Block party carries into Sam Houston's return

Wednesday, Dec. 20 \| 6 p.m. \| Global Credit Union Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	SAM HOUSTON BEARKATS (6-6)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (9-1)

WATCH: FOX 10 Xtra (Ch. 45, Cable 9), ESPN+ \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

For festivities, Grand Canyon does not just host "The Biggest Party in College Basketball" any longer.

The Lopes are throwing a season-long block party too. GCU's 9-1 surge into the holiday stretch is stuffing shots instead of stockings to be the nation's No. 23 shot-blocking team entering Wednesday night's home game against Sam Houston. A GCU win against its former WAC foe would give the Lopes their first 10-1 start since 1995 in Division II.

Sydney Curry

GCU has never had a premier shot-blocking team in its first 10 Division I seasons and ranked last in the nation for blocks per game (1.3) before head coach Bryce Drew's debut four years ago. The Lopes are blocking 5.3 shots per game this season and set a Division I-era program record with 11 swats at UT Rio Grande Valley.

"The length definitely helps," Drew said of his players' wide wingspans. "We have guys with really good instincts to the ball, and they're really aggressive to the ball. At the end of the day, we are one of the taller teams in the country.

"We hope that our length and activity on defense doesn't let guys get comfortable. We have to use our length to make plays on the ball."

The Lopes have the 19th-tallest roster in the nation with an average player height of 6 feet, 6.4 inches, according to KenPom.com.

But GCU's best shot-blocker is not its tallest player. It is a tall guard. Senior Tyon Grant-Foster, at 6 feet 7 with springs, is averaging 1.3 blocked shots per game. He has more blocks in 10 GCU games than he did in his previous 23 collegiate appearances (nine).

The Lopes have five players with five blocks or more this season, from the interior protection of sophomore 6-foot-10 center Duke Brennan (nine), senior 6-foot-8 Sydney Curry (six) and graduate 6-foot-7 power forward Gabe McGlothan (nine) to the guards who specialize in chase-down and recovery blocks in Grant-Foster (13) and junior Collin Moore (five).

All of it puts GCU on pace to reverse its history of never finishing in the national top 90 for blocks in the program's first 10 Division I seasons.

"We've just got a lot of guys who have length physically and who can get up athletically and block shots," said Brennan, who has the GCU regular rotation's highest block percentage (5% of opponent shots while on the floor). "These guys can really get up, like Tyon and Gabe. When these guards are getting downhill or bigs who have their backs turned, we can go up and block shots. It makes a good little highlight reel for everyone on the team."

Brennan was robbed of his 10th blocked shot on Saturday when he swatted a Portland drive off the glass. After a video review, he was told that the views were inconclusive, and that it would be goaltending, although that call had not been made in live time.

The blocks are part of what makes GCU opponents shoot only 40.6% for the season. The threat of the block contributes just as much with changed shots or shots that are not taken in the lane.

"They are a little more hesitant," Brennan said of opposing offenses. "They are trying to shoot the shots up higher over us because we are a tall team. It's hard to get fully around us and get fully around our hands in the lane."

McGlothan has his best blocks average (0.9 per game) in four GCU seasons, and Curry has more than doubled his shot-blocking rate from last season.

Drew said Curry played one of his better games in Saturday's Colangelo Classic win against Portland. He had eight points and eight rebounds, and Drew believes part of the reason is playing with graduate point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Blacksher, who played his first game since a season-ending Jan. 5 knee injury at Sam Houston, played club ball with Curry when they were in middle school. They are part of a seasoned second unit with three fifth-year seniors, including Josh Baker.

"Syd finished really well around the rim and rebounded well," Drew said. "He's really comfortable with Jovan out there. They definitely read each other well."

Lope tracks

GCU received voting points in this week's top 25 polls, getting two in the Associated Press media poll and 13 in the USA Today coaches poll.
The Lopes are one of 22 teams who have won at least 90% of their games this season.
GCU graduate Gabe McGlothan ranks 13th among active Division I players for career rebounds (885).
The Lopes' six-game winning streak is tied for the 12th-longest active streak in the nation. A Wednesday win would give GCU its first seven-game winning streak since February 2021.
GCU ranks second in the nation for free throws attempted per game (28.6) and fourth for free throws made (20.8).
Grant-Foster ranks 15th in the nation with 21.2 points per game and has attempted the 11th-most free throws (83).
After GCU's win at Liberty, this home game against Sam Houston completes the Lopes' participation in the WAC/Conference USA Scheduling Initiative. The WAC holds a 5-3 edge this season. GCU's Dec. 30 game against CUSA member Louisiana Tech was booked independently.
The Lopes went 4-1 against the Bearkats when Sam Houston was a WAC member in the previous two seasons, including a GCU win in the WAC Tournament semifinals in March.
Since a 1-3 start, Sam Houston has gone 5-3 with losses at Arizona State and Missouri State and a 73-60 home loss to Texas State in its most recent game.
The Bearkats rank 50th nationally in opponent turnovers per game (15.3) and free throw attempts (23.0).
Sam Houston has the 16th-lowest field goal percentage in the nation at 39.6%.
The Bearkats' leading scorers, Davon Barnes (14.3 points per game) and Lamar Wilkerson (13.2), are 90% free throw shooters. But three Sam Houston starters are shooting 37% or less from the field.
Sam Houston is led by first-year head coach Chris Mudge, who assisted Jason Hooten's 13 years at the Bearkats helm before Hooten took over New Mexico State this year.
The Bearkats have averaged 21.3 wins over the past 10 seasons.

Wednesday, Dec. 20 | 6 p.m. | Global Credit Union Arena | Phoenix, Ariz.

Lope tracks

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Players Mentioned

Josh Baker

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Duke Brennan

Sydney Curry

Tyon Grant-Foster

Gabe McGlothan

Collin Moore

Grand Canyon University Athletics