Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Tuesday, December 3
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
5-2,0-0WAC
78
vs
72
Hawai'i
5-2,0-0Big West
1
2
F
Hawaii
27
45
72
Grand Canyon
43
35
78
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Big 1st half proves enough to hold off Hawai'i
12/3/2024 11:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes built 18-point lead; Grant-Foster posts another big stat night
Grand Canyon was not high on the way it finished off Hawai'i on Tuesday night because it its standards are so high.
The Lopes could have walked away from a 78-72 victory over the Rainbow Warriors feeling fine with plenty of facets, but they will lament not maintaining the level of play that built an 18-point lead at Global Credit Union Arena.
GCU (5-2) put forth a phenomenal defensive first half, holding Hawai'i (5-2) to 32% shooting from the field with 13 turnovers, three more than the Rainbow Warriors were averaging per game this season.
The Lopes stretched a 16-point halftime lead to 51-33 with 15:45 remaining in the game when their defense created a perilous situation by allowing 10 consecutive Hawai'i made field goals.
"Our older group locked in, played together and made the right plays," GCU graduate swingman Tyon Grant-Foster said of the finish. "They started hitting a couple shots, but we responded well."
It took second-effort Lopes plays on three occasions to maintain a wire-to-wire win. Grant-Foster, who scored a season-high 23 points, made a putback when a Hawai'i defensive rebound could have given the Rainbow Warriors a chance to lead.
Leading 64-62 moments later, Lopes senior guard Ray Harrison chased down one of his team-high seven rebounds on a Grant-Foster missed 3-pointer, and senior guard Collin Moore capitalized with a mid-range 3-point play.
And just when Hawai'i made one last push to trail 67-66, Grant-Foster fed graduate forward Lök Wur for a slam with 2:05 remaining to start an 11-6 close to the Lopes' third consecutive win.
"It's a good thing when you win, but yet you have some disappointment because you thought you could have played a lot better," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "So we're thankful we won. I thought the first half was really good. I thought our defense was good.
"Second half, we didn't come out with the same energy from that starting group … We let some of our offense dictate our defensive energy. Going 0 for 10 from 3 in the second half is hard to overcome. Thankfully, we were able to overcome that."
GCU also had to overcome a career-high 24 points from Hawai'i reserve forward Gytis Nemeiksa, a 6-foot-8 Xavier transfer who made six consecutive shots after halftime on his way to 17 second-half points.
The Lopes
took Rainbow Warriors leading scorer and rebounder Tanner Christiansen, a 67% shooter, out of the game for his six-point night. GCU grabbed eight first-half steals, sparking fastbreaks and balanced scoring on the way to a 29-12 lead through 12 minutes.
"Our ball pressure was good," Drew said. "We got our hands on some deflections, and we were able to score the 22 points off turnovers (for the game)."
The Lopes went 4 for 6 on 3-pointers in the first half when that only accounted for one-fifth of their shot attempts. GCU also took care of the ball with only five first-half turnovers, including one by a starter.
The Lopes did have to manage with junior center Duke Brennan in first-half foul trouble for the second consecutive game, but Wur played well again with seven points, three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot off the bench. In one end-to-end sequence, Wur blocked a shot, stole a pass and drew a foul on a fastbreak finish.
GCU's ability to get to the free throw line by applying driving pressure saved the Lopes again, especially with Hawai'i not playing help defense. The Lopes scored 17 of their season-high 24 free throw points in the second half.
"Our team is kind of like (quarterback) Cam Ward from Miami in the pocket," Moore said. "I just feel like when we get that close, we can get a little too calm sometimes, but I still feel like we can come together and win the game.
"Everybody has runs in the game. I just feel like they had they a run, and we sustained our lead while they had their run."
Moore's 3-point play off Harrison's offensive rebound was a big part of that. It put the Lopes ahead 67-62 with 4:16 to go when Moore sank an 18-foot jump shot while being fouled and posed prone on his back.
"That's Devin Booker in the bubble over Paul Geroge," Moore said.
Grant-Foster shot in high volume, going 6 for 17 from the field and 11 for 15 at the free throw line, but he also delivered a second consecutive game of wide-ranging impact. He matched his career highs for steals (four) and blocked shots (three) and added six rebounds with two assists.
Tuesday night's win marked the third time in his career that Grant-Foster played more than 30 minutes without committing a turnover.
"We've got a different team," Grant-Foster said. "I've got to take a step in a different direction.
"It's getting better and better every game. We had a wonderful first half. We got a little bit lackadaisical with some stuff we've got to work on, but I feel like we pulled it back together to pull out this win."
After two impressive wins once their roster was at full strength, the Lopes appeared to be rolling Tuesday night until the Rainbow Warriors' 45-point second half. Hawai'i shot 58% in the second half but finished with 20 turnovers, twice their season average.
GCU put four scorers in double-digit scoring for the fifth time in seven games with Grant-Foster being backed up Harrison's 15, Moore's 11 and senior for JaKobe Coles' 10. However, Hawai'i dominated bench scoring, 49-14.
"We played a really good half," Drew said. "I thought the last five minutes we really closed in a good way, but we've got to keep searching for that 40-minute game. Hopefully, it's coming soon."
GCU stays home to play Life Pacific (4-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday, which will be the Lopes' last game before a trip to play Georgia (8-1) in Atlanta and Louisiana Tech (7-1) in Ruston, Louisiana.
The Lopes could have walked away from a 78-72 victory over the Rainbow Warriors feeling fine with plenty of facets, but they will lament not maintaining the level of play that built an 18-point lead at Global Credit Union Arena.
GCU (5-2) put forth a phenomenal defensive first half, holding Hawai'i (5-2) to 32% shooting from the field with 13 turnovers, three more than the Rainbow Warriors were averaging per game this season.
The Lopes stretched a 16-point halftime lead to 51-33 with 15:45 remaining in the game when their defense created a perilous situation by allowing 10 consecutive Hawai'i made field goals.
"Our older group locked in, played together and made the right plays," GCU graduate swingman Tyon Grant-Foster said of the finish. "They started hitting a couple shots, but we responded well."
It took second-effort Lopes plays on three occasions to maintain a wire-to-wire win. Grant-Foster, who scored a season-high 23 points, made a putback when a Hawai'i defensive rebound could have given the Rainbow Warriors a chance to lead.Leading 64-62 moments later, Lopes senior guard Ray Harrison chased down one of his team-high seven rebounds on a Grant-Foster missed 3-pointer, and senior guard Collin Moore capitalized with a mid-range 3-point play.
And just when Hawai'i made one last push to trail 67-66, Grant-Foster fed graduate forward Lök Wur for a slam with 2:05 remaining to start an 11-6 close to the Lopes' third consecutive win.
"It's a good thing when you win, but yet you have some disappointment because you thought you could have played a lot better," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "So we're thankful we won. I thought the first half was really good. I thought our defense was good.
"Second half, we didn't come out with the same energy from that starting group … We let some of our offense dictate our defensive energy. Going 0 for 10 from 3 in the second half is hard to overcome. Thankfully, we were able to overcome that."
GCU also had to overcome a career-high 24 points from Hawai'i reserve forward Gytis Nemeiksa, a 6-foot-8 Xavier transfer who made six consecutive shots after halftime on his way to 17 second-half points.
The Lopes
took Rainbow Warriors leading scorer and rebounder Tanner Christiansen, a 67% shooter, out of the game for his six-point night. GCU grabbed eight first-half steals, sparking fastbreaks and balanced scoring on the way to a 29-12 lead through 12 minutes."Our ball pressure was good," Drew said. "We got our hands on some deflections, and we were able to score the 22 points off turnovers (for the game)."
The Lopes went 4 for 6 on 3-pointers in the first half when that only accounted for one-fifth of their shot attempts. GCU also took care of the ball with only five first-half turnovers, including one by a starter.
The Lopes did have to manage with junior center Duke Brennan in first-half foul trouble for the second consecutive game, but Wur played well again with seven points, three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot off the bench. In one end-to-end sequence, Wur blocked a shot, stole a pass and drew a foul on a fastbreak finish.
GCU's ability to get to the free throw line by applying driving pressure saved the Lopes again, especially with Hawai'i not playing help defense. The Lopes scored 17 of their season-high 24 free throw points in the second half.
"Our team is kind of like (quarterback) Cam Ward from Miami in the pocket," Moore said. "I just feel like when we get that close, we can get a little too calm sometimes, but I still feel like we can come together and win the game.
"Everybody has runs in the game. I just feel like they had they a run, and we sustained our lead while they had their run."
Moore's 3-point play off Harrison's offensive rebound was a big part of that. It put the Lopes ahead 67-62 with 4:16 to go when Moore sank an 18-foot jump shot while being fouled and posed prone on his back."That's Devin Booker in the bubble over Paul Geroge," Moore said.
Grant-Foster shot in high volume, going 6 for 17 from the field and 11 for 15 at the free throw line, but he also delivered a second consecutive game of wide-ranging impact. He matched his career highs for steals (four) and blocked shots (three) and added six rebounds with two assists.
Tuesday night's win marked the third time in his career that Grant-Foster played more than 30 minutes without committing a turnover.
"We've got a different team," Grant-Foster said. "I've got to take a step in a different direction.
"It's getting better and better every game. We had a wonderful first half. We got a little bit lackadaisical with some stuff we've got to work on, but I feel like we pulled it back together to pull out this win."After two impressive wins once their roster was at full strength, the Lopes appeared to be rolling Tuesday night until the Rainbow Warriors' 45-point second half. Hawai'i shot 58% in the second half but finished with 20 turnovers, twice their season average.
GCU put four scorers in double-digit scoring for the fifth time in seven games with Grant-Foster being backed up Harrison's 15, Moore's 11 and senior for JaKobe Coles' 10. However, Hawai'i dominated bench scoring, 49-14.
"We played a really good half," Drew said. "I thought the last five minutes we really closed in a good way, but we've got to keep searching for that 40-minute game. Hopefully, it's coming soon."
GCU stays home to play Life Pacific (4-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday, which will be the Lopes' last game before a trip to play Georgia (8-1) in Atlanta and Louisiana Tech (7-1) in Ruston, Louisiana.
Team Stats
Hawaii
GCU
FG%
.464
.439
3FG%
.320
.250
FT%
.600
.750
RB
35
25
TO
20
8
STL
3
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
11
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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