Defensive roll pulls into St. George

Saturday, January 25 \| 7 p.m. \| Burns Arena \| St. George, Utah

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (14-5, 4-1 WAC)	at	UTAH TECH TRAILBLAZERS (6-13, 2-2 WAC)

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ST. GEORGE, Utah – Grand Canyon was full of ability and promise for much of the season, but its defensive consistency has the Lopes beginning to fulfill their potential.

The constants that carried GCU in a five-week stretch of elite defense met the challenge of altitude in Saturday's win at Southern Utah and need the fortitude to repeat good habits Saturday night at Utah Tech, which rested since shooting 58.6% at WAC leader Utah Valley last Saturday.

Bryce Drew

Since Dec. 17, the Lopes (14-5, 4-1 WAC) are tied with sixth-ranked Tennessee for the nation's second-lowest opponent field goal percentage at 37.4%, trailing only seventh-ranked Houston's 35.7%. They have an 8-1 record during that stretch, only allowing opponents to shoot better than 40% three times, and will try to continuing the stifling defense for a second road win in three days at 7 p.m. Saturday in Burns Arena.

"It's tough to win on the road," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "You've got to be mentally tough. You have to be together. You have to be in better shape on the road because you don't have the crowd to give you that adrenaline rush and that energy.

"We were connected (in Thursday's win at Southern Utah). Our guys were talking to each other, much different than our first two road games. This is a much better feeling on the bench, a much better feeling among players."

Utah Tech, which is 2-0 at home in WAC games with a four-game home winning streak, has been on an offensive roller-coaster. The Trailblazers shot 48% or better in three consecutive mid-December games and then had a four=game stretch of 39.8% shooting before that 58.6% clip was a Utah Valley opponent high last Saturday.

"If you look at film and look at our stats, our offense is pretty good," Utah Tech head coach Jon Judkins said on his show this week. "We're sharing it. We're shooting 50-something percent. We're doing all these things we need to do. Our offense is clicking. Right now, it's the defense and getting stops and rebounding the ball."

The Lopes have risen from No. 259 to No. 66 in opponent field goal percentage since a two-loss trip in December, when Georgia and Louisiana Tech each shot better than 50% from the field.

GCU's activity has resulted in ranking ninth nationally with 9.9 steals per game, including WAC leader and senior guard Collin Moore's 2.0 steals per game. The Lopes also have recorded 4.7 blocked shots per game.

"We noticed after the UVU game that we were slacking," Moore said of GCU's lone loss since Dec. 16. "That was our wake-up call, for real. We realized we need to get serious. I honestly think we're more locked in and together.

"We're more locked in, more focused. We're back to where we need to be."

On the road, Utah Tech (6-13, 2-2 WAC) was leading conference leader Utah Valley at halftime last Saturday but lost 96-80. The Trailblazers shot 58.6% from the field but were outscored 24-7 at the free throw line.

Phoenix, AZ Dec. 30 2023: GCU grabs a 75-65 come from behind win over Utah Tech at Burns Arena. in St. George, Utah. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Phoenix, AZ Dec. 30 2023: GCU grabs a 75-65 come from behind win over Utah Tech at Burns Arena. in St. George, Utah. David Kadlubowski/GCU

They now face the Lopes, who rank third nationally with 19.8 free throw points per game after also ranking third last season at 19.3 per game.

Lope tracks

GCU is the only team to make at least 33 free throws in three games this season.
The Lopes have assisted on more than 93% of its made field goals twice this season (vs. Norfolk State and vs. Tarleton State). The rest of the nation has done so three times.
With 1,320 points at GCU, senior guard Harrison needs 10 points to pass Gabe McGlothan (2020-24) for eighth place on the Lopes' all-time scoring leaderboard. Including his two seasons at Presbyterian, Harrison has 2,211 career points to rank eighth among active Division I players. His 584 career free throws rank second nationally to Alabama's Mark Sears among active players.
GCU has three WAC statistical leaders: Harrison for free throw percentage (88.0%) and senior guard Collin Moore for steals per game (2.0).
Lopes junior center Duke Brennan has recorded three of his four double-doubles this season in GCU's five conference games.
GCU has improved from 30.3% 3-point shooting in nonconference play to 42.1% in WAC games.
Utah Tech ranks last in the WAC for field goal percentage (42.4%), opponent field goal percentage (46.9%), opponent points per game (76.1), rebound margin per game (minus-4.1), free throws made per game (13.4) and free throw percentage (67.4%),
Trailblazers seniors Beon Riley, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Hawai'i, and Noa Gonzalves, a 6-1 guard making his 80th start at Utah Tech, each average more than 14 points per game. Riley also grabs 7.8 rebounds per game while Gonsalves shoots 38.3% from 3-point range.
The Lopes have won five consecutive meetings in the series with the Trailblazers.

Saturday, January 25 | 7 p.m. | Burns Arena | St. George, Utah

Lope tracks

Players Mentioned

Duke Brennan

Collin Moore

Grand Canyon University Athletics