Home remedy: dominant 2nd half routs UTRGV

Thursday, February 29

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

25-4,15-3WAC

UT Rio Grande Valley

6-22,2-15WAC

UTRGV

Grand Canyon

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

2/29/2024 10:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Grant-Foster's 21 points leads Lopes victory to stay atop WAC

By: Paul Coro

Home is where this Grand Canyon season's story is told. It unfolded in early November with the debut of a promising new collection of Lopes and kept unveiling key characters and characteristics for an already historic season.

Even when the story's plot was hit with the conflict of rare losses, Global Credit Union Arena has put the story back on track. In their second-to-last home game, the Lopes buried last week's road losses by pulling away from UT Rio Grande Valley in the second half of a 72-43 rout Thursday night.

In moving to 15-0 at home, the Lopes allowed the fewest points to a home opponent since beating Sam Houston 67-41 in February 2022.

GCU (25-4, 15-3 WAC) put themselves in position to finish the program's first perfect home season since 1991-92 on Saturday night against Stephen F. Austin. In the process, the Lopes maintained a half-game lead with second-place Tarleton State (21-7, 14-3 WAC) also winning Thursday night at Utah Tech.

There is no place like home, and that is particularly true when the arena's sellout crowd is rollicking like when GCU opened Thursday's second half with an 18-2 run that was punctuated by junior guard Collin Moore's steal and windmill dunk.
Phoenix, AZ Feb. 29 2024 : GCU defeats UT Rio Grande Valley 72-43 at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena.

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 29 2024 : GCU defeats UT Rio Grande Valley 72-43 at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena.

The Lopes recaptured the spirit of ther 17-5 start to the game with a 44-19 second half. GCU's defense overwhelmed UTRGV for much of the game, especially the stretch that included the last six minutes of the first half and first eight minutes of the second half. In those 14 minutes, the Vaqueros made 1 of 16 shots with eight turnovers.

"Our guys did a really good job," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said of the defense against UTRGV's long possessions. "It's hard to defend that long, and we defended for a long time. Then we contested really well without fouling at the end of those plays. That was key not to put them on the free-throw line after guarding for 25-27 seconds."

UTRGV shot three free throws after GCU's opponents averaged 38 free throws in last week's road losses. It was the fewest free throw attempts by a Lopes opponent since Illinois State shot two in November 2019.

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 29 2024 : GCU defeats UT Rio Grande Valley 72-43 at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 29 2024 : GCU defeats UT Rio Grande Valley 72-43 at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

The rout looked like it might be forming early when Lopes senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster scored eight points in a 17-5 start. In the first eight minutes of the game, GCU scored on every possession that it took a shot. But UTRGV's 2-3 zone defense stymied the Lopes to score fewer points (11) over the final 14 minutes than it had in the first six minutes (17).

The Lopes never lost the lead but only held a 28-24 edge at halftime because of eight turnovers, a 5-for-18 shooting finish to the half and foul trouble limiting junior guard Ray Harrison to 10 first-half minutes.

"We were more stagnant in the first half, so Coach came in at halftime and was like, 'We've got to move it faster. The faster we move it, the faster they have to rotate and we're going to have people open,' " Grant-Foster said.

And they did, cutting turnovers to three in the second half and passing well enough to finish with 19 assists, a season high against a Division I opponent. Often, it was Grant-Foster who took advantage of the rapid ball rotation to make a quick first step that set him up for drives, assists and drawing fouls.

Grant-Foster continued his return to efficiency, going 7 of 12 from the field to put his shooting at 59% over the past three games after a previous eight-game stretch of 32% shooting. In what Drew called "one of his most polished offensive games," Grant-Foster also handed out four assists and threw down a stunning alleyoop, set by a Harrison inbound lob pass, to be No. 2 on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10.

"We just really know we need to win," said Grant-Foster, who added six rebounds and three blocked shots. "To get where we want to go, we have to play together. And that's how you play together – 19 assists in a game. We couldn't ask for nothing better."

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 29 2024 : GCU defeats UT Rio Grande Valley 72-43 at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

GCU sophomore center Duke Brennan keyed the defensive effort after fouling out of the previous two games. The Lopes were plus-34 in Brennan's 27 minutes, when he made all five of his shots and shared the team rebound lead (seven) with Moore.

"His defense was as good as what we've seen Duke play and his rebounding," Drew said. "Really happy with how he responded. He's a true sophomore. He's very young so it was nice to see him respond from the adversity and to play such a solid all-around game."

The Lopes control their own destiny for at least a share of the WAC regular-season title. If they win Saturday's Senior Night game against Stephen F. Austin on ESPNU and the following Saturday's regular-season finale at California Baptist, they will at least be co-champions with Tarleton State.

The Texans would need to win three regular-season games to keep pace, starting with Saturday night's game at Southern Utah before they finish at home next week against Utah Valley and Seattle U. GCU unofficially has secured the WAC Tournament top seed through the WAC Resume Seeding System but is chasing the program's first outright regular-season WAC championship.

G Phoenix, AZ Feb. 29 2024 : GCU defeats UT Rio Grande Valley 72-43 at sold-out Global Credit Union Arena.

CU, with the nation's seventh-best winning percentage, also moved to 15-0 at home to be one of 16 teams nationally with an undefeated home record.

"It's a beautiful thing," graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan said. "That's what we work for – to be undefeated at home – and we're so happy that we can do it. Every time our fans come out, we want to send them home with happy faces."

On Saturday night, McGlothan, Josh Baker, Jovan Blacksher Jr., Sydney Curry and Grant-Foster will be recognized for Senior Night.

"A lot of memories," Blacksher said. "I can't even put it into words. The people that I've met and the relationships that I've built, it's amazing."

The Saturday night game against Stephen F. Austin (15-13, 8-9 WAC), which won 62-60 in overtime Thursday night at California Baptist, is scheduled for 8 p.m. to accommodate an ESPNU broadcast. If GCU wins that game and the regular-season finale a week later at California Baptist, the Lopes will tie the program's Division I-era record for single-season victories of 27, set by the 2015-16 team.