type=webp)
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Wednesday, November 1
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
0-0,0-0WAC
104
vs
46
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
0-0
1
2
F
Embry-Riddle (AZ)
19
27
46
Grand Canyon
51
53
104
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Full house, GCU rock arena in exhibition
11/1/2023 11:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Grant-Foster introduces self to Havocs with game-high 23 points in rout
The GCU Arena returned to its rollicking environment Wednesday night with a capacity crowd that can unnerve basketball teams.
For the early minutes of Grand Canyon's exhibition blowout victory, the jitters may have come more from a home team of mostly newcomers making their Arena debut. Soon, the preseason WAC favorite's waves of talent washed away the nerves and in-state visitor Embry-Riddle 104-46 in an exhibition game with a March Madness crowd.
The remodeled look of the Lopes adds long arms and aggressive mindsets that can wreak defensive havoc to fuel scorers and the courtside sections of Havocs among 7,093 fans.
The activity of 12 steals and 13 blocked shots fed 36 fastbreak points, many of which came during the game's defining 32-6 run over a nine-minute, first-half stretch.
"We do have length and so, when guys can get their hands on balls, it allows us to get in transition," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "We do have some speed that can get up and down the court
and finish at the rim. That was really prevalent for us during that stretch when we were able to build the lead. But it's got to be a constant. It needs to be part of how we are, our DNA."
That burst was keyed by Lopes senior forward Tyon Grant-Foster, who was playing his first collegiate game in front of a crowd since a health setback in November 2021. Grant-Foster blocked a shot to lead to a 3-pointer by senior guard Ray Harrison and then made consecutive passing-lane and on-ball steals, getting his own fastbreak layup on the first.
"I'm really just grateful to be out here and to play again," said Grant-Foster, who began his career at Kansas and DePaul. "When we were standing in the tunnel, I said, 'When you look at it (the GCU Arena crowd), it looks like (Kansas') Allen Fieldhouse looks.' It's crazy. It gives you the same vibe. It makes you want to come out here and really put a show on for the fans."
Grant-Foster did, making 8 of 12 shots on a 23-point, three-assist night that included 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. He was plus-39 in 20 minutes.
"You could definitely see he had some jitters early in the game, but I think he has a new perspective of just how thankful he is," Drew said. "He was getting emotional a little bit, just with everything he has been through the last couple years. I'm really happy for him. He's really talented. This is just a starting point for him. I think we're going to see him get better and better."
Grant-Foster earned a starting spot alongside the leaders, Harrison and graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan, and two other newcomers, junior guard Collin Moore and sophomore center Duke Brennan.
But the GCU flex came in bringing strength off the bench. Just as Brennan grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in 16 minutes, senior center Sydney Curry backed him up with eight rebounds in 15 minutes. The Shaw brothers, Isaiah and Caleb, were GCU's other double-digit scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.
"It was really cool to watch other guys handle that storm of the nervousness and play through some of that adversity," said McGlothan, who had nine p
oints, five rebounds, two steals and one filthy poster dunk on a post face-up move. "It was a slow start, but then you saw it start to take off. It was cool to see guys play their style of basketball."
GCU scored on 13 of 15 first-half possessions during one breakneck tear that included seven different scorers and four crowd-thrilling dunks.
"We have a lot of really talented scorers out there," Drew said. "Sometimes, they are taking a back seat or making the extra pass for someone else to get that shot up. We talked early on that chemistry was going to be a huge thing. Right now, they're doing really well."
The feel-good night that began with championship rings and banners ended with a five-day countdown to the first game that counts toward this season's goals.
The Lopes play fellow 2023 NCAA tournament qualifier Southeast Missouri on Monday before the Arizona Tip-Off starts with a home game against Northern Arizona and continues with Nov. 17-19 tournament games against San Francisco and either DePaul or South Carolina at Desert Diamond Arena.
"We're at the point that we've got to play other teams, other systems," Drew said. "Ours guys needed to play in front of a crowd and get used to each other."
For the early minutes of Grand Canyon's exhibition blowout victory, the jitters may have come more from a home team of mostly newcomers making their Arena debut. Soon, the preseason WAC favorite's waves of talent washed away the nerves and in-state visitor Embry-Riddle 104-46 in an exhibition game with a March Madness crowd.
The remodeled look of the Lopes adds long arms and aggressive mindsets that can wreak defensive havoc to fuel scorers and the courtside sections of Havocs among 7,093 fans.
The activity of 12 steals and 13 blocked shots fed 36 fastbreak points, many of which came during the game's defining 32-6 run over a nine-minute, first-half stretch.
"We do have length and so, when guys can get their hands on balls, it allows us to get in transition," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "We do have some speed that can get up and down the court
and finish at the rim. That was really prevalent for us during that stretch when we were able to build the lead. But it's got to be a constant. It needs to be part of how we are, our DNA."That burst was keyed by Lopes senior forward Tyon Grant-Foster, who was playing his first collegiate game in front of a crowd since a health setback in November 2021. Grant-Foster blocked a shot to lead to a 3-pointer by senior guard Ray Harrison and then made consecutive passing-lane and on-ball steals, getting his own fastbreak layup on the first.
"I'm really just grateful to be out here and to play again," said Grant-Foster, who began his career at Kansas and DePaul. "When we were standing in the tunnel, I said, 'When you look at it (the GCU Arena crowd), it looks like (Kansas') Allen Fieldhouse looks.' It's crazy. It gives you the same vibe. It makes you want to come out here and really put a show on for the fans."
Grant-Foster did, making 8 of 12 shots on a 23-point, three-assist night that included 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. He was plus-39 in 20 minutes.
"You could definitely see he had some jitters early in the game, but I think he has a new perspective of just how thankful he is," Drew said. "He was getting emotional a little bit, just with everything he has been through the last couple years. I'm really happy for him. He's really talented. This is just a starting point for him. I think we're going to see him get better and better."
Grant-Foster earned a starting spot alongside the leaders, Harrison and graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan, and two other newcomers, junior guard Collin Moore and sophomore center Duke Brennan.
But the GCU flex came in bringing strength off the bench. Just as Brennan grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in 16 minutes, senior center Sydney Curry backed him up with eight rebounds in 15 minutes. The Shaw brothers, Isaiah and Caleb, were GCU's other double-digit scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.
"It was really cool to watch other guys handle that storm of the nervousness and play through some of that adversity," said McGlothan, who had nine p
oints, five rebounds, two steals and one filthy poster dunk on a post face-up move. "It was a slow start, but then you saw it start to take off. It was cool to see guys play their style of basketball."GCU scored on 13 of 15 first-half possessions during one breakneck tear that included seven different scorers and four crowd-thrilling dunks.
"We have a lot of really talented scorers out there," Drew said. "Sometimes, they are taking a back seat or making the extra pass for someone else to get that shot up. We talked early on that chemistry was going to be a huge thing. Right now, they're doing really well."
The feel-good night that began with championship rings and banners ended with a five-day countdown to the first game that counts toward this season's goals.
The Lopes play fellow 2023 NCAA tournament qualifier Southeast Missouri on Monday before the Arizona Tip-Off starts with a home game against Northern Arizona and continues with Nov. 17-19 tournament games against San Francisco and either DePaul or South Carolina at Desert Diamond Arena.
"We're at the point that we've got to play other teams, other systems," Drew said. "Ours guys needed to play in front of a crowd and get used to each other."
Team Stats
ERAUAZ
GCU
FG%
.224
.591
3FG%
.238
.364
FT%
.786
.581
RB
36
52
TO
22
14
STL
5
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMakaih Williams | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Dusty Stromer | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Kaleb Smith | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Non-Conference Schedule Release | Men's Basketball
Monday, August 04