Depleted Lopes slip in 2nd half to Sun Devils

Thursday, November 14

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-1,0-0WAC

Arizona State

3-1,0-0Big 12

Grand Canyon

Arizona St.

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

11/14/2024 11:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Crowd of 13,705 makes Suns arena electric for Grant-Foster's return

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon had Arizona State surrounded Friday night with Lopes fans making up most of the 13,705 fans that turned out for the first GCU-ASU neutral-site meeting at Footprint Center.

GCU could not envelop ASU the same on the court, letting a one-point game get away over the final 13 minutes for an 87-76 loss that spoiled the return of Lopes star Tyon Grant-Foster.

The ideal environment of the Hall of Fame Series was also spoiled by less-than-ideal circumstances for GCU with junior starting center Duke Brennan, a former ASU player, out injured and senior power forward JaKobe Coles hampered by illness and foul trouble.

ASU shot 54% from the field, including a 58% clip in the second half, to pull away from GCU despite Grant-Foster's 19-point, seven-rebound, four-steal return to action and 17 points in 18 minutes from Coles, who fouled out after missing Wednesday's practice for illness.

"This felt better than a March game," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said of the environment that put each school's band and student section behind opposite baskets. "It was louder in here. It was more intense in a way. Both teams played really, really hard. You could tell all the emotion from the players and the fans. I wish we could've played better. There's a lot on the line that we can get better at through the year."

JaKobe Coles

The game began ominously with Coles charging for his second foul in the first two minutes of the game. Grant-Foster's debut began with five consecutive misses.

But for more than four minutes, GCU did not allow a field goal. It made seven turnovers in the first nine minutes but stayed with a possession of ASU until its best stretch came just as the Sun Devils stretched the lead to 28-23.

Grant-Foster, playing his first game since March, hit a 3 and a made a steal and save that ignited the Lopes' best run of the game. Nine unanswered points, capped by senior guard Ray Harrison's fastbreak layup, put GCU ahead 32-28 and the Lopes nearly took a lead into halftime until ASU 6-foot-9 senior forward Basheer Jihad made a go-ahead drive for a 41-40 lead at the break. Grant-Foster tied his career high for steals (four) in the first half.

"We're not the team we're going to be in two weeks," Drew said. "We're not the team we're going to be in a little bit. With Tyon coming back, we had some really good moments and some moments that we were out of tune out there."

That ASU momentum carried over to the second half, stretching the run into a 14-3 stretch after the Sun Devils' paint penetration opened up perimeter opportunities. GCU went 1 for 5 with three turnovers during that span. The Lopes shot 40% from the field in the second half.

"We had shots," Harrison said. "I feel like with the ones we took, some were good and some we could've got better ones. Like Coach was saying, we'll be better, just trusting each other and depending on our system to work for us."

Lok Wur

With GCU trailing 53-45, Drew turned to three freshmen and two sophomores to bench the starters. The move resulted in a pair of stops and sophomore guard Makaih Williams' 3-point scoring drive. After a 3-pointer by graduate forward Lök Wur, senior guard Collin Moore's free throw trimmed the deficit to one point.

"The young guys came in and ran our system," Drew said. "They executed our ball-screen coverage. They rotated and boxed out. They got two straight stops, so I'm really proud of them for executing what we wanted. We had talked to the group a couple times, and nothing was really changing. I don't want to be just a coach of just words. I want to be a coach of action, so we changed them. It gave us a spurt and a chance. Unfortunately, we couldn't sustain."

ASU never surrendered the lead, using an immediate 8-0 answer to keep the Lopes from ever getting closer than a seven-point margin for the final 10 minutes. Jihad scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half, including three scores when the Sun Devils scored on five consecutive possessions to lead 83-71 with 2:40 remaining.

"I can't believe how much better we've gotten in three weeks," said Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley, whose team led in the second half at No. 6 Gonzaga on Sunday after following a blowout exhibition loss at Duke and tight home win against Idaho State with 15 3-pointers beating Santa Clara.

Tyon Grant-Foster

GCU's starting frontcourt of Brennan (out with arm injury), Coles (ill and foul-plagued) and Grant-Foster (playing his first game since March) was not available fully for a matchup with an ASU team rich in frontline size and rim protection. Drew said "this game goes a lot different" if Coles logged 30-plus minutes instead of fouling out in 18.

"It's going to be fun the next few weeks when things start to click, and there's a better rhythm out there," Drew said.

Grant-Foster had not practiced with the first unit much until Monday because the Lopes were preparing for playing their first two games without him. His offense began with five misses, including three on two consecutive possessions, and two turnovers, but he was a factor defensively from the start.

The 6-foot-7 swingman matched his career high for steals (four) in the first half, when he also blocked a hot.

"His defense was really good in the first half," Drew said. "Obviously, offensively, he's out of rhythm. The team was out of rhythm with him. He and JaKobe hadn't played in a game together. It's really tough to never play in a game and then step into an environment and a game of this magnitude. I'm really encouraged with these guys."

Tyon Grant-Foster

Grant-Foster finished 5 for 17 from the field but customarily helped himself at the free throw line, where he was 8 of 12. Coles went 6 for 6, including 3 for 3 on 3-pointers, to add 17 points while Harrison scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and dished six assists.

After a pair of free throws with 7:28 to go, Grant-Foster did not score again with two misses and two turnovers.

"He's very good attacking the basket," ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said. "We wanted him to be more of a contested jump shooter. We talked about getting into gaps, so he didn't see big driving lanes because he's a very dynamic, very explosive player."

The Sun Devils (3-1) remained undefeated in the ASU-GCU series at 4-0 with three of those meetings coming since 2020 as fellow Division I programs. Playing the Lopes is part of what Hurley called the most difficult four-game scheduling start in the nation.

"They're on the rise," Hurley said of GCU. "They've arrived as a legitimate threat in college basketball.

"It was a really fun game to be a part of. I think it's great for the city, for the state of Arizona, to see two teams of that caliber just go at each other. It was quality basketball."

Lope Nation began showing up in throngs during the doubleheader's first game, a GCU women's basketball 70-59 win against ASU. Havocs filled up the north end, and most of the courtside sections lived up to the arena's former nickname of "Purple Palace."

"It was amazing," Harrison said. "We were able to feed off their energy. It helps us."

Drew said the Thursday night environment was better than an NCAA tournament, given that the downtown showdown had a Valley crowd for schools separated by 20 miles.

"The crowd was sensational," Drew said. "It was great for the city of Phoenix. It was great from a national standpoint to see how good the basketball is and how important and how much fans love basketball in Phoenix."