Vets lead way in shorthanded opening win

Monday, November 4

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-0,0-0WAC

Cal State Fullerton

0-1,0-0Big West

Cal St. Fullerton

Grand Canyon

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

11/4/2024 11:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Harrison's 2,000th point, Coles' career game make up for 2 missing starters

By: Paul Coro

Down two starters to open the season, Grand Canyon really needed something special from its most experienced players Monday night.

Lopes seniors Ray Harrison and JaKobe Coles, with 230 career games between them, saw to that to get GCU started in the win column with an 89-79 opener in front of 7,053 Global Credit Union Arena fans.

Harrison climbed past the 2,000-point plateau for his career with a 21-point game that made him the sixth-highest active Division I scorer at 2,012 points.

Coles made the ultimate Lopes debut with a career night. After transferring from three seasons at TCU, the 6-foot-8 forward began his GCU chapter with personal bests for points (26) and rebounds (13) to notch his first career double-double.

The high expectations to follow up last season's 30-5 campaign were tempered before this season began. GCU is missing senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster through Saturday in the process of returning from NBA Draft early entry, and junior center Duke Brennan was out after sustaining a left arm injury in Tuesday's exhibition game.

After going all of last season without a player missing a game for injury, GCU started this season with a key player sidelined.

Ray Harrison

"We all came closer together, and we knew we'd have to be a little bit more physical losing a guy like DB and, of course, not having Tyon with his aggression," said Harrison, who made his 123rd career start. "We've got a lot of depth. It's really what is pushing out first unit because we're having to battle against these guys every day."

Harrison carried over GCU's penchant for getting to the charity stripe last season, when the Lopes ranked third nationally for free throw points, by going 10 for 10 at the free throw line Monday night. Coles' efficiency came from the field, where he made 10 of 15 shots with his tricky array.

"They were so steady on offense, getting to the free throw line and making plays," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "Obviously, we rode them a lot and put them in a lot of actions together.

"We only had three guys that played tonight that played for us last year. Six of them are playing in their first real game with this team and three true freshmen out there. So the maturity from those two to lead the way was invaluable and it's going to stay that way."

In Coles' 106 prior games, he had never played more than 30 minutes in a game. He logged 36 minutes on Monday night, when he blew by his previous scoring high of 21 by five points and previous rebounding high of 10 by three boards.

"The coaching staff and everybody who has brought me into this organization has been beautiful," Coles said. "It's a testimony to them, and I have a lot of confidence in them. I have a lot of confidence in myself. The shots went in. I played hard. My teammates played hard, and we came out with a win."

Huddle

GCU opened the game with a 7-0 lead on Cal State Fullerton, but the Titans never flinched with a physicality that led to a game with 51 combined fouls. GCU sophomore guards Makaih Williams, who started his first Lopes game, and Caleb Shaw fouled out as Fullerton's 24-for-30 free throw shooting often kept it within range.

The Lopes could not put together another first-half run, clinging to a 47-45 halftime lead before pulling away with 15-2 and 12-2 runs in the second half.

GCU corrected its exhibition game rebounding issues of Tuesday by grabbing 16 offensive rebounds, leading to 16 second-chance points in the second half.

"We all put emphasis on it, from our backcourt all the way to our frontcourt," Harrison said. "We had to focus on gang rebounding with everybody making sure we hit a body every time, not just creeping and walking into the paint."

Caleb Shaw

Although Shaw fouled out in 18 minutes, his aggression made for quick offense in the run that opened the Lopes' lead to 83-63 with six minutes to go. Shaw's steal and pair of 3-pointers created GCU's biggest lead before Fullerton closed the gap down the stretch.

"They're big," Drew said of Cal State Fullerton. "They're physical. They pound it inside. We knew were short-handed without Tyon, Duke and Dennis (Evans). I'm really proud of these guys. The last three days, we tried to recreate how we play and practiced a bunch of different lineups that we haven't played much this year."

At one point in the first half, GCU's court lineup did not have anyone who played last season for the Lopes. GCU received key minutes from freshmen Styles Phipps, Austin Maurer and Sammie Yeanay with Phipps, the point guard from Phoenix St. Mary's High School, logging 17 minutes and finishing the game on the court.

"As a coach, you want to be old," Drew said. "You want to be experienced. You want to have guys who know what they're doing. There's no question. These young guys had an energy to them tonight. They had an excitement to want to go in and make plays. They should only get better. The stuff we've been telling, they got to see in a real game."

Coles has seen it all after playing for three NCAA tournament teams for TCU, but the native of Denton, Texas, is getting to show how much healthier he is after addressing a foot injury in the offseason and how versatile he is in taking over Gabe McGlothan's spot in GCU's lineup.

Three times, Coles scored on reverse while also showing off his mid-range fadeaways, nose for follow opportunities and ability to use his body around the basket. With Brennan out, Coles allows GCU to play three-guard lineups because of his offensive and defensive versatility.

"He's just a baller," Harrison said. "He's got great feel. You don't really know what to expect from him because he can do so many different things. If you need him to make a shot, he can do that. If you need him to playmake as a big, he can do that. Rebounding. Thankful for him."