Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, December 16
Phoenix, Ariz.
8 p.m.
Grand Canyon
9-1,2-0WAC
91
vs
63
Portland
6-6,0-0WCC
1
2
F
Portland
28
35
63
Grand Canyon
41
50
91
New formula prevents Pilots takeoff at Suns arena
12/16/2023 11:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes hit season-high 13 3-pointers, hold Portland to 32% shooting
Quality teams came and went Saturday before Grant Canyon at Footprint Center with each team struggling with the venue and the defenses.
Washington State, Saint Mary's and UNLV all made one-third or fewer of their shots and every team except GCU in the Colangelo Classic quadrupleheader shot less than 45%. But in a professional venue, the Lopes handled the unfamiliar elements like pros to discard Portland to the pile of struggling offenses while they scored a season high in a 91-63 win.
GCU has its first 9-1 start in its 11-year Division I history and gave graduate point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. the ultimate welcome-back party by holding a double-digit lead for the entire second half.
The Lopes racked up season highs for assists (18), 3-pointers made (13) and assists (18) while the defense posted its lowest opponent field goal percentage (32.2%) of this season that has them in the national top 40.
Graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan (26 points, 11 rebounds) and senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster (20 points, five assists and three steals) starred for GCU, but the return of Blacksher shined brightest. On a playing time restriction, Blacksher played 20 minutes off the bench after not appearing in a game since a Jan. 5 knee injury that required surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Blacksher entered Saturday night to a standing ovation from the Lope Nation throng that took over the south and east sides of the Phoenix Suns' downtown arena. He hit a 3-pointer that started a 9-0 run for a 17-7 GCU lead, one that it never relinquished with the Lopes being plus-17 in Blacksher's 20 minutes of play.
"I liked when I first came out there and the 3 was good, but I just liked when I got back into the flow of me when I got the steal and came down, spaced out and got a pass to another relay pass," Blacksher said. "That felt like my game, so it was fun to see that."
GCU has won six of its past eight games against West Coast Conference opponents with the latest being led by McGlothan's now-customary stellar first half. In the past four games, McGlothan is averaging 12.3 points in the first half.
On Saturday, he posted a 15-point, seven-rebound first half with a comfort that many players spent the first half seeking in a venue where no team got to practice before Saturday's games. McGlothan was an inside-outside threat with a corner 3-pointer, two mid-range jumpers and three scores at the rim, including two on follows as part of GCU's 17-offensive rebound night.
During an 8-0 run that stretched the Lopes lead to 37-21 in the first half, McGlothan followed a second-chance bucket with a steal that thwarted Portland's two-on-one chance. That turned into transition with Blacksher throwing a three-quarter court pass for a Grant-Foster reverse layup.
McGlothan wound up with his 19th career double-double, raising his rebounding average to a career high (8.3) for the fourth consecutive season.
"I even get amazed," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "I've seen a lot of basketball and some really good rebounders that I've played with, and he comes out of nowhere and just gobbles up rebounds on both sides of the rim. He does such a good job rebounding outside his area. It's an art. It's really hard to do. I love that even when he's scoring it, he still goes after every ball to rebound with a tenacious attitude."
The Lopes turned 17 offensive rebounds, led by McGlothan's four, into a 22-6 advantage on second-chance points. When GCU was pulling away from Portland early in the second half, consecutive follow scores by Grant-Foster and sophomore center Duke Brennan gave GCU its largest lead at the time at 61-42.
Minutes later, a 10-0 run bust the game open with a Grant-Foster steal and slam putting the Lopes ahead 72-49 with 8:35 remaining.
"Our coach told us to be aggressive on defense and offense, and I just feel like that's what we did," said Grant-Foster, whose nine highest-scoring games of his career have come in his first 10 GCU games. "It just came through me, Gabe and the other players."
The Lopes were ranked second in the nation with 22.2 free throws made per game entering Saturday, but they only scored eight at the charity stripe against Portland. That was made up with offensive efficiency created by 18 assists to only seven turnovers. The GCU bench that did not commit a turnover in 77 cumulative minutes of play.
Grant-Foster, attracting more attention as a national top-20 scorer, has recorded 13 assists in the past three games after entering the season without a multi-assist game in his career.
"They were really playing tight defenses, elbows and boxes, keeping guys really tight and shutting off penetration and making us kick out and shoot 3s," Drew said. "The first half, we didn't make too many (4 for 19). When a team packs it in like that, you have to be able to make 3s. Our guys adjusted really well in the second half (9 for 17 on 3s)."
Portland was coming off an 83-point performance at North Dakota on Saturday, guard Vukasin Masic scored 32 in the win. Masic made one shot in 16 first-half minutes on Saturday, when the Pilots shot 28% in the first half with only guard Tyler Robertson making more than one shot.
"Tonight was just really fun as a coach to watch," Drew said. "You could just see the players really enjoy playing with each other out there and are happy for each other. We've been to the Suns arena for the third time since I've been here. We've won a close one. We've lost a close one. It was nice to win one and be able to put guys in at the end of the game and reward them with some minutes.
"Our fans were terrific, coming out for a late-night game downtown. Our players definitely feed off the excitement of the crowd."
The crowd appreciated the return of Blacksher, who was only playing five-on-five basketball for the third time since completing his arduous rehabilitation.
"It was great," Drew said. "It's been a long process to get him back. He's had to work hard. There's a lot of stuff that people don't see that he does. He came in and helped our team. At the end of the day, we want to win, and he really got into a flow, made a shot and made some nice passes. For his first time back in the game, I thought it was pretty impressive."
Blacksher came off the bench for the first time in his 98th career game, giving GCU a second unit of players who mostly have started previously. Senior center Sydney Curry, among the most experienced ones, delivered one of his better performances with eight points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes and shifted first-half momentum when he entered the game.
"We haven't reach our full potential yet," Blacksher said. "With me coming back, i feel like that's adding a couple pieces. It's more in sync, but we're not all the way there yet. Once we get all the way there and just trust the process and trust what the coaches are saying, I feel like we can take it a long way,"
Washington State, Saint Mary's and UNLV all made one-third or fewer of their shots and every team except GCU in the Colangelo Classic quadrupleheader shot less than 45%. But in a professional venue, the Lopes handled the unfamiliar elements like pros to discard Portland to the pile of struggling offenses while they scored a season high in a 91-63 win.
GCU has its first 9-1 start in its 11-year Division I history and gave graduate point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. the ultimate welcome-back party by holding a double-digit lead for the entire second half.
The Lopes racked up season highs for assists (18), 3-pointers made (13) and assists (18) while the defense posted its lowest opponent field goal percentage (32.2%) of this season that has them in the national top 40.
Graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan (26 points, 11 rebounds) and senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster (20 points, five assists and three steals) starred for GCU, but the return of Blacksher shined brightest. On a playing time restriction, Blacksher played 20 minutes off the bench after not appearing in a game since a Jan. 5 knee injury that required surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Blacksher entered Saturday night to a standing ovation from the Lope Nation throng that took over the south and east sides of the Phoenix Suns' downtown arena. He hit a 3-pointer that started a 9-0 run for a 17-7 GCU lead, one that it never relinquished with the Lopes being plus-17 in Blacksher's 20 minutes of play."I liked when I first came out there and the 3 was good, but I just liked when I got back into the flow of me when I got the steal and came down, spaced out and got a pass to another relay pass," Blacksher said. "That felt like my game, so it was fun to see that."
GCU has won six of its past eight games against West Coast Conference opponents with the latest being led by McGlothan's now-customary stellar first half. In the past four games, McGlothan is averaging 12.3 points in the first half.
On Saturday, he posted a 15-point, seven-rebound first half with a comfort that many players spent the first half seeking in a venue where no team got to practice before Saturday's games. McGlothan was an inside-outside threat with a corner 3-pointer, two mid-range jumpers and three scores at the rim, including two on follows as part of GCU's 17-offensive rebound night.
During an 8-0 run that stretched the Lopes lead to 37-21 in the first half, McGlothan followed a second-chance bucket with a steal that thwarted Portland's two-on-one chance. That turned into transition with Blacksher throwing a three-quarter court pass for a Grant-Foster reverse layup.
McGlothan wound up with his 19th career double-double, raising his rebounding average to a career high (8.3) for the fourth consecutive season."I even get amazed," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "I've seen a lot of basketball and some really good rebounders that I've played with, and he comes out of nowhere and just gobbles up rebounds on both sides of the rim. He does such a good job rebounding outside his area. It's an art. It's really hard to do. I love that even when he's scoring it, he still goes after every ball to rebound with a tenacious attitude."
The Lopes turned 17 offensive rebounds, led by McGlothan's four, into a 22-6 advantage on second-chance points. When GCU was pulling away from Portland early in the second half, consecutive follow scores by Grant-Foster and sophomore center Duke Brennan gave GCU its largest lead at the time at 61-42.
Minutes later, a 10-0 run bust the game open with a Grant-Foster steal and slam putting the Lopes ahead 72-49 with 8:35 remaining.
"Our coach told us to be aggressive on defense and offense, and I just feel like that's what we did," said Grant-Foster, whose nine highest-scoring games of his career have come in his first 10 GCU games. "It just came through me, Gabe and the other players."The Lopes were ranked second in the nation with 22.2 free throws made per game entering Saturday, but they only scored eight at the charity stripe against Portland. That was made up with offensive efficiency created by 18 assists to only seven turnovers. The GCU bench that did not commit a turnover in 77 cumulative minutes of play.
Grant-Foster, attracting more attention as a national top-20 scorer, has recorded 13 assists in the past three games after entering the season without a multi-assist game in his career.
"They were really playing tight defenses, elbows and boxes, keeping guys really tight and shutting off penetration and making us kick out and shoot 3s," Drew said. "The first half, we didn't make too many (4 for 19). When a team packs it in like that, you have to be able to make 3s. Our guys adjusted really well in the second half (9 for 17 on 3s)."
Portland was coming off an 83-point performance at North Dakota on Saturday, guard Vukasin Masic scored 32 in the win. Masic made one shot in 16 first-half minutes on Saturday, when the Pilots shot 28% in the first half with only guard Tyler Robertson making more than one shot.
"Tonight was just really fun as a coach to watch," Drew said. "You could just see the players really enjoy playing with each other out there and are happy for each other. We've been to the Suns arena for the third time since I've been here. We've won a close one. We've lost a close one. It was nice to win one and be able to put guys in at the end of the game and reward them with some minutes."Our fans were terrific, coming out for a late-night game downtown. Our players definitely feed off the excitement of the crowd."
The crowd appreciated the return of Blacksher, who was only playing five-on-five basketball for the third time since completing his arduous rehabilitation.
"It was great," Drew said. "It's been a long process to get him back. He's had to work hard. There's a lot of stuff that people don't see that he does. He came in and helped our team. At the end of the day, we want to win, and he really got into a flow, made a shot and made some nice passes. For his first time back in the game, I thought it was pretty impressive."
Blacksher came off the bench for the first time in his 98th career game, giving GCU a second unit of players who mostly have started previously. Senior center Sydney Curry, among the most experienced ones, delivered one of his better performances with eight points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes and shifted first-half momentum when he entered the game.
"We haven't reach our full potential yet," Blacksher said. "With me coming back, i feel like that's adding a couple pieces. It's more in sync, but we're not all the way there yet. Once we get all the way there and just trust the process and trust what the coaches are saying, I feel like we can take it a long way,"
Team Stats
UP
GCU
FG%
.322
.486
3FG%
.346
.361
FT%
.762
.533
RB
32
51
TO
9
7
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
10
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
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