Big men give GCU huge road win

Thursday, January 23

Cedar City, Utah / America First Event Center

6:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

14-5,4-1WAC

Southern Utah

9-10,1-4WAC

Grand Canyon

Southern Utah

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

1/23/2025 10:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Brennan's double-double, Coles' 20-point game pace victory at Southern Utah

By: Paul Coro

CEDAR CITY, Utah – More than a mile high on the Markagunt Plateau, Southern Utah presents a tall task for visitors in a conference where home teams had won 18 of 21 games preceding Grand Canyon's road finish Thursday night.

The Lopes' big men were up to the mountainous task, giving them early control defensively again before they maintained a double-digit lead for the last 25 minutes of their 74-59 victory at America First Event Center, where the Thunderbirds were 7-2 this season.

GCU (14-5, 4-1 WAC) flexed a game-high 20 points from senior power forward JaKobe Coles and strengthened the Lopes' interior with junior center Duke Brennan's third conference double-double (12 points, 13 rebounds). GCU overpowered Southern Utah with more of the defense that had held opponents to 37% shooting in their previous eight games. The Lopes defense nailed that number again to hold the Thunderbirds to 37% shooting from the field with their leading scorer, Jamir Simpson, going 6 for 17.

Managing the high altitude was complicated by graduate swingman Tyon Grant-Foster missing the game for illness and starting guards Ray Harrison and Makaih Williams navigating foul trouble.

Duke Brennan

"We talked about fighting through and being tough," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "In those times when you get tired, those are the moments that you have to rebound, those are the moments you have to really get back on defense. I thought the guys, in those tired moments, how we're mentally tough, physically tough, and that allowed us to be able to get that lead and keep it."

The Lopes did not allow a made field goal for a seven-minute stretch of the first half, opening up a 17-9 lead when graduate forward Lök Wur outran defenders downcourt for a breakaway layup on senior guard Collin Moore's feed from the backcourt. Coles made a left-handed post move and buzzer-beating 3-pointer consecutively to put GCU ahead 40-27 at halftime.

"You've got to give Grand Canyon some credit," Southern Utah head coach Rob Jeter said. "They came in here under the weather. It was common knowledge. Guys were trying to figure out if they could play. Their energy was really good to start. That's a sign of a team that's got a chance."

The Lopes took care of the ball and dominated the boards to get more scoring opportunities. Brennan grabbed 10 first-half rebounds with four coming on offense to already bump up his WAC-leading offensive rebound average. He did not make a turnover in 33 minutes and added two blocked shots and two steals to his sixth career double-double effort.

"I get to my spots and get those boards and putbacks," Brennan said. "I had a good dunk at the start, but I'm feeling good and ready to push into Utah Tech down the mountain (on Saturday) and get back. We're feeling good. It was great energy in that locker room, especially after the win. I feel like we're really turning a page for the rest of the season. All these guys, I feel like we really bought in and locked in after that Utah Valley loss and we're going to see where it takes us,"

JaKobe Coles

With Southern Utah not doubling defensively, Coles went to work in any matchup. He scored on all three levels, reading the type of defender he faced to take advantage for 9-of-18 shooting from the field.

In his third 20-point game of the season after three previous 20-point games in his career, Coles also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. That marked his fourth four-assist game this season after having four previously in three TCU seasons.

"JaKobe was really patient in the post," Drew said. "He was really patient with his decision-making ... I think he used his shot fake well and made a lot of key shots for us."

Coles' mix of crafty post-ups, fadeaway jumpers and a pair of 3-pointers put him at 20 points without getting a free throw. He had gone 8 for 8 at the charity stripe in his 16-point, four-assist game Saturday night, when the Lopes routed Tarleton State.

GCU recorded its third consecutive double-digit win Thursday night when stretches of scoring outburst and defensive lockdown staved off Southern Utah and top scorer Jamir Simposon's second-half surge. Simpson went from an 0-for-7 first half for four points to a 17-point second half on 6-for-10 shooting.

The Lopes stretched the lead to 61-42 when they scored 10 points in a 90-second stretch. Back-to-back 3-pointers by GCU sophomore guard Caleb Shaw were bookended by a pair of Brennan finishes that Coles and forward Traivar Jackson assisted.

Makaih Williams

As GCU navigated Harrison's and Williams' foul trouble, Southern Utah reduced the Lopes' lead to 63-51 midway through the second half. From there, the Lopes' defense held the Thunderbirds without a made field goal for five minutes to build a comfortable 70-53 lead with 4:55 remaining on Harrison's left-handed drive.

"Collin was really good on the ball," Drew said. "(Tavi) Jackson was hurting us in the first half on ball screens, and I thought Collin was really good in the second half. Duke and his ball screen coverage was really good in the second half. So really credit them. Ray was solid. He did a good job on (Hercy) Miller.

"And then Simpson, we were really good on him in the first half. We lost him a bit and he made some shots in the second half, but collectively I really liked our defensive effort across the board."

Caleb Shaw

The Lopes shot 45% from the field, outscoring the Thunderbirds 38-28 in the paint and 15-6 on second chances.

After having six players in double-digit scoring on Saturday night, Coles and Brennan were the only double-digit Lopes on Thursday night. But Harrison, Moore, Shaw, Williams and Wur all scored between seven and nine points with Moore adding four assists and three steals.

GCU will move south to the high desert to play Saturday night at Utah Tech, which was idle Thursday night. The Trailblazers have won four consecutive home games and are 5-2 at Burns Arena, but they are coming off lopsided losses at Seattle U (82-62) and Utah Valley (96-80).

Since the Lopes lost at Utah Valley (14-6, 6-0 WAC) on Jan. 9 and re-emphasized "The Program" in practices and game planning, they have won three consecutive games by an average of 23 points.

"Just being here since last year and pushing into this year, we all take 'The Program' and GCU as a school really hard on our chests," Brennan said. "We've been growing this. We've been growing GCU since before me. And some of those losses and some of those lacks of effort show that we don't care as much, or we're not caring. So we're totally trying to flip the script of how much we do care. And we put 'The Program' on our chest. We win championships here, and we win games here. So that same mentality and mindset through these last two weeks propelled us."