Revenge served in overtime for GCU's 20th win

Thursday, February 1

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

20-2,10-1WAC

Seattle U

12-9,5-5WAC

OT 1

Seattle U

Grand Canyon

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

2/1/2024 11:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Harrison's 21-point, 8-assist game leads Lopes on 50% shooting night

By: Paul Coro

Tied for the best record in the nation with Purdue, Grand Canyon became the first team in program history to go 20-2 on Thursday night because of how much it loathes to lose.

The Lopes were still bothered by their 14-game winning streak ending at Seattle U 12 days ago when they showed the proper mix of verve and vengeance to handle a new scenario – overtime – and vanquished Seattle U 95-88 at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena.

After rallying from double-digit deficits to win seven times this season, GCU (20-2, 10-1 WAC) squandered a 14-point, second-half lead Thursday night to wind up in overtime, where it dominated Seattle U (12-9, 5-5 WAC).

The Lopes shut out the Redhawks for the first half of overtime, outscoring them 10-2 entering the final minute to lead to GCU's fifth consecutive win in overtime games.

The star leaders shined in the Lopes' first home game in two weeks. Graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan scored a game-high 25 points with 10-of-10 free throw shooting and junior guard Ray Harrison matched a career high of eight assists while adding 21 points.

"It was a good revenge game for us, and we got it back," said Lopes graduate forward Lok Wur, who recorded his career scoring and rebounding highs vs. a Division I opponent with 13 points and eight rebounds (tied) in 23 minutes.

GCU turned around a three-game shooting rut (33%) by making 50% of its shots Thursday night, but the Lopes still trailed 76-75 with two minutes to go.

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 1, , 2024 : GCU beats Seattle 95-88 in OT at Global Credit Union Arena. . David Kadlubowski/GCU

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 1, , 2024 : GCU beats Seattle 95-88 in OT at Global Credit Union Arena. . David Kadlubowski/GCU

McGlothan, who passed T.C. Dean for 13th place on GCU's all-time scoring list, drew a foul driving against Seattle U guard Alex Schumacher and made two free throws to take the lead. After Redhawks center Brandton Chatfield badly missed a 3, Moore added a free throw for a 78-76 Lopes edge with 57 seconds to go.

Schumacher's spinning score in the lane tied the score with 30.8 seconds remaining. Using all of the shot clock, McGlothan missed a 3 to win and left the Redhawks less than a second for a missed backcourt heave that sent the Lopes to their first overtime of the season.

GCU kept Seattle U on the perimeter for misses to start the extra period while Harrison scored five of the points in the 10-2 start. Harrison chased Seattle U shooting star Cameron Tyson (3 for 11 on 3-pointers) on defense and made the biggest momentum shot with a 3-point play off a drive past Tyson.

"I feel like it was just our will on defense," said Harrison, who logged 42 minutes. "It was crucial. We were able to get some stops and rebounds to get us over the top."

The Lopes entered Phoenix, AZ Feb. 1, , 2024 : GCU beats Seattle 95-88 in OT at Global Credit Union Arena. . David Kadlubowski/GCU

the game ranked fourth nationally with 19 free throws made per game and improved upon that with 21-for-25 shooting at the charity stripe. But they were only 3 for 4 there in the first half, when their offense re-emerged for 46 points. The 58% first-half shooting included a poster dunk by junior guard Collin Moore on Chatfield, who is 6 feet 10, that made SportsCenter's Top 10 at No. 5.

GCU took its largest lead at 43-33 after graduate point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr.'s steal set up a fastbreak alleyoop from Harrison to senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster, who scored 15 before missing the final 1:35 for a right shoulder injury that did not appear serious.

"It was just guys making plays," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "Transition really helped. When we were able to get out in transition and push the ball ahead. Our 3s, we made eight. We had some good looks we did not take that we passed up and we tried to drive them. That's something that we've got to continue to get better at -- be shot-ready so when we do penetrate, guys are ready to shoot because we are capable of shooting the ball even better."

Wur has become the first big man off the bench for GCU recently, and the Oregon transfer is rewarding the coaches' faith. After hitting a clutch 3-point shot in Saturday's win at UT Arlington, Wur made a string of plays when the Lopes built a lead in his 11-point first half.

"I knew Phoenix, AZ Feb. 1, , 2024 : GCU beats Seattle 95-88 in OT at Global Credit Union Arena. . David Kadlubowski/GCU

I had to give some effort for us – a spark off the bench," Wur said. "This was a big game for us. Looking back at last week and some of the mistakes we made, we made up on those."

GCU emerged from halftime with four Lopes scoring 11 points on the first five possessions of the second half, ending with a Grant-Foster follow score for a 57-43 lead. Seattle U rallied from there, taking its first lead in 20 minutes off a Lopes turnover with six minutes remaining.

"You can kind of see the emotion from the last couple weeks, and the last 10 minutes, I thought we looked a little tired out there," Drew said. "Just really proud of the guys for them fighting through that overtime and how they played."

GCU, now 11-0 at home, maintained a two-game lead in the WAC loss column on Tarleton State and California Baptist and will continue conference play Saturday at Utah Valley. The Wolverines lost 77-72 at Stephen F. Austin on Thursday night and fell to the Lopes 78-65 on Jan. 18 in Phoenix.