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 22
Stephenville, Texas
6 p.m. (MST)
Grand Canyon
24-3,14-2WAC
74
at
77
Tarleton State
19-7,12-3WAC
1
2
F
Grand Canyon
35
39
74
Tarleton St.
22
55
77
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
WAC race tightens with Tarleton State comeback win
2/22/2024 11:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Record crowd storms court after 2nd-place Texans rally from 15-point hole
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State gave Grand Canyon a compliment that stung worse than a criticism.
The Texans players emptied their tanks and the Tarleton State students emptied the stands Thursday night after GCU surrendered a 15-point, second-half lead to fall 77-74 in front of a record Wisdom Gym crowd of 3,000.
For the second time in conference play, a Lopes opponent stormed the court in a small, overflow gym. Like in GCU's last loss at Seattle U on Jan. 20, Thursday night's atmosphere fueled the Texans to bounce back from their GCU opponent season low for first-half points (22) with a GCU opponent season high for second-half points (55).
Tarleton State (19-7, 12-3 WAC) pulled within 1 1/2 games of conference-leading GCU (24-3, 14-2 WAC) with its seventh consecutive victory. The Texans, who are ineligible for the NCAA tournament in their final Division I transition year, have five regular-season games remaining with the Lopes playing four more.
A quick guard hurt GCU again with Texans sophomore guard Devon Barnes scoring all 22 of his points in the second half,when he had 12 at the free throw line. Barnes' speed keyed a tempo that worked for a 16-1 advantage in second-half fastbreak points.
"It was more just Barnes' speed," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "There was nothing really except for him getting the ball and just putting his head down and getting to the rim. Our guards didn't do a good job of heading the ball off. We didn't build walls in transition, and his speed really changed the game."
The Lopes led 54-40 with 10:45 to go, but their defense held the Texans scoreless on four of 23 possessions over the game's final 12 minutes. Two of those were because Tarleton State missed both free throws.
A 20-4 run gave Tarleton State its first second-half lead on a pair of Barnes free throws. The Texans were 21 of 29 at the free throw line in the second half and had a 40-17 advantage in free throw attempts for the game. Their previous season high for free throw attempts was 29, when Tarleton State played NAIA program North Texas-Dallas on Nov. 11.
"It's very strange for us to shoot 23 less free throws, considering our stats all year," said Drew, whose team ranked seventh nationally for free throw attempts per game (25.7). "At the end of the day, we have to be more aggressive and move our feet better on defense."
Of the Lopes' 63 shots, 27 were from 3-point range with eight makes (29.6%). GCU only took more 3s against a Division I opponent once this season, when they went 13 for 36 vs. Portland on Dec. 16.
GCU senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster was efficient from there and everywhere. After shooting 32% from the field in the previous eight games, Grant-Foster went 10 from 17 from the field (3 for 7 on 3s) for a 25-point game that paired with a career-high 13 rebounds.
Twice, Grant-Foster hit clutch shots down the stretch. When GCU trailed by two possessions (66-62) for the first time in the second half, Grant-Foster made a 3 with 3:11 to go.
With the Lopes trailing 71-69, he rebounded a miss by junior guard Ray Harrison and put it back while being fouled for a 3-point play and the lead. Tarleton State scored on free throws on each of its final four possessions (6 for 8) while the Lopes had two Harrison turnovers and a 3-point shot by graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan blocked.
Trailing 77-74, the final possession ended with Harrison losing his dribble out of bounds with four seconds to go. By moving to 9-2 at home, Tarleton State ended GCU's seven-game winning streak.
"Our guys played so hard and they really wanted to win this game deep down and they did everything possible to make sure we won said," Texans acting head coach Joseph Jones said on the Texans postgame show. He is 17-5 since taking over for Billy Gillespie, who is on a medical leave from coaching games but remains around the team.
In a physical game with 68 combined paint points and 14 offensive rebounds by each team, the Lopes played the middle 20 minutes of the game the best. They struggled offensively over the first 10 minutes to trail 12-6 with 3-for-14 shooting and five turnovers.
But Tarleton State missed all 10 of its first-half 3s and shot 22% from the field to let GCU outscore it 29-10 over the half's final 10 minutes. Grant-Foster scored 19 in the second half of a home win against Tarleton and carried that confidence over for a 17-point first half while Harrison and McGlothan were limited by foul trouble.
"Going against a great team like Grand Canyon, you're going to have to battle," Jones said. "You're going to have to scratch and claw for everything."
The Lopes maintained that lead with second-chance efforts from graduate forward Lök Wur, who had his fifth double-digit scoring game in the past six games with 11 points, and sophomore center Duke Brennan, who fouled out with 1:57 remaining in the game.
Tarleton State's starters scored all of its points Thursday night with freshman forward Emmanuel Innocenti playing all 40 minutes. Barnes was plus-18 in 29 minutes, with the Texans getting outscored by 15 in the 11 minutes he was out of the game.
"Me and KiAndre (Gaddy), ever since the last one (at GCU on Jan. 13) when he (McGlothan) kind of dominated both of us, we've been thinking about since then," Tarleton State senior forward Jakorie Smith said on the Texans postgame show after scoring 17 of his team-high 24 points in the second half. "We were waiting on this game. Me and KiAndre's goals were to make him have an off-night and get him uncomfortable."
McGlothan finished with nine points and four rebounds, reaching 1,000 boards for his career. Only 13 active players in the nation have reached that landmark.
The loss hurt GCU's chances of a possible NCAA tournament at-large berth and displaced the Lopes' status as the nation's winning percentage leader. However, GCU still controls its destiny to win an outright WAC regular-season title and remains the likely WAC Tournament No. 1 seed, which is based on the WAC Resume Seeding System.
The Lopes play Saturday afternoon at Abilene Christian with a short turnaround for a game tipping off at 2 p.m. (Phoenix time). GCU won the first meeting 74-64 at Global Credit Union Arena. The Wildcats (11-15, 6-9 WAC) defeated California Baptist 71-65 to follow up last week's two road wins.
The Texans players emptied their tanks and the Tarleton State students emptied the stands Thursday night after GCU surrendered a 15-point, second-half lead to fall 77-74 in front of a record Wisdom Gym crowd of 3,000.
For the second time in conference play, a Lopes opponent stormed the court in a small, overflow gym. Like in GCU's last loss at Seattle U on Jan. 20, Thursday night's atmosphere fueled the Texans to bounce back from their GCU opponent season low for first-half points (22) with a GCU opponent season high for second-half points (55).
Tarleton State (19-7, 12-3 WAC) pulled within 1 1/2 games of conference-leading GCU (24-3, 14-2 WAC) with its seventh consecutive victory. The Texans, who are ineligible for the NCAA tournament in their final Division I transition year, have five regular-season games remaining with the Lopes playing four more.
A quick guard hurt GCU again with Texans sophomore guard Devon Barnes scoring all 22 of his points in the second half,when he had 12 at the free throw line. Barnes' speed keyed a tempo that worked for a 16-1 advantage in second-half fastbreak points."It was more just Barnes' speed," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "There was nothing really except for him getting the ball and just putting his head down and getting to the rim. Our guards didn't do a good job of heading the ball off. We didn't build walls in transition, and his speed really changed the game."
The Lopes led 54-40 with 10:45 to go, but their defense held the Texans scoreless on four of 23 possessions over the game's final 12 minutes. Two of those were because Tarleton State missed both free throws.
A 20-4 run gave Tarleton State its first second-half lead on a pair of Barnes free throws. The Texans were 21 of 29 at the free throw line in the second half and had a 40-17 advantage in free throw attempts for the game. Their previous season high for free throw attempts was 29, when Tarleton State played NAIA program North Texas-Dallas on Nov. 11.
"It's very strange for us to shoot 23 less free throws, considering our stats all year," said Drew, whose team ranked seventh nationally for free throw attempts per game (25.7). "At the end of the day, we have to be more aggressive and move our feet better on defense."
Of the Lopes' 63 shots, 27 were from 3-point range with eight makes (29.6%). GCU only took more 3s against a Division I opponent once this season, when they went 13 for 36 vs. Portland on Dec. 16.
GCU senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster was efficient from there and everywhere. After shooting 32% from the field in the previous eight games, Grant-Foster went 10 from 17 from the field (3 for 7 on 3s) for a 25-point game that paired with a career-high 13 rebounds.Twice, Grant-Foster hit clutch shots down the stretch. When GCU trailed by two possessions (66-62) for the first time in the second half, Grant-Foster made a 3 with 3:11 to go.
With the Lopes trailing 71-69, he rebounded a miss by junior guard Ray Harrison and put it back while being fouled for a 3-point play and the lead. Tarleton State scored on free throws on each of its final four possessions (6 for 8) while the Lopes had two Harrison turnovers and a 3-point shot by graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan blocked.
Trailing 77-74, the final possession ended with Harrison losing his dribble out of bounds with four seconds to go. By moving to 9-2 at home, Tarleton State ended GCU's seven-game winning streak.
"Our guys played so hard and they really wanted to win this game deep down and they did everything possible to make sure we won said," Texans acting head coach Joseph Jones said on the Texans postgame show. He is 17-5 since taking over for Billy Gillespie, who is on a medical leave from coaching games but remains around the team.
In a physical game with 68 combined paint points and 14 offensive rebounds by each team, the Lopes played the middle 20 minutes of the game the best. They struggled offensively over the first 10 minutes to trail 12-6 with 3-for-14 shooting and five turnovers.But Tarleton State missed all 10 of its first-half 3s and shot 22% from the field to let GCU outscore it 29-10 over the half's final 10 minutes. Grant-Foster scored 19 in the second half of a home win against Tarleton and carried that confidence over for a 17-point first half while Harrison and McGlothan were limited by foul trouble.
"Going against a great team like Grand Canyon, you're going to have to battle," Jones said. "You're going to have to scratch and claw for everything."
The Lopes maintained that lead with second-chance efforts from graduate forward Lök Wur, who had his fifth double-digit scoring game in the past six games with 11 points, and sophomore center Duke Brennan, who fouled out with 1:57 remaining in the game.
Tarleton State's starters scored all of its points Thursday night with freshman forward Emmanuel Innocenti playing all 40 minutes. Barnes was plus-18 in 29 minutes, with the Texans getting outscored by 15 in the 11 minutes he was out of the game.
"Me and KiAndre (Gaddy), ever since the last one (at GCU on Jan. 13) when he (McGlothan) kind of dominated both of us, we've been thinking about since then," Tarleton State senior forward Jakorie Smith said on the Texans postgame show after scoring 17 of his team-high 24 points in the second half. "We were waiting on this game. Me and KiAndre's goals were to make him have an off-night and get him uncomfortable."McGlothan finished with nine points and four rebounds, reaching 1,000 boards for his career. Only 13 active players in the nation have reached that landmark.
The loss hurt GCU's chances of a possible NCAA tournament at-large berth and displaced the Lopes' status as the nation's winning percentage leader. However, GCU still controls its destiny to win an outright WAC regular-season title and remains the likely WAC Tournament No. 1 seed, which is based on the WAC Resume Seeding System.
The Lopes play Saturday afternoon at Abilene Christian with a short turnaround for a game tipping off at 2 p.m. (Phoenix time). GCU won the first meeting 74-64 at Global Credit Union Arena. The Wildcats (11-15, 6-9 WAC) defeated California Baptist 71-65 to follow up last week's two road wins.
Team Stats
GCU
TSU
FG%
.429
.393
3FG%
.296
.211
FT%
.706
.725
RB
39
37
TO
14
8
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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