Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
.png&width=100&type=webp)
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, March 22
Spokane, Wash. / Spokane Arena
7:55 p.m.
Grand Canyon
30-4,17-3WAC
75
vs
66
Saint Mary's
26-8,15-1WCC
1
2
F
Grand Canyon
28
47
75
Saint Mary's (CA)
27
39
66
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
March on: GCU tops Saint Mary's in historic NCAAs win
3/23/2024 12:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes scored 47 2nd-half points on Gaels' 2nd-ranked scoring defense
SPOKANE, Wash. – The window closed quickly in 2021 and 2023 on Grand Canyon's first two NCAA Division I tournament visits, so the Lopes busted down the door Friday night to dance again.
GCU (30-4) possessed more than enough to knock the nation's No. 15 team, Saint Mary's, into splinters for a 75-66 NCAA tournament first-round win that did not even resemble the underdog look of a No. 12 seed ousting a No. 5 seed.
In advancing to a 4:10 p.m. Sunday game against another top-20 team, Alabama, the Lopes won over a Spokane Arena crowd of 11,616 fans with infectious intensity and captivating confidence.
GCU broke down the nation's No. 2 scoring defense for a 47-point second half, more points than Saint Mary's allowed in five of its games this season. The Gaels appeared shook by the athleticism and length of the Lopes, who blocked nine shots and made eight steals defensively and attacked offensively to shoot three times as many free throws.
Instead of repeating history, GCU made it.
"It's cool to see the world seeing what we're capable of, what GCU is capable of and just that we're not done yet," Lopes graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan said after his 22nd career double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).
With GCU students and fans filling up an entire section across from the Lopes bench, their sentiment and passion overtook an entire arena of adopted fans because the local Gonzaga faithful was happy to cheer against rival Saint Mary's.
That continued to charge the electric Lopes into overtaking the Gaels, busting out of the first-half slog that fit Saint Mary's desired pace to lead by 17 points in the second half (52-35 with 11:15 remaining).
The Gaels were removed from their style, especially when they went 5:41 without making a field goal in a stretch when GCU blocked three consecutive shots, drew a shot-clock violation and caused passing and dribble turnovers.
"We lost composure," Saint Mary's senior center Mitchell Saxen said.
"We knew they were going to be physical, and they were going to try to knock us out of our rhythm, and we still turned the ball over," said Gaels junior guard Augustas Marciulionis, adding that they knew they were facing an athletic, driving team "and it still somehow surprised us."
GCU's confrontational ways undid Saint Mary's. The Lopes, No. 4 nationally for free throws made, added another 28 points by free throw Friday night, when they went 21 for 26 at the charity stripe in the second half.
The Gaels rallied to within a five-point deficit, but the Lopes were able to have four players earn free throws in a span of 1:26 to keep their distance. Saint Mary's made its last threat at 67-60 with 3:05 to go, but GCU junior guard Ray Harrison's power baseline move in his 15-point second half extended the Havocs' Spokane stay through Sunday.
Harrison set the tone change in the second half with an aggressive first possession that was followed by back-to-back 3s from senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster (game-high 22 points) and junior guard Collin Moore (10 points).
"We wanted to punch them first, and you see it worked out for us," Harrison said. "We tried to rattle them."
A 28-27 GCU halftime lead flipped into more pace, even using missed Saint Mary's 3-pointers as transition opportunities for Harrison's alleyoop to Grant-Foster and Harrison's fastbreak layup from Grant-Foster.
"The mindset was to play the way we play," Grant-Foster said. "We didn't really have to change anything. That's what we do. We attack the rim. We just stayed to that and kept attacking."
Lopes graduate power forward Lok Wur, a February-March sensation, matched his season high of four blocked shots with huge momentum swings of his denials leading to a Grant-Foster 3 and sophomore center Duke Brennan's dunk.
McGlothan added three blocks and three steals with his explosion and timing back from a recent hip injury. That contributed to GCU's nine blocked shots, one off a season high for the No. 12 shot-blocking team in the nation.
"I thought they (the Gaels) still got the ball a lot to where they wanted to, but some of our recovery plays were spectacular," Drew said. "Tyon, Lok, Gabe coming out of nowhere blocking shots, and us being able to come out in transition. Every transition point we got was really valuable for us."
The Lopes' intensity was apparently early when Brennan deflected a pass into a turnover on the first defensive possession and then knocked another loose on the second possession and dived for the ball to cause a backcourt violation. Saint Mary's, which averages 10 turnovers per game, committed eight in the first half.
Gaels leading scorer Aidan Mahaney went 5 for 21 from the field and Marciulionis, the WCC Player of the Year, missed 10 minutes of the first half with foul trouble.
After
making his first two shots of the game, Marciulionis never re-engaged to go 1 for 7 from the field and commit five turnovers, one off his career high. His downturn began with McGlothan blocking his shots twice on help defense.
"They are athletic around the rim," Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett said. "They block them, and then they're off to the races."
From the block party on the court to The Biggest Party in College Basketball in the stands and thousands more at a GCU campus watch party, America discovered more about where Lopes basketball has risen rapidly in an 11-year Division I existence. They will get to know them better Sunday, when GCU goes through a polar-opposite style preparation change against breakneck Alabama, the West Region's No. 4 seed with a No. 19 national ranking.
"It's remarkable," Drew said of the students who flew into Spokane on Friday. "Not just are they present physically, but they're 100% invested emotionally into our team with how they yell and how they keep the energy for 40 minutes. It really helps."
GCU (30-4) possessed more than enough to knock the nation's No. 15 team, Saint Mary's, into splinters for a 75-66 NCAA tournament first-round win that did not even resemble the underdog look of a No. 12 seed ousting a No. 5 seed.
In advancing to a 4:10 p.m. Sunday game against another top-20 team, Alabama, the Lopes won over a Spokane Arena crowd of 11,616 fans with infectious intensity and captivating confidence.
GCU broke down the nation's No. 2 scoring defense for a 47-point second half, more points than Saint Mary's allowed in five of its games this season. The Gaels appeared shook by the athleticism and length of the Lopes, who blocked nine shots and made eight steals defensively and attacked offensively to shoot three times as many free throws.
Instead of repeating history, GCU made it.
"It's cool to see the world seeing what we're capable of, what GCU is capable of and just that we're not done yet," Lopes graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan said after his 22nd career double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).With GCU students and fans filling up an entire section across from the Lopes bench, their sentiment and passion overtook an entire arena of adopted fans because the local Gonzaga faithful was happy to cheer against rival Saint Mary's.
That continued to charge the electric Lopes into overtaking the Gaels, busting out of the first-half slog that fit Saint Mary's desired pace to lead by 17 points in the second half (52-35 with 11:15 remaining).
The Gaels were removed from their style, especially when they went 5:41 without making a field goal in a stretch when GCU blocked three consecutive shots, drew a shot-clock violation and caused passing and dribble turnovers.
"We lost composure," Saint Mary's senior center Mitchell Saxen said."We knew they were going to be physical, and they were going to try to knock us out of our rhythm, and we still turned the ball over," said Gaels junior guard Augustas Marciulionis, adding that they knew they were facing an athletic, driving team "and it still somehow surprised us."
GCU's confrontational ways undid Saint Mary's. The Lopes, No. 4 nationally for free throws made, added another 28 points by free throw Friday night, when they went 21 for 26 at the charity stripe in the second half.
The Gaels rallied to within a five-point deficit, but the Lopes were able to have four players earn free throws in a span of 1:26 to keep their distance. Saint Mary's made its last threat at 67-60 with 3:05 to go, but GCU junior guard Ray Harrison's power baseline move in his 15-point second half extended the Havocs' Spokane stay through Sunday.
Harrison set the tone change in the second half with an aggressive first possession that was followed by back-to-back 3s from senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster (game-high 22 points) and junior guard Collin Moore (10 points)."We wanted to punch them first, and you see it worked out for us," Harrison said. "We tried to rattle them."
A 28-27 GCU halftime lead flipped into more pace, even using missed Saint Mary's 3-pointers as transition opportunities for Harrison's alleyoop to Grant-Foster and Harrison's fastbreak layup from Grant-Foster.
"The mindset was to play the way we play," Grant-Foster said. "We didn't really have to change anything. That's what we do. We attack the rim. We just stayed to that and kept attacking."
Lopes graduate power forward Lok Wur, a February-March sensation, matched his season high of four blocked shots with huge momentum swings of his denials leading to a Grant-Foster 3 and sophomore center Duke Brennan's dunk.McGlothan added three blocks and three steals with his explosion and timing back from a recent hip injury. That contributed to GCU's nine blocked shots, one off a season high for the No. 12 shot-blocking team in the nation.
"I thought they (the Gaels) still got the ball a lot to where they wanted to, but some of our recovery plays were spectacular," Drew said. "Tyon, Lok, Gabe coming out of nowhere blocking shots, and us being able to come out in transition. Every transition point we got was really valuable for us."
The Lopes' intensity was apparently early when Brennan deflected a pass into a turnover on the first defensive possession and then knocked another loose on the second possession and dived for the ball to cause a backcourt violation. Saint Mary's, which averages 10 turnovers per game, committed eight in the first half.
Gaels leading scorer Aidan Mahaney went 5 for 21 from the field and Marciulionis, the WCC Player of the Year, missed 10 minutes of the first half with foul trouble.
After
making his first two shots of the game, Marciulionis never re-engaged to go 1 for 7 from the field and commit five turnovers, one off his career high. His downturn began with McGlothan blocking his shots twice on help defense."They are athletic around the rim," Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett said. "They block them, and then they're off to the races."
From the block party on the court to The Biggest Party in College Basketball in the stands and thousands more at a GCU campus watch party, America discovered more about where Lopes basketball has risen rapidly in an 11-year Division I existence. They will get to know them better Sunday, when GCU goes through a polar-opposite style preparation change against breakneck Alabama, the West Region's No. 4 seed with a No. 19 national ranking.
"It's remarkable," Drew said of the students who flew into Spokane on Friday. "Not just are they present physically, but they're 100% invested emotionally into our team with how they yell and how they keep the energy for 40 minutes. It really helps."
Team Stats
GCU
SMC
FG%
.429
.388
3FG%
.278
.280
FT%
.778
.583
RB
34
40
TO
11
13
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMakaih Williams | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Dusty Stromer | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Kaleb Smith | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Non-Conference Schedule Release | Men's Basketball
Monday, August 04