Defense rallies to face nation's top scorer

Wednesday, November 20

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

UC Davis

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11/19/2024 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

GCU Notes

GCU aims to improve 'D' vs. UC Davis' TY Johnson

By: Paul Coro

Wednesday, Nov. 20 \| 7 p.m. \| Global Credit Union Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	UC DAVIS AGGIES (2-2)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (2-1)

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

Wednesday night is when defensive improvement meets the leading scorer in the nation.

Health and availability made the Grand Canyon lineup inconsistent over the season's first two weeks, leading to defensive play that has not been the usual either. But with GCU star Tyon Grant-Foster playing his first game of the season Thursday and senior forward JaKobe Coles' health restored, the Lopes will be better equipped to face UC Davis and national top scorer TY Johnson at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Global Credit Union Arena.

GCU (2-1) has not played since suffering its first loss to Arizona State on Thursday night, when the Lopes also were missing junior starting center Duke Brennan (day to day, left arm injury) for a third consecutive game.

The roster depletion does not change the Lopes defensive standard, which has spearheaded three WAC championships in four years but was not met when ASU shot 54% to beat GCU 87-76 on Thursday night at Footprint Center. Only three opponents shot at least 50% against the Lopes last season.

"We have to be better on the defensive side, not letting them be so comfortable in what they do and executing our defensive system more effectively," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "We've got to play better.

"We've kind of had three teams so far. We played with Duke. Then he went out. We played two games. Then Tyon came back. This is the third way we've had to game plan in a way. We're still figuring things out. Hopefully, we'll see improvement from the last game to this one."

Collin Moore defense

To extend an 18-game home winning streak (seventh-longest active streak nationally), the Lopes defense certainly will be tested against UC Davis guard TY Johnson. The Aggies' 6-foot-3 senior leads the nation with 28.3 points per game, including a 35-point performance against Washington and a 26-point game against Stanford.

"The more scared I am, the more competitive I get," said GCU senior guard Collin Moore, an All-WAC Defensive Team selection last season. "If I'm kind of scared, then I'd be scared for them."

Johnson, a Chicago native, is a third-year starter for a UC Davis team that won 20 games last season. He averaged 17.8 points per game last season, but his ability to get to the free throw line has increased his average by 10.5 points partly because of 9.0 free throw points per game. He accounts for 53% of the Aggies' free throws.

UC Davis only shoots 26% from 3-point range with Johnson going 5 for 22 beyond the arc thus far.

"He's a really good player," Drew said of Johnson. "He's really fast. If you're not fully engaged, he's already by you at the rim or pulling up making jump shots. He draws a lot of fouls. He scores on all three levels and the free throw line. To score that many points against the teams they've played is really impressive."

Coles played Thursday night, but he was recovering from illness that kept him out of the previous day's practice and required IV treatment. He still went 6 for 6 from the field for 17 points in 18 minutes but fouled out in that time. For players with at least 12 field goal attempts per game, Coles boasts the fifth-best field goal percentage in the nation (63.9%) and is averaging 19.7 points.

Tyon Grant-Foster

In his season debut, Grant-Foster was spectacular defensively at times and showed flashes of his offensive game that won the WAC scoring title last season. He helped put GCU at the free throw line with eight of his 19 points coming there. Like last season, the Lopes are thriving on free throws, ranking 20th nationally with 28.7 attempts per game.

Grant-Foster finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals but went 5 for 17 from the field with five turnovers.

"We didn't play as well as we liked in the last game," Drew said. "Hopefully, getting one game with Tyon, we'll be in a better rhythm for our whole team and for him.

"We all know good Tyon is. He just needs more games under his belt and more practices with the guys he's playing with. We're confident that he'll be right back to where he was before."

UC Davis is coming off a 79-65 loss at Stanford on Sunday, when it trailed by 18 at halftime but made a 19-6 run in the second half to be within six points with nine minutes remaining.

"You can't play good teams on the road without having that disciplined mindset," said Jim Les, a former NBA guard who is in his 14th year as UC Davis head coach.

The Lopes are playing a two-game homestand this week with Norfolk State (4-1) visiting Saturday before they also take on Stanford for next Tuesday's Acrisure Holiday Classic in Palm Desert, California.

"We have to be way better than last game," Moore said. :I made mistakes. We all made mistakes. We just need to learn from them. I don't know what's going on, but we're going to practice and be b

Phoenix, AZ - November 9, 2024, GCU Mens Basketball defeats Western Kentucky 74-72 on a game-winning shot at the buzzer by Ray Harrison at Global Credit Union Arena. (Photo by: Jack Gilday/GCU).

etter for next game. It starts with me. I will be better."

Lope tracks

GCU senior guard Ray Harrison ranks seventh nationally for playing time with an average of 37 minutes, 32 seconds per game.
Harrison ranks seventh nationally for career points (2,035) among active Division I players. In that club, only Harrison, North Carolina's RJ Davis, Arizona's Caleb Love and Alabama's Mark Sears also have 400 career assists.
Coles is one of nine players in the nation with two double-doubles in three games this season.
Without Grant-Foster for two games and Brennan for three games, GCU is averaging 11.3 bench points per game – the fifth-lowest average in the nation.
UC Davis 6-foot-7 forward Pablo Tamba, a junior college transfer, is averaging 13.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game with 60% shooting from the field.
Four of GCU's next five games will be at home.