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
Thursday, February 15
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
23-2,13-1WAC
73
vs
61
Utah Tech
10-15,6-8WAC
1
2
F
Utah Tech
34
27
61
Grand Canyon
40
33
73
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Brennan's boards build win for 23-2 record
2/15/2024 11:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes used 14-6 finish, sophomore center's career-high 16 rebounds to beat Utah Tech
Taking Grand Canyon's winning ways for granted is a compliment.
The Lopes are so synonymous with victories this season that a double-digit conference win can feel ho-hum until the totality is considered.
GCU led the entire second half Thursday night and defeated Utah Tech 73-61 at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena, where they are unbeaten this season to fuel a 23-2 mark that ties UConn and Purdue for the nation's best record.
The Lopes, who lead the WAC at 13-1, did not prevail for the sixth consecutive game because of any razzle-dazzle. They were formulaic. They overcame first-half offensive issues by getting to the free throw line, beat Utah Tech's zone defense with one of their best 3-point shooting nights and used sophomore center Duke Brennan's career-high 16 rebounds to outwork the Trailblazers.
Eight of Brennan's rebounds came on the offensive glass in his 26 minutes of action. Only three players in the nation have grabbed as many offensive rebounds in so few minutes this season as Brennan, who battled 6-foot-10, 275-pound Tanner Christiansen for most of the game.
"T
his team pushes the ball very fast in transition, so a lot of shots were going up," said Brennan, who is from Chandler, Arizona. "That means a lot of rebounds were there for opportunity and I was just able to get my hands on a lot of them.
"My mentality is going every single game pounding the bigs, but this dude was big. I had to push him out and get the offensive and defensive rebounds."
GCU's perfect home record (now 13-0) was in danger when it only led 59-55 with less than five minutes to go. But Brennan's last two offensive rebounds were his biggest.
The 6-foot-10 center read his free throw miss for a putback to put the Lopes ahead 62-55 and then snatched another offensive rebound and turned it into an assist for senior guard Josh Baker's 3-pointer and a 65-55 lead.
It was a Brennan night that began with him making three turnovers in the first 2 1/2 minutes. But as he regularly has done this season in the role of young starter amid an experienced rotation, Brennan maintained his effort while refining his game. He wound up one point shy of a double-double for the second consecutive game.
Entering this season, Brennan's career rebounding high was seven with Arizona State. He has exceeded that nine times this season, including his previous best of 14 rebounds at Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 25.
"Duke really battled in the second half," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "He had a great second half for us in those stretches. Really thankful for the game and the effort he gave."
With Utah Tech playing mostly zone defense, the Lopes moved the ball swiftly to set up clean looks that resulted in 12-of-26 shooting from 3-point range (42%). Utah Tech, the conference's top 3-point shooting team, went 8 for 23 (35%) on 3s.
Graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan made three 3s in the first half, when the Lopes had to pull out of a 20-12 hole.
Another graduate, GCU forward Lök Wur, nearly posted a fourth consecutive double-digit scoring game off the bench. He finished with eight points, including 2-for-3 shooting from 3-point range. He is 9 for 15 on 3s in the past five games after previously going 5 for 33 on the season from beyond the arc.
"You have to move the ball against zone or you won't get a shot," Drew said. "I think Jovan (Blacksher Jr.) coming back has helped. He sees the game really well. He's a true point guard, so as he's dribbling it up, you can see him probing and seeing where open guys are and where the right pass should be."
GCU guard Ray Harrison delivered a team-high six assists without making a turnover in 37 minutes, continuing his trend of improving his assist-to-turnover ration in recent weeks.
Also during this six-game winning streak, Lopes senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster has offset a drop in shooting by continuing to score at the free throw line. He led the team with 16 points because he picked up half of those points on first-half free throws off aggressive dribble drives.
Grant-Foster, with Kansas City childhood friend and Denver Nuggets player Christian Braun on hand, also swiped a career-high four steals for the second time this month and spent much of the game hounding wing Jaylen Searles, the reigning WAC Player of the Week. Grant-Foster picked Searles' dribble repeatedly and led the defensive effort that kept him to 1-of-9 shooting and three points, 30 fewer than he scored Saturday night against California Baptist.
"When you play a team like this, you've got to be on all cylinders and tonight we weren't," Trailblazers head coach Jon Judkins said on the Utah Tech postgame show.
GCU's 3-point shooting bailed out an offense that went 12 for 32 (37.5%) on 2-pointers. After opening the second half with a McGlothan dunk off Grant-Foster's assist, the Lopes did not make another shot in the paint until Brennan's follow off his free throw with 4:44 to go.
"We need to do a better job of moving and cutting," Drew said. "I thought last five minutes we really moved and got the ball more where we wanted to get it. We got quality shots in those last five minutes."
The Lopes will end a three-game homestand Saturday with a 6 p.m. game against California Baptist, which is 1-2 without injured leading scorer Dominique Daniels (19.2 points per game). The Lancers lost 69-46 at home Thursday night to Utah Valley.
GCU holds the WAC lead by two games over Tarleton State, which won at UT Arlington on Thursday night. The Lopes' 23-2 record is their best mark after 25 games since being 23-2 in 1975-76.
The Lopes are so synonymous with victories this season that a double-digit conference win can feel ho-hum until the totality is considered.
GCU led the entire second half Thursday night and defeated Utah Tech 73-61 at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena, where they are unbeaten this season to fuel a 23-2 mark that ties UConn and Purdue for the nation's best record.
The Lopes, who lead the WAC at 13-1, did not prevail for the sixth consecutive game because of any razzle-dazzle. They were formulaic. They overcame first-half offensive issues by getting to the free throw line, beat Utah Tech's zone defense with one of their best 3-point shooting nights and used sophomore center Duke Brennan's career-high 16 rebounds to outwork the Trailblazers.
Eight of Brennan's rebounds came on the offensive glass in his 26 minutes of action. Only three players in the nation have grabbed as many offensive rebounds in so few minutes this season as Brennan, who battled 6-foot-10, 275-pound Tanner Christiansen for most of the game.
"T
his team pushes the ball very fast in transition, so a lot of shots were going up," said Brennan, who is from Chandler, Arizona. "That means a lot of rebounds were there for opportunity and I was just able to get my hands on a lot of them."My mentality is going every single game pounding the bigs, but this dude was big. I had to push him out and get the offensive and defensive rebounds."
GCU's perfect home record (now 13-0) was in danger when it only led 59-55 with less than five minutes to go. But Brennan's last two offensive rebounds were his biggest.
The 6-foot-10 center read his free throw miss for a putback to put the Lopes ahead 62-55 and then snatched another offensive rebound and turned it into an assist for senior guard Josh Baker's 3-pointer and a 65-55 lead.
It was a Brennan night that began with him making three turnovers in the first 2 1/2 minutes. But as he regularly has done this season in the role of young starter amid an experienced rotation, Brennan maintained his effort while refining his game. He wound up one point shy of a double-double for the second consecutive game.
Entering this season, Brennan's career rebounding high was seven with Arizona State. He has exceeded that nine times this season, including his previous best of 14 rebounds at Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 25.
"Duke really battled in the second half," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "He had a great second half for us in those stretches. Really thankful for the game and the effort he gave."
With Utah Tech playing mostly zone defense, the Lopes moved the ball swiftly to set up clean looks that resulted in 12-of-26 shooting from 3-point range (42%). Utah Tech, the conference's top 3-point shooting team, went 8 for 23 (35%) on 3s.
Graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan made three 3s in the first half, when the Lopes had to pull out of a 20-12 hole.Another graduate, GCU forward Lök Wur, nearly posted a fourth consecutive double-digit scoring game off the bench. He finished with eight points, including 2-for-3 shooting from 3-point range. He is 9 for 15 on 3s in the past five games after previously going 5 for 33 on the season from beyond the arc.
"You have to move the ball against zone or you won't get a shot," Drew said. "I think Jovan (Blacksher Jr.) coming back has helped. He sees the game really well. He's a true point guard, so as he's dribbling it up, you can see him probing and seeing where open guys are and where the right pass should be."
GCU guard Ray Harrison delivered a team-high six assists without making a turnover in 37 minutes, continuing his trend of improving his assist-to-turnover ration in recent weeks.
Also during this six-game winning streak, Lopes senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster has offset a drop in shooting by continuing to score at the free throw line. He led the team with 16 points because he picked up half of those points on first-half free throws off aggressive dribble drives.Grant-Foster, with Kansas City childhood friend and Denver Nuggets player Christian Braun on hand, also swiped a career-high four steals for the second time this month and spent much of the game hounding wing Jaylen Searles, the reigning WAC Player of the Week. Grant-Foster picked Searles' dribble repeatedly and led the defensive effort that kept him to 1-of-9 shooting and three points, 30 fewer than he scored Saturday night against California Baptist.
"When you play a team like this, you've got to be on all cylinders and tonight we weren't," Trailblazers head coach Jon Judkins said on the Utah Tech postgame show.
GCU's 3-point shooting bailed out an offense that went 12 for 32 (37.5%) on 2-pointers. After opening the second half with a McGlothan dunk off Grant-Foster's assist, the Lopes did not make another shot in the paint until Brennan's follow off his free throw with 4:44 to go.
"We need to do a better job of moving and cutting," Drew said. "I thought last five minutes we really moved and got the ball more where we wanted to get it. We got quality shots in those last five minutes."
The Lopes will end a three-game homestand Saturday with a 6 p.m. game against California Baptist, which is 1-2 without injured leading scorer Dominique Daniels (19.2 points per game). The Lancers lost 69-46 at home Thursday night to Utah Valley.
GCU holds the WAC lead by two games over Tarleton State, which won at UT Arlington on Thursday night. The Lopes' 23-2 record is their best mark after 25 games since being 23-2 in 1975-76.
Team Stats
UTTECH
GCU
FG%
.387
.414
3FG%
.348
.462
FT%
.385
.650
RB
33
47
TO
10
14
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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