Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 , Loss , 74, to, 79
M Basketball
at Baylor
L 74-79
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Sebastian Molinar
Harrison makes point with playmaker skills
11/9/2023 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
On 1-for-9 shooting night, GCU guard stands out for running offense well
Grand Canyon guard Ray Harrison opened the season with the lowest-scoring home game of his four-year collegiate career, but he and the coaching staff are not the least bit concerned.
Quite the opposite. Playing point guard most of Monday night, Harrison guided a season-opening, 88-67 victory against Southeast Missouri with what GCU head coach Bryce Drew said was Harrison's "best floor game."
Harrison was pressed into point guard duty last season when teammate Jovan Blacksher Jr. suffered a Jan. 5 knee injury that required season-ending surgery. Blacksher is nearing the end of rehabilitation, but the Lopes created a capable combo guard in Harrison to win last season's WAC Tournament title and start this season strongly.
The Greenville, South Carolina, native is not only happy to orchestrate the offense and distribute the ball for a more balanced offense, but playing point guard also allows him to show precisely what he was told he needed to develop when he received NBA draft feedback this offseason.
"Everybody who has watched me play to this point knows what I can do, but I feel like this year will be an expansion of my game, which I'm most excited for because I know I may not be that scorer in the league I'm looking to play in once I leave here," said Harrison, who has led his team in scoring for three seasons. "So I have to be able to make passes and read the defense better. I'm just glad the coaching staff saw that game as that and not me not being aggressive."
Harrison put his stamp on the game immediately after tipoff. Using a high screen by GCU sophomore center Duke Brennan, Harrison's defender went over the screen out of respect to his jump shot and Harrison stepped in with his dribble as Brennan's defender showed defensively. Harrison bounced a pocket pass to Brennan when he rolled into the paint, where the big man drew a foul while splitting two defenders.
Harrison the playmaker was evident in different areas, whether it was being the baseline inbounder or pushing tempo to get the ball early in offense to senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster, who used that to springboard a career-high 30-point night in his first official game in two years.
Even on a 1-for-9 shooting night, Harrison controlled the game with five assists and offensive leadership against a fellow 2023 NCAA tournament team. That same screen-and-roll got Brennan a dunk for a 26-11 lead when Harrison drew Brennan's man wide out of respect for his perimeter shooting.
When Harrison did notch his three points, it was in dazzling fashion. With improved ball-handling and athleticism from the offseason, Harrison's highlight reel included a play in which he spun away from one defender and crossed over the next one to get a scoring drive and a "that-was-filthy" facial reaction from Grant-Foster. He also used a double screen to draw a foul on a 3-point shot but only converted one free throw.
"He was really solid out there," Drew said. "He's going to score. We all know he can score. Last year, there was not really a game that, 'Hey, you're going to play point and you're going to control the game and you're going to get pressed all game by guards that are going to be up in you rotating around.' He handled all that today. I thought his stamina was great. I thought he made really good decisions. He really just controlled those pieces of that game."
The Lopes did leave points on the floor, whether it was Harrison missing his go-to fadeaway mid-range jumper or when he lofted a fastbreak alleyoop pass as teammate Gabe McGlothan stayed wide.
When Harrison broke Southeast Missouri's defense down with penetration, he kicked to Grant-Foster for a 3 and slipped a pass to Brennan for a dunk.
"I know that I could impose my will more at times, but I look at the scoreboard and we're up 25," Harrison said. "It's a good feeling that we're better than we were last year at this point."
Harrison knows his team well. Before the opener, he proclaimed that people were going to be surprised with how the Lopes emerged as a punch-first team. GCU led 14-2 in the game's first four minutes, and Grant-Foster only had scored six of his 30 points at that stage.
"Ray is so good coming off of ball screens because he can find you," Grant-Foster said. "He can shoot behind it. He can get downhill and hit the roll man. There is so much stuff that he's able to do coming off the screen and that makes me or Gabe even more open."
Quite the opposite. Playing point guard most of Monday night, Harrison guided a season-opening, 88-67 victory against Southeast Missouri with what GCU head coach Bryce Drew said was Harrison's "best floor game."
Harrison was pressed into point guard duty last season when teammate Jovan Blacksher Jr. suffered a Jan. 5 knee injury that required season-ending surgery. Blacksher is nearing the end of rehabilitation, but the Lopes created a capable combo guard in Harrison to win last season's WAC Tournament title and start this season strongly.The Greenville, South Carolina, native is not only happy to orchestrate the offense and distribute the ball for a more balanced offense, but playing point guard also allows him to show precisely what he was told he needed to develop when he received NBA draft feedback this offseason.
"Everybody who has watched me play to this point knows what I can do, but I feel like this year will be an expansion of my game, which I'm most excited for because I know I may not be that scorer in the league I'm looking to play in once I leave here," said Harrison, who has led his team in scoring for three seasons. "So I have to be able to make passes and read the defense better. I'm just glad the coaching staff saw that game as that and not me not being aggressive."
Harrison put his stamp on the game immediately after tipoff. Using a high screen by GCU sophomore center Duke Brennan, Harrison's defender went over the screen out of respect to his jump shot and Harrison stepped in with his dribble as Brennan's defender showed defensively. Harrison bounced a pocket pass to Brennan when he rolled into the paint, where the big man drew a foul while splitting two defenders.
Harrison the playmaker was evident in different areas, whether it was being the baseline inbounder or pushing tempo to get the ball early in offense to senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster, who used that to springboard a career-high 30-point night in his first official game in two years.
Even on a 1-for-9 shooting night, Harrison controlled the game with five assists and offensive leadership against a fellow 2023 NCAA tournament team. That same screen-and-roll got Brennan a dunk for a 26-11 lead when Harrison drew Brennan's man wide out of respect for his perimeter shooting.
When Harrison did notch his three points, it was in dazzling fashion. With improved ball-handling and athleticism from the offseason, Harrison's highlight reel included a play in which he spun away from one defender and crossed over the next one to get a scoring drive and a "that-was-filthy" facial reaction from Grant-Foster. He also used a double screen to draw a foul on a 3-point shot but only converted one free throw."He was really solid out there," Drew said. "He's going to score. We all know he can score. Last year, there was not really a game that, 'Hey, you're going to play point and you're going to control the game and you're going to get pressed all game by guards that are going to be up in you rotating around.' He handled all that today. I thought his stamina was great. I thought he made really good decisions. He really just controlled those pieces of that game."
The Lopes did leave points on the floor, whether it was Harrison missing his go-to fadeaway mid-range jumper or when he lofted a fastbreak alleyoop pass as teammate Gabe McGlothan stayed wide.
When Harrison broke Southeast Missouri's defense down with penetration, he kicked to Grant-Foster for a 3 and slipped a pass to Brennan for a dunk.
"I know that I could impose my will more at times, but I look at the scoreboard and we're up 25," Harrison said. "It's a good feeling that we're better than we were last year at this point."
Harrison knows his team well. Before the opener, he proclaimed that people were going to be surprised with how the Lopes emerged as a punch-first team. GCU led 14-2 in the game's first four minutes, and Grant-Foster only had scored six of his 30 points at that stage.
"Ray is so good coming off of ball screens because he can find you," Grant-Foster said. "He can shoot behind it. He can get downhill and hit the roll man. There is so much stuff that he's able to do coming off the screen and that makes me or Gabe even more open."
Players Mentioned
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