Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UNLV on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 80
M Basketball
at UNLV
L 78-80
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
NCAA 1st-round recap: GCU 75, Saint Mary's 66
3/22/2024 10:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes topple 5th-seeded Gaels for 1st NCAA D-I tourney win
SPOKANE, Wash. – Grand Canyon is walking, running and leaping history after 12th-seeded GCU knocked off fifth-seeded Saint Mary's 75-66 for the first NCAA Division I tournament victory in program history.
In just the seventh year of D-I postseason eligibility and their third Big Dance, the Lopes (30-4) pulled away from the tourney-tested Gaels (26-8) with a 47-point second half against the nation's second-ranked defense.
GCU led Saint Mary's, ranked 15th nationally, for the entire second half and led by as much as 17 points (52-35 with more than 11 minutes to go). GCU closed it out with junior guard Ray Harrison's 15-point second half, senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster's team-high 22 points, graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan's double-double and graduate forward Lök Wur's career-high tying four blocked shots.
The Lopes advance to a round-of-32 game against West Region No. 4 seed Alabama, ranked 19th nationally, at 4:10 p.m. on Sunday in Spokane Arena, which featured hundreds of Lope Nation fans and thousands more of adopted GCU fans in the territory of Saint Mary's rival Gonzaga.
GCU graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan extended his career with a 12-point, 11-rebound performance for his 22nd career double-double.
Coming off a period when he was hampered by a hip injury, McGlothan showed a restored bounce in 36 minutes that included three blocked shots and three steals. He was plus-14, only second to Harrison's plus-15.
Return to GCULopes.com later tonight for Paul Coro's updated game recap with more details and reactions from Lopes head coach Bryce Drew and players.
In just the seventh year of D-I postseason eligibility and their third Big Dance, the Lopes (30-4) pulled away from the tourney-tested Gaels (26-8) with a 47-point second half against the nation's second-ranked defense.
GCU led Saint Mary's, ranked 15th nationally, for the entire second half and led by as much as 17 points (52-35 with more than 11 minutes to go). GCU closed it out with junior guard Ray Harrison's 15-point second half, senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster's team-high 22 points, graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan's double-double and graduate forward Lök Wur's career-high tying four blocked shots.
The Lopes advance to a round-of-32 game against West Region No. 4 seed Alabama, ranked 19th nationally, at 4:10 p.m. on Sunday in Spokane Arena, which featured hundreds of Lope Nation fans and thousands more of adopted GCU fans in the territory of Saint Mary's rival Gonzaga.
Key player
GCU graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan extended his career with a 12-point, 11-rebound performance for his 22nd career double-double.Coming off a period when he was hampered by a hip injury, McGlothan showed a restored bounce in 36 minutes that included three blocked shots and three steals. He was plus-14, only second to Harrison's plus-15.
Key moment
The Lopes immediately snatched momentum to open the second half with Grant-Foster and junior guard Collin Moore hitting back-to-back 3-pointers for a 34-27 lead in the first minute. That was GCU's largest lead of the game and the GCU-partisan crowd of 11,616 fans loaded up the Lopes bandwagon when Grant-Foster added another 3 and an alleyoop dunk from Harrison for a 46-34 lead with 12:45 remaining.Key statistic
GCU shifted the offensive efficiency of Saint Mary's by blocking nine shots, one shy of the Lopes' season high. That helped keep Saint Mary's to 38.8% shooting, its second-worst shooting since recovering from a 3-5 start. The Gaels had won 23 of 25 games until the Lopes ended their season Friday night.Quotable
McGlothan on the Lopes' second half: "We talked about what they were talking about for us. We were saying they're in the locker room, saying, 'That was their best punch.' We were sitting there, saying, 'That wasn't even our best punch. Let's go out there and put even more on them.' We trusted in our guys and trusted in our work. One thing Coach (Bryce) Drew was saying is they really hadn't seen a style like ours. The WCC plays a different type of basketball, but we play in the WAC. You know how some of the Texas teams are. We know how to fight."What's next?
The Lopes will play a NCAA tournament second-round game for the first time. At 4:10 p.m. on Sunday, GCU will face Alabama (22-11) at Spokane Arena. The game can be watched on TBS or NCAA March Madness and heard on The Fanatic 1580 (99;3 FM/95.9 FM).Return to GCULopes.com later tonight for Paul Coro's updated game recap with more details and reactions from Lopes head coach Bryce Drew and players.
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