Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 , Loss , 74, to, 79
M Basketball
at Baylor
L 74-79
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Notebook: Tourney time sees team love, fervid fans
3/14/2024 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Grant-Foster gives thanks to teammates for winning WAC POY
LAS VEGAS – After Grand Canyon learned of its WAC postseason awards haul at a practice this week, the appreciation for the Lopes turned into appreciation for one another.
In a team huddle, the four GCU starters who received WAC honors reflected on how they earned them because of their teammates and coaches. The fifth starter, sophomore center Duke Brennan, added that Lopes head coach Bryce Drew deserved WAC Coach of the Year.
Drew, who credited his coaching staff, led GCU to an outright regular-season WAC championship and the program's best record (27-4) since its 1978 NAIA national championship. He was on the 15-man Naismith Coach of the Year watch list.
"It's all team awards," said Drew, whose team has the nation's seventh-best winning percentage. "The team has done a great job getting those. It's obviously really nice that a player would say that, but we're thankful for where we are, what we've gotten and we're looking forward to this weekend."
The Lopes arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday night and practiced at a local high school Thursday afternoon. As the WAC regular-season champion, GCU earned two tournament round byes that put in Friday night's first semifinal at Orleans Arena, where No. 4 seed Seattle U (19-13) beat California Baptist 81-57 on Thursday night.
Senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster comes into the 6 p.m. Friday semifinal as GCU's first WAC Player of the Year. He credited the guidance and trust of Lopes returnees Jovan Blacksher Jr., Ray Harrison and Gabe McGlothan for making his transition to a new program successful, especially because he missed two seasons after two heart surgeries.
McGlothan was a WAC Player of the Year candidate for much of the season. Part of McGlothan's value was how much he meant to the player who won it.
"He's a great person and an extremely good teammate," Grant-Foster said of McGlothan. "I feel like everyone in this world should have a friend like Gabe. Not even a teammate, he's like my brother."
"When you first go out there and see your fans as the majority, it just feels like, 'We're here,' " said Harrison, who won Most Outstanding Player when GCU was last year's WAC Tournament champion.
"It was crazy. The championship game was even crazier. I didn't expect it to be like that."
"It's been an odd two weeks," Drew said. "It's almost like two straight bye weeks. So your routine's a little broken, but we're just excited. Being in the building and being able to watch some of the other games (Thursday night) will be exciting for the guys."
The emergence of GCU's bench play has much to do with senior guard Josh Baker's defense and graduate forward Lök Wur hitting a new level with consistency, but no other team will bring a WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player off the bench.
Since being out 11 months because of knee surgery, graduate point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. has rounded into form, going from a December return to late-season hot shooting. Blacksher is 12 for 26 (46%) from 3-point range in the past eight games.
"His approach and his attitude have been fantastic," Drew said of the 2021 WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. "Jovan has a great understanding of realizing where is right now in the comeback process. He knows he's not the player he is going to be three months from now or a year from now, but he's getting better every week and we're starting to see some glimpses of who he is."
In a team huddle, the four GCU starters who received WAC honors reflected on how they earned them because of their teammates and coaches. The fifth starter, sophomore center Duke Brennan, added that Lopes head coach Bryce Drew deserved WAC Coach of the Year.Drew, who credited his coaching staff, led GCU to an outright regular-season WAC championship and the program's best record (27-4) since its 1978 NAIA national championship. He was on the 15-man Naismith Coach of the Year watch list.
"It's all team awards," said Drew, whose team has the nation's seventh-best winning percentage. "The team has done a great job getting those. It's obviously really nice that a player would say that, but we're thankful for where we are, what we've gotten and we're looking forward to this weekend."
The Lopes arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday night and practiced at a local high school Thursday afternoon. As the WAC regular-season champion, GCU earned two tournament round byes that put in Friday night's first semifinal at Orleans Arena, where No. 4 seed Seattle U (19-13) beat California Baptist 81-57 on Thursday night.
Senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster comes into the 6 p.m. Friday semifinal as GCU's first WAC Player of the Year. He credited the guidance and trust of Lopes returnees Jovan Blacksher Jr., Ray Harrison and Gabe McGlothan for making his transition to a new program successful, especially because he missed two seasons after two heart surgeries.McGlothan was a WAC Player of the Year candidate for much of the season. Part of McGlothan's value was how much he meant to the player who won it.
"He's a great person and an extremely good teammate," Grant-Foster said of McGlothan. "I feel like everyone in this world should have a friend like Gabe. Not even a teammate, he's like my brother."
Here comes Lope Nation
Before GCU can prove supreme again in the WAC Tournament, Lope Nation undoubtedly will rise above any teams' Las Vegas showing. Orleans Arena annually becomes the satellite home for thousands of GCU basketball fans in March."When you first go out there and see your fans as the majority, it just feels like, 'We're here,' " said Harrison, who won Most Outstanding Player when GCU was last year's WAC Tournament champion.
"It was crazy. The championship game was even crazier. I didn't expect it to be like that."
Rest, not rust
When GCU takes the court Friday night, it will have played one game over the previous 12 days. The Lopes do not want to lose the rhythm of three consecutive blowout wins by more than 20 points, but the game gaps are helpful for health, particularly McGlothan's recent hip issue. GCU won 68-47 at California Baptist on Saturday night despite McGlothan not scoring in a season-low 19 minutes."It's been an odd two weeks," Drew said. "It's almost like two straight bye weeks. So your routine's a little broken, but we're just excited. Being in the building and being able to watch some of the other games (Thursday night) will be exciting for the guys."
Blacksher's ballin'
The emergence of GCU's bench play has much to do with senior guard Josh Baker's defense and graduate forward Lök Wur hitting a new level with consistency, but no other team will bring a WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player off the bench.Since being out 11 months because of knee surgery, graduate point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. has rounded into form, going from a December return to late-season hot shooting. Blacksher is 12 for 26 (46%) from 3-point range in the past eight games.
"His approach and his attitude have been fantastic," Drew said of the 2021 WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. "Jovan has a great understanding of realizing where is right now in the comeback process. He knows he's not the player he is going to be three months from now or a year from now, but he's getting better every week and we're starting to see some glimpses of who he is."
Lope tracks
- Grant-Foster is the first Division I player to average 19.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks in at least 20 games since Duke's Zion Williamson and CSUN's Lamine Diane in 2018-19.
- Grant-Foster ranks 48th nationally in scoring average.
- McGlothan ranks ninth in GCU career scoring with 1,295 points, which is 15 behind eighth-place Chad Briscoe.
- Blacksher Jr. ranks seventh in GCU career scoring with 1,330 points, which is 43 behind sixth-place Doug Baker.
- Blacksher also ranks second in GCU career assists with 429, 29 behind Craig Russell's record.
- Harrison ranks 21st nationally for career scoring average (16.4) among active Division I players.
- The Lopes rank in the national top 15 for opponent field goal percentage (14th, 40.2%), free throws made per game (sixth, 18.2), blocks per game (10th, 5.4) and scoring margin (11th, plus-11.0 points per game).
- Brennan is averaging 9.0 points and 8.3 rebounds with 67% shooting over the past eight games.
- Wur is averaging 10.4 points per game in 20.0 minutes per game over the past 10 games. Previously, he averaged 2.2 points per game in 20 games vs. D-I opponents.
- Lopes junior guard Collin Moore, named to the WAC All-Defensive Team, has 12 steals in the past four games after getting two in the previous four games.
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