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 30
Phoenix, Ariz.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
12-1,2-0WAC
73
vs
70
Louisiana Tech
9-5,0-0CUSA
1
2
F
Louisiana Tech
38
32
70
Grand Canyon
38
35
73
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Late rally scores quality win for 12-1 Lopes
12/30/2023 10:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Harrison leads with 22 points; GCU closes out Louisiana Tech with 9-2 run
When facing a four-point deficit with three minutes remaining, it is nice for Grand Canyon to know that it has another level to hit.
The Lopes proved that in amassing one of the nation's best records and drew on that Saturday night to improve to 12-1 with a 73-70 win against Louisiana Tech at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena.
GCU won its ninth consecutive game, the nation's seventh-longest active streak, by intensifying its defense for key stops during a 9-2 finish over the last three minutes.
"We just got tougher on the ball," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "Guys played with a little more urgency on the ball – a little more active with our hands and we started to fight for some rebounds."
GCU survived allowing an opponent season high of 56% shooting from the field by outscoring Louisiana Tech (9-5) by 15 points at the 3-point line with 55% accuracy and outshooting the Bulldogs on free throws 88% to 53%
. By percentage, it was the Lopes' best 3-point and free-throw shooting game of the season.
Despite 8-for-12 shooting on 3s in the first half and five 3s coming consecutively, the Lopes were tied with Louisiana Tech 38-38 at halftime. And even with senior guard Ray Harrison turning up his second-half offensive aggression, GCU trailed by as much as five and faced the four-point hole entering the final three minutes.
Lopes senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster, who played the entire second half, made a 3-pointer to start the closing 9-2 run but he made two defensive strips in the final 22 seconds and kept Bulldogs co-leading scorer Daniel Batcho from an alleyoop opportunity in that time.
The 9-2 stretch's defensive end included six minutes without a Bulldogs field goal and began with GCU graduate Gabe McGlothan, playing despite a back issue that kept him out of practices, stripping Louisiana Tech star Isaiah Crawford on his 6-of-13 shooting night.
With GCU leading 71-70, Batcho missed a shot against senior guard Collin Moore's challenge, but Louisiana Tech rebounded and Grant-Foster poked point guard Sean Newman Jr.'s dribble loose from behind for Moore to secure.
Moore made two free throws, and Louisiana Tech's best shooter, Tahlik Chavez, missed a leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer when Harrison, Grant-Foster and sophomore center Duke Brennan converged on him. Of 12 wins this season, it was GCU's first to be decided at the buzzer.
"It starts with C-Mo," Harrison said of Moore's defense. "I try to stress that to him often. He brings a different level of tenacity to the game.
"When you're just watching the game, you don't understand what it's like to be hounded by somebody who is 6-4 with a lon
g wingspan. He's trying to take the ball from you. He's not a defender who's just trying to contain you."
With McGlothan not at full speed and Grant-Foster being limited by a top-20 defense, Harrison followed up a one-point game against Sam Houston with a game-high 22 points and five assists when the Lopes needed his offense most Saturday night.
As defenses dropped back on him, Harrison made three consecutive 3-point shots in 65 seconds during a string of six consecutive GCU made 3s in the first half for its largest lead, 22-12.
During the 9-2 close, Harrison gave the Lopes the lead for good in his 100th career game when he split his defender showing early on a screen and the help coming late.
"I was looking to be a little more aggressive," said Harrison, who has the fifth-highest career scoring average (17.1) among active Division I players. In the past, I've had times where I've had times in the game where I'm not completely being myself. And I'm not just cheating myself, but I'm cheating the team as well, and I can't do that. When I go back, stuff like that's on my mind."
The Lopes had been 1-6 during Drew's four-year coaching tenure when allowing an opponent to shoot more than 50%. With Louisiana Tech shooting a season-best 56% from the field, GCU had not won a game allowing that high of a percentage since Fe
b. 25, 2017, and the clip just missed that day's opponent GCU record of 56.1%.
Louisiana Tech outscored GCU 42-16 in the paint with Batcho's rim runs resulting in 16 points and seven drawn fouls. The Lopes countered that with ball pressure from Moore and senior guard Josh Baker to make it harder to feed Batcho.
But down the stretch, Louisiana Tech went 1 for 6 with three turnovers in the final three minutes to make GCU tied for the fifth-best record in the nation at 12-1.
"Winning in front of this crowd seems like something that's just mandatory," Harrison said. "As soon as the game starts, it like there's no way you can send all these people home with an L.
"As much as it is important to win those games where you're up by 20, 15 or 10 and leading the whole game, it's just as good to be able to win games like this that are ugly. It may not go your way the whole game or for 35 minutes, but that last five (minutes), you're able to really lock in and handle your business."
The teams' first meeting ever was the third game in a row that Louisiana Tech lost on the road with a chance to win or tie at the regulation buzzer. With the Bulldogs entering the game at No. 75 in NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking, the win strengthens GCU's résumé if it needs an at-large NCAA tournament bid at season's end or bolsters the Lopes' seeding case if it earns an NCAA tournament spot.
The Lopes entered the night at No. 41 in NET and continued the program's best start since 1995-96, when they went 19-1 in Division II before suffering a second loss.
The win caps its nonconference schedule, and GCU will resume WAC play next week. After going 2-0 in the early November start for a 20-game conference slate, the Lopes will play Thursday at Southern Utah and Saturday at Utah Tech for its first two-game trip of the season.
The Lopes proved that in amassing one of the nation's best records and drew on that Saturday night to improve to 12-1 with a 73-70 win against Louisiana Tech at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena.
GCU won its ninth consecutive game, the nation's seventh-longest active streak, by intensifying its defense for key stops during a 9-2 finish over the last three minutes.
"We just got tougher on the ball," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "Guys played with a little more urgency on the ball – a little more active with our hands and we started to fight for some rebounds."
GCU survived allowing an opponent season high of 56% shooting from the field by outscoring Louisiana Tech (9-5) by 15 points at the 3-point line with 55% accuracy and outshooting the Bulldogs on free throws 88% to 53%
. By percentage, it was the Lopes' best 3-point and free-throw shooting game of the season.Despite 8-for-12 shooting on 3s in the first half and five 3s coming consecutively, the Lopes were tied with Louisiana Tech 38-38 at halftime. And even with senior guard Ray Harrison turning up his second-half offensive aggression, GCU trailed by as much as five and faced the four-point hole entering the final three minutes.
Lopes senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster, who played the entire second half, made a 3-pointer to start the closing 9-2 run but he made two defensive strips in the final 22 seconds and kept Bulldogs co-leading scorer Daniel Batcho from an alleyoop opportunity in that time.
The 9-2 stretch's defensive end included six minutes without a Bulldogs field goal and began with GCU graduate Gabe McGlothan, playing despite a back issue that kept him out of practices, stripping Louisiana Tech star Isaiah Crawford on his 6-of-13 shooting night.
With GCU leading 71-70, Batcho missed a shot against senior guard Collin Moore's challenge, but Louisiana Tech rebounded and Grant-Foster poked point guard Sean Newman Jr.'s dribble loose from behind for Moore to secure.
Moore made two free throws, and Louisiana Tech's best shooter, Tahlik Chavez, missed a leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer when Harrison, Grant-Foster and sophomore center Duke Brennan converged on him. Of 12 wins this season, it was GCU's first to be decided at the buzzer.
"It starts with C-Mo," Harrison said of Moore's defense. "I try to stress that to him often. He brings a different level of tenacity to the game.
"When you're just watching the game, you don't understand what it's like to be hounded by somebody who is 6-4 with a lon
g wingspan. He's trying to take the ball from you. He's not a defender who's just trying to contain you."With McGlothan not at full speed and Grant-Foster being limited by a top-20 defense, Harrison followed up a one-point game against Sam Houston with a game-high 22 points and five assists when the Lopes needed his offense most Saturday night.
As defenses dropped back on him, Harrison made three consecutive 3-point shots in 65 seconds during a string of six consecutive GCU made 3s in the first half for its largest lead, 22-12.
During the 9-2 close, Harrison gave the Lopes the lead for good in his 100th career game when he split his defender showing early on a screen and the help coming late.
"I was looking to be a little more aggressive," said Harrison, who has the fifth-highest career scoring average (17.1) among active Division I players. In the past, I've had times where I've had times in the game where I'm not completely being myself. And I'm not just cheating myself, but I'm cheating the team as well, and I can't do that. When I go back, stuff like that's on my mind."
The Lopes had been 1-6 during Drew's four-year coaching tenure when allowing an opponent to shoot more than 50%. With Louisiana Tech shooting a season-best 56% from the field, GCU had not won a game allowing that high of a percentage since Fe
b. 25, 2017, and the clip just missed that day's opponent GCU record of 56.1%.Louisiana Tech outscored GCU 42-16 in the paint with Batcho's rim runs resulting in 16 points and seven drawn fouls. The Lopes countered that with ball pressure from Moore and senior guard Josh Baker to make it harder to feed Batcho.
But down the stretch, Louisiana Tech went 1 for 6 with three turnovers in the final three minutes to make GCU tied for the fifth-best record in the nation at 12-1.
"Winning in front of this crowd seems like something that's just mandatory," Harrison said. "As soon as the game starts, it like there's no way you can send all these people home with an L.
"As much as it is important to win those games where you're up by 20, 15 or 10 and leading the whole game, it's just as good to be able to win games like this that are ugly. It may not go your way the whole game or for 35 minutes, but that last five (minutes), you're able to really lock in and handle your business."
The teams' first meeting ever was the third game in a row that Louisiana Tech lost on the road with a chance to win or tie at the regulation buzzer. With the Bulldogs entering the game at No. 75 in NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking, the win strengthens GCU's résumé if it needs an at-large NCAA tournament bid at season's end or bolsters the Lopes' seeding case if it earns an NCAA tournament spot.
The Lopes entered the night at No. 41 in NET and continued the program's best start since 1995-96, when they went 19-1 in Division II before suffering a second loss.
The win caps its nonconference schedule, and GCU will resume WAC play next week. After going 2-0 in the early November start for a 20-game conference slate, the Lopes will play Thursday at Southern Utah and Saturday at Utah Tech for its first two-game trip of the season.
Team Stats
LATech
GCU
FG%
.560
.444
3FG%
.429
.550
FT%
.533
.875
RB
28
27
TO
16
11
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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