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
Monday, November 6
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
1-0,0-0WAC
88
vs
67
Southeast Missouri
0-1,0-0OVC
1
2
F
Southeast Mo. St.
30
37
67
Grand Canyon
54
34
88
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Grant-Foster's 30 fires GCU to fast start
11/6/2023 11:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes cruised past 2023 NCAA tournament team SEMO by 21 in opener
When last season began against a team coming off an NCAA tournament appearance, Grand Canyon found itself trailing by 17 points in its home halftime locker room before rallying to win – a microcosm of a season that started slow and finished fabulously.
This season's Lopes are not interested in waiting to hit the gas. Facing a fellow 2023 NCAA tournament qualifier, GCU raced away early and reacquainted the college basketball world quickly with Tyon Grant-Foster in beating Southeast Missouri 88-67 at sold-out GCU Arena.
Grant-Foster, the senior transfer who was medically unable to play basketball for two years, scored a career-high 30 points that more than doubled his previous career high of 13 that came nearly three years ago for Kansas.
The Lopes only needed returning stars Ray Harrison and Gabe McGlothan to make one shot each because Grant-Foster went 10 for 15 from the field and GCU sophomore center Duke Brennan recorded his first career double-double (career-high tying 12 points, career-high 10 rebounds).
"Pretty remarkable for Tyon not to play a real game in pretty much two years to the day in front of a crowd," said GCU head coach Bryce Drew, referring to the Nov. 10, 2021, game for DePaul in which Grant-Foster was taken to a hospital at halftime. "Just a sensational individual performance for him scoring the basketball. And to add another weapon to our team, that's more depth. When they scout us, hopefully it opens up more space for Gabe and more space for Ray as they look to Tyon more."
Even with Harrison matching his scoring low from last season with three points, he ran the offense well and the GCU newcomers carried the offensive output.
Brennan scored eight of his points during a 14-2 start, including a three-point play off his offensive rebound.
The tentacles of the Lopes' defense were everywhere, creating seven turnovers in the game's first nine minutes to take the lead to double digits for good.
By then, Grant-Foster had become more than Southeast Missouri could handle. If he was not penetrating or fastbreaking to score at the rim, he was getting fouled as he headed there. In one stretch, the Kansas City, Kansas, product either hit a shot or went to the free throw line on five consecutive trips.
With his first 3-pointer, Grant-Foster had scored 21 points for a 46-20 Lopes lead with 3:27 to go in the first half. That matched last season's highest-scoring first half by a GCU player (Harrison's 21 vs. Grambling State) and sent GCU to its highest-scoring first half of its Division I era with a 54-30 lead.
"I tell myself this thing, 'Don't be scared of doing stuff that you work on,' " Grant-Foster said. "Like the shots that I take and the moves that I make, I work on those. So what's the point of not using them and being scared to use them in the game?"
Even though Grant-Foster followed scoring 23 points in Wednesday's 19-minute exhibition debut with a 30-point game on Monday, Drew's postgame locker room talk with the team was about commending its unselfishness. The Lopes know that a variety of players are capable of scoring big and embrace the next guy's chance to do so.
"With these newcomers, it's always a challenge to find chemistry and jell," said Brennan, who made his official GCU debut after playing at Arizona State last season. "We just work hard with each other every single day and, on and off the court, we're brothers. When it comes down to the game, we can get these dubs and you can see the chemistry on the court."
The Lopes received 20 points and 19 rebounds from their center spot with senior Sydney Curry, the Louisville transfer, back up Brennan with eight points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes.
GCU expanded the lead to 30 before clearing the bench, including an answer to the Havocs' pleas of "We want Noah!" for 7-foot freshman center Noah Amenhauser.
Redshirt freshman guard Isaiah Shaw was the team's second-leading scorer with 13 points, making his case as the team's best 3-pointer shooter with 3-for-5 accuracy in the opener..
"Right now, they're scouting for Ray and they're scouting for Gabe," Drew said. "They're trying to take those two guys away. I thought it was Ray's best floor game since he's been here. He played point guard majority of the time and really controlled the tempo of the game, controlled that middle area, either shooting or dumping down passes."
The Lopes stay home for their next game against Northern Arizona, which opened the season with a 95-52 loss at national champion Connecticut. Former Lopes player Liam Lloyd tallied 16 points, six rebounds and five assists for NAU, which comes to GCU Arena for a 3:30 p.m. game on Sunday.
This season's Lopes are not interested in waiting to hit the gas. Facing a fellow 2023 NCAA tournament qualifier, GCU raced away early and reacquainted the college basketball world quickly with Tyon Grant-Foster in beating Southeast Missouri 88-67 at sold-out GCU Arena.
Grant-Foster, the senior transfer who was medically unable to play basketball for two years, scored a career-high 30 points that more than doubled his previous career high of 13 that came nearly three years ago for Kansas.
The Lopes only needed returning stars Ray Harrison and Gabe McGlothan to make one shot each because Grant-Foster went 10 for 15 from the field and GCU sophomore center Duke Brennan recorded his first career double-double (career-high tying 12 points, career-high 10 rebounds)."Pretty remarkable for Tyon not to play a real game in pretty much two years to the day in front of a crowd," said GCU head coach Bryce Drew, referring to the Nov. 10, 2021, game for DePaul in which Grant-Foster was taken to a hospital at halftime. "Just a sensational individual performance for him scoring the basketball. And to add another weapon to our team, that's more depth. When they scout us, hopefully it opens up more space for Gabe and more space for Ray as they look to Tyon more."
Even with Harrison matching his scoring low from last season with three points, he ran the offense well and the GCU newcomers carried the offensive output.
Brennan scored eight of his points during a 14-2 start, including a three-point play off his offensive rebound.
The tentacles of the Lopes' defense were everywhere, creating seven turnovers in the game's first nine minutes to take the lead to double digits for good.
By then, Grant-Foster had become more than Southeast Missouri could handle. If he was not penetrating or fastbreaking to score at the rim, he was getting fouled as he headed there. In one stretch, the Kansas City, Kansas, product either hit a shot or went to the free throw line on five consecutive trips.With his first 3-pointer, Grant-Foster had scored 21 points for a 46-20 Lopes lead with 3:27 to go in the first half. That matched last season's highest-scoring first half by a GCU player (Harrison's 21 vs. Grambling State) and sent GCU to its highest-scoring first half of its Division I era with a 54-30 lead.
"I tell myself this thing, 'Don't be scared of doing stuff that you work on,' " Grant-Foster said. "Like the shots that I take and the moves that I make, I work on those. So what's the point of not using them and being scared to use them in the game?"
Even though Grant-Foster followed scoring 23 points in Wednesday's 19-minute exhibition debut with a 30-point game on Monday, Drew's postgame locker room talk with the team was about commending its unselfishness. The Lopes know that a variety of players are capable of scoring big and embrace the next guy's chance to do so.
"With these newcomers, it's always a challenge to find chemistry and jell," said Brennan, who made his official GCU debut after playing at Arizona State last season. "We just work hard with each other every single day and, on and off the court, we're brothers. When it comes down to the game, we can get these dubs and you can see the chemistry on the court."The Lopes received 20 points and 19 rebounds from their center spot with senior Sydney Curry, the Louisville transfer, back up Brennan with eight points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes.
GCU expanded the lead to 30 before clearing the bench, including an answer to the Havocs' pleas of "We want Noah!" for 7-foot freshman center Noah Amenhauser.
Redshirt freshman guard Isaiah Shaw was the team's second-leading scorer with 13 points, making his case as the team's best 3-pointer shooter with 3-for-5 accuracy in the opener..
"Right now, they're scouting for Ray and they're scouting for Gabe," Drew said. "They're trying to take those two guys away. I thought it was Ray's best floor game since he's been here. He played point guard majority of the time and really controlled the tempo of the game, controlled that middle area, either shooting or dumping down passes."
The Lopes stay home for their next game against Northern Arizona, which opened the season with a 95-52 loss at national champion Connecticut. Former Lopes player Liam Lloyd tallied 16 points, six rebounds and five assists for NAU, which comes to GCU Arena for a 3:30 p.m. game on Sunday.
Team Stats
SEMO
GCU
FG%
.391
.500
3FG%
.524
.333
FT%
.400
.704
RB
32
48
TO
17
17
STL
11
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
30
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ 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