Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Mount Royal on August 4, 2026 ,
M Basketball
at Mount Royal
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Bonded Lopes revel in island bliss with blowout
8/16/2023 12:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Grant-Foster shines with 23 points' Caleb Shaw averages 17 per game
NASSAU, Bahamas – When the regular season rolls around in November, Grand Canyon coaches and players probably will not be reliving how Tyon Grant-Foster had their highest-scoring game in the Bahamas, how Caleb Shaw led them in scoring on the trip or how Lök Wor posted a pair of double-doubles.
The parts that made GCU a better team came before, between and after games, when the Lopes enrolled in a summer session of chemistry.
But it is nice when the forming compounds create a resounding result like the 110-56 win against Lucayans Basketball that ended GCU's Summer of Thunder play at Sir Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium.
The Lopes moved like jet skis for a 66-point first half and were able to give the afternoon's most minutes to newcomers and freshmen.
Grant-Foster, a senior playing his first collegiate team games in nearly two years, shook off Tuesday's nerves and showed immediate assertion Wednesday by taking the Lopes' first four shots on his way to a game-high 23 points.
"Talking to my teammates, Ray Harrison and Isaiah Shaw, they were like, 'Play your game. You know how you can play,' " Grant-Foster said. "Anything I would say to them, they'd say, 'Play how you play.' That's what I was going to do today – not be nervous, attack, do what I do."
He went from going 2 of 9 from the field in 20 minutes of Tuesday's game to making 10 of 17 shots in 20 minutes on Wednesday.
"He hasn't had real game reps in almost two years," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "You saw a big difference from Game 1 to Game 2 with him. These two games, more than anybody on our team, are really going to help him when we puts a jersey on for our first scrimmage at the end of the October."
The 6-foot-7 forward made 3 of 8 shots from 3-point range against Lucayans and scored mostly on fastbreaks and drives, including a weaving slam.
Grant-Foster last played a college basketball game in November 2021 for DePaul, where he left a game at halftime for a medical situation that sidelined him until this summer. At 23 years old, the layoff is not showing for a player who was expected to be the Blue Demons' leading scorer.
"It doesn't really go anywhere," Grant-Foster said of his game. "It just needs a little tune-up."
That is the sort of tune-up sophomore Caleb Shaw gave his game this summer in the GCU Basketball Facility, where his individual workouts were as focused and motivated as his work in team practices since transferring from Northern Colorado.
The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 17.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 22.0 minutes per game in Nassau, where he went 8 for 9 from the field on Wednesday. He and his brother Isaiah each made three 3-pointers in each game in Nassau.
"I wanted to prove to everyone that I belong here and can hang with these guys," Caleb said. "We have a really special group of individuals. When you work all summer long, it's fun to see how it all works out and how your guys fit together. It was good for us to feel each other out and get comfortable."
Caleb, a graduate of Chandler Valley Christian High School, has been learning the point guard position to provide playmaker depth while senior guards Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Josh Baker rehabilitate from surgeries.
Caleb did not take his first shot Wednesday until midway through the second quarter but still scored 19 points with a mix of perimeter shooting and athletic drives, including the final eight points of the third quarter for a 95-37 lead.
GCU was able to back off minutes this week for returning stars Gabe McGlothan and Ray Harrison, the latter of whom tweaked a previously sprained ankle to leave early Wednesday. It was strictly a precautionary exit, but the team will take a week off upon its return, at which point freshman Noah Amenhauser will be cleared to join practices. The 7-foot-1 senior is finishing his rehabilitation from a knee surgery that ended his senior year at Goodyear Estrella Foothills High School.
The middle was held down in the Bahamas mainly by sophomore center Duke Brennan, the 6-foot-10 Arizona State transfer who averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 16.0 minutes per game.
But Wur, a 6-foot-9 senior, expanded his game more since entering GCU as a small forward. He has shown shooting ability to play more power forward and then rebounding hustle to be a center at times on this trip. The Oregon transfer followed Tuesday's 11-point, 10-rebound game with a 13-point, 11-rebound effort Wednesday.
"You go back and watch the Oregon film and he doesn't look like the player he is right now," Drew said. "We brought him in for his visit and worked him out. About 10 minutes into the workout, I started to get excited because he knew how to work. He had his routine down. He was serious. He could follow what we were doing.
"We thought our offense would be really good for him. He's just really taken off. The last two weeks, he's a different player from when he stepped on our campus."
Junior guard Collin Moore, the two-way threat who transferred from Georgia State, scored well and was a defensive menace each day. But as another combo guard for the Lopes, he also delivered six assists Wednesday.
Freshman forward Derrick Michael Xzavierro, playing for the first time since being hospitalized seven weeks for a collapsed lung and complications last season, grabbed 19 rebounds over the two games. Redshirt freshman guard Malcolm Flaggs hit a 3-pointer in each game and freshman point guard Marquese Josephs, a late summer signee from the Toronto area, handled two cross-country trips to deliver 14 points and six assists in the event's two games.
The Lopes will be back in GCU Basketball Facility over September and October to prep for making another NCAA tournament run. The quest begins with an exhibition home game on Nov. 1 and the regular-season opener against fellow 2023 NCAA tourney team Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 6 in GCU Arena.
"The biggest thing on this trip is the time you get to spend together," Drew said of the Bahamas tour. "We've had some experiences that we're going to laugh about and grow from. We've just had a good time together.
"It's also nice to be able to get to spend time and get to know guys without the extreme stress of the basketball season. We can develop a deeper relationship with the guys. When you have a 30-point lead, it's easier to coach and build a relationship than if you're thrown into the fire and coaching them for the first time."
The parts that made GCU a better team came before, between and after games, when the Lopes enrolled in a summer session of chemistry.
But it is nice when the forming compounds create a resounding result like the 110-56 win against Lucayans Basketball that ended GCU's Summer of Thunder play at Sir Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium.
The Lopes moved like jet skis for a 66-point first half and were able to give the afternoon's most minutes to newcomers and freshmen.
Grant-Foster, a senior playing his first collegiate team games in nearly two years, shook off Tuesday's nerves and showed immediate assertion Wednesday by taking the Lopes' first four shots on his way to a game-high 23 points."Talking to my teammates, Ray Harrison and Isaiah Shaw, they were like, 'Play your game. You know how you can play,' " Grant-Foster said. "Anything I would say to them, they'd say, 'Play how you play.' That's what I was going to do today – not be nervous, attack, do what I do."
He went from going 2 of 9 from the field in 20 minutes of Tuesday's game to making 10 of 17 shots in 20 minutes on Wednesday.
"He hasn't had real game reps in almost two years," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "You saw a big difference from Game 1 to Game 2 with him. These two games, more than anybody on our team, are really going to help him when we puts a jersey on for our first scrimmage at the end of the October."
The 6-foot-7 forward made 3 of 8 shots from 3-point range against Lucayans and scored mostly on fastbreaks and drives, including a weaving slam.
Grant-Foster last played a college basketball game in November 2021 for DePaul, where he left a game at halftime for a medical situation that sidelined him until this summer. At 23 years old, the layoff is not showing for a player who was expected to be the Blue Demons' leading scorer.
"It doesn't really go anywhere," Grant-Foster said of his game. "It just needs a little tune-up."
That is the sort of tune-up sophomore Caleb Shaw gave his game this summer in the GCU Basketball Facility, where his individual workouts were as focused and motivated as his work in team practices since transferring from Northern Colorado.The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 17.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 22.0 minutes per game in Nassau, where he went 8 for 9 from the field on Wednesday. He and his brother Isaiah each made three 3-pointers in each game in Nassau.
"I wanted to prove to everyone that I belong here and can hang with these guys," Caleb said. "We have a really special group of individuals. When you work all summer long, it's fun to see how it all works out and how your guys fit together. It was good for us to feel each other out and get comfortable."
Caleb, a graduate of Chandler Valley Christian High School, has been learning the point guard position to provide playmaker depth while senior guards Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Josh Baker rehabilitate from surgeries.
Caleb did not take his first shot Wednesday until midway through the second quarter but still scored 19 points with a mix of perimeter shooting and athletic drives, including the final eight points of the third quarter for a 95-37 lead.
GCU was able to back off minutes this week for returning stars Gabe McGlothan and Ray Harrison, the latter of whom tweaked a previously sprained ankle to leave early Wednesday. It was strictly a precautionary exit, but the team will take a week off upon its return, at which point freshman Noah Amenhauser will be cleared to join practices. The 7-foot-1 senior is finishing his rehabilitation from a knee surgery that ended his senior year at Goodyear Estrella Foothills High School.
The middle was held down in the Bahamas mainly by sophomore center Duke Brennan, the 6-foot-10 Arizona State transfer who averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 16.0 minutes per game.
But Wur, a 6-foot-9 senior, expanded his game more since entering GCU as a small forward. He has shown shooting ability to play more power forward and then rebounding hustle to be a center at times on this trip. The Oregon transfer followed Tuesday's 11-point, 10-rebound game with a 13-point, 11-rebound effort Wednesday."You go back and watch the Oregon film and he doesn't look like the player he is right now," Drew said. "We brought him in for his visit and worked him out. About 10 minutes into the workout, I started to get excited because he knew how to work. He had his routine down. He was serious. He could follow what we were doing.
"We thought our offense would be really good for him. He's just really taken off. The last two weeks, he's a different player from when he stepped on our campus."
Junior guard Collin Moore, the two-way threat who transferred from Georgia State, scored well and was a defensive menace each day. But as another combo guard for the Lopes, he also delivered six assists Wednesday.
Freshman forward Derrick Michael Xzavierro, playing for the first time since being hospitalized seven weeks for a collapsed lung and complications last season, grabbed 19 rebounds over the two games. Redshirt freshman guard Malcolm Flaggs hit a 3-pointer in each game and freshman point guard Marquese Josephs, a late summer signee from the Toronto area, handled two cross-country trips to deliver 14 points and six assists in the event's two games.
The Lopes will be back in GCU Basketball Facility over September and October to prep for making another NCAA tournament run. The quest begins with an exhibition home game on Nov. 1 and the regular-season opener against fellow 2023 NCAA tourney team Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 6 in GCU Arena.
"The biggest thing on this trip is the time you get to spend together," Drew said of the Bahamas tour. "We've had some experiences that we're going to laugh about and grow from. We've just had a good time together.
"It's also nice to be able to get to spend time and get to know guys without the extreme stress of the basketball season. We can develop a deeper relationship with the guys. When you have a 30-point lead, it's easier to coach and build a relationship than if you're thrown into the fire and coaching them for the first time."
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