Bahamas breeze: Lopes roll in summer debut

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

8/15/2023 5:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Bench scores 50 as transfers thrive; Caleb Shaw leads with 15

By: Paul Coro

NASSAU, Bahamas – For the first time since March Madness, Grand Canyon tipped off against another team and senior guard Ray Harrison was dunking the ball three seconds later.

The opening tip from GCU sophomore Duke Brennan went to senior Gabe McGlothan and his touch pass hit the stride of Harrison, last season's top scorer who was not needed to score again Tuesday in GCU's Summer of Thunder debut.

Nassau, Bahamas August 15, 2023: GCU beats Raw Talent Elite 93-58 at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium during the Summer of Thunder game in the Bahamas. Photo by: David Kadlubowski/ / GCU

Nassau, Bahamas August 15, 2023: GCU beats Raw Talent Elite 93-58 at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium during the Summer of Thunder game in the Bahamas. Photo by: David Kadlubowski/ / GCU

Leaning on Harrison's exploits is not what adding talent and a summer trip was about. The revamped Lopes showed why with six transfers scoring 59 points in a 93-58 victory against Raw Talent Elite.

The officials' late arrival delayed the start by 30 minutes and Sir Kendall G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium was steamier than a laundromat, but GCU was unaffected in its first chance to apply the extra summer practice time against an opponent.

The added length and athleticism showed with the Lopes not allowing a point for nearly eight minutes of the first quarter and another five-minute scoreless stretch of the second quarter.

"We have a lot of length, guys who can recover at the rim," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "That's something different than last year. First half, we didn't shoot the ball well. Second half, I thought we started to make shots a lot better. It's tough. Different (international) ball, different gym, no AC (air conditioning). It does disrupt shooting a little bit, but it was nice to see the ball go in in that second half."

A 14-0 first-quarter run put the GCU lead in double digits for good and the turnstile of Lopes scorers sent the margin to 20 points in the second quarter and as high as 44 in the second half.

Nassau, Bahamas August 15, 2023: GCU beats Raw Talent Elite 93-58 at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium during the Summer of Thunder game in the Bahamas. Photo by: David Kadlubowski/ / GCU

Sophomore Caleb Shaw, the Northern Colorado transfer who joined his brother (redshirt freshman Isaiah) and father (assistant coach Casey), led GCU with 15 points in 19 minutes with an aggression that included five rebounds and four assists.

Isaiah and senior forward Lök Wur, an Oregon transfer, also came off the bench with 11 points each. As the Lopes search for new 3-point shooters, each Shaw made three 3s, although the top highlight came at the reim from Isaiah when he drove from the right wing to dunk with two hands.

Wur, at 6 feet 9, was the Lopes' top rebounder with 10 in 26 minutes.

"Loved the energy they had on the bench for each other," Drew said. "Really loved the cohesiveness. For the first time, there wasn't a lot of "wondering who my teammate is' type stuff going on. It was more rhythm and timing, obviously getting in a flow and playing together. Really thought the togetherness for the first time with this group was really good."

That was a major point of the trip, which gave the Lopes additional practice time to work n so many new players while others, senior guards Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Josh Baker, work their ways back from surgeries.

Nassau, Bahamas August 15, 2023: GCU beats Raw Talent Elite 93-58 at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium during the Summer of Thunder game in the Bahamas. Photo by: David Kadlubowski/ / GCU

GCU started Brennan, Harrison and McGlothan with senior forward Tyon Grant-Foster and senior guard Collin Moore adding bright spots in a lineup that rarely formed in practices.

Moore showed his two-way ability with five steals, four of which were in the first half, and an efficient 13-point effort (6-for-8 shooting) in 16 minutes.

"You guys can see, and everyone who listened (on a GCU audio stream), just how good he is on defense and how quick he turns defense into offense for us," Drew said.

The 6-foot-4 guard, who was Georgia State's leading scorer last season, scored in transition three times with Eurosteps and scored twice inside while being fouled.

"That's what I love to do," Moore said. "I try to play as fast as I can and get the ball up the floor and hit the open man. Push it up, get the ball out of my hand, advance the ball."

Moore, Harrison, Caleb Shaw and freshman Marquese Josephs shared point guard duties, but the Lopes will want to clean up their ball-handling before they return to the gym Wednesday at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) to play Lucayans Basketball. GCU committed 21 turnovers but offset it by holding Raw Talent Elite to 30% shooting.

"It was really exciting to play with these guys," Moore said. "We are competitive, really talented. I've been with these guys three weeks and we already have a great connection."

Nassau, Bahamas August 15, 2023: GCU beats Raw Talent Elite 93-58 at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium during the Summer of Thunder game in the Bahamas. Photo by: David Kadlubowski/ / GCU

The game also offered a chance for Grant-Foster and redshirt freshman forward Derrick Michael Xzavierro to complete their medical comebacks.

Grant-Foster, out for nearly two years, made spectacular recovering blocks and grabbed seven rebounds while Xzavierro, coming off last season's seven-week hospitalization for a collapsed lung and complications, grabbed eight rebounds and fouled out in 13 minutes.

That gave Wur some time at center, where Brennan starred earlier in the game with his nonstop activity and strong hands. The 6-foot-10 center tallied 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks and his fellow Arizona State transfer, guard Malcolm Flaggs, added a 3-pointer.

"Duke plays hard every single possession," Drew said. "I think it was obvious from our standpoint, just his ability to catch the ball in traffic and get the ball up on the rim. His finishing was very good for our team. We have some really good passers that can get in the lane and make some passes. We loved his ability to catch and finish quickly."