Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, February 15
Arlington, Texas / College Park Center
1 p.m. (MST)
Grand Canyon
19-6,9-2WAC
82
at
75
UT Arlington
12-14,5-7WAC
1
2
F
Grand Canyon
30
52
82
UT Arlington
31
44
75
Turning clutch in crunch time gets win at UT Arlington
2/15/2025 7:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes finish on 25-11 run with Mavericks unable to get any stops
ARLINGTON, Texas – There is a level of talent, speed and size to every college basketball team. Each one is capable of making shots and getting stops.
But when it was winning time on the road Saturday, Grand Canyon looked different in a grit-and-grind game that could catapult the regular season's stretch run.
Facing a 64-57 deficit with 6 1/2 minutes remaining at UT Arlington, GCU scored with the same efficiency as a pregame layup line to take a clutch 82-75 win and finish a Texas trip sweep.
The Lopes (19-6, 9-2 WAC) scored on their final 12 possessions at UT Arlington, outscoring the Mavericks 25-11 in that final 6 1/2 minutes. GCU's 52-point second half rolled into more moves in the postgame locker room, where head coach Bryce Drew even joined the team's dance party.
With each of the five Lopes on the floor scoring, GCU's furious finish featured eight consecutive made shots with four trips to the free throw line sprinkled amid them. Lopes senior power forward JaKobe Coles, who is from nearby Denton, Texas, put GCU ahead for good with 3:14 to go.
The victory keeps the Lopes within a game of WAC leader Utah Valley, which played Saturday night at Southern Utah, with five regular-season games remaining apiece.
Lopes senior guard Ray Harrison, who went scoreless Thursday night for the first time since his freshman year, burst back Saturday for a team-high 19 points with three made 3-pointers. His swooping, scoring drive with a high kiss off the glass was most clutch, putting GCU ahead 78-73 with 55 seconds remaining.
"I'm so proud of our last five, six minutes there," Drew said. "It was really fun to watch. We had a majority of our seniors out there. They were really connected, playing with a lot of focus, a lot of energy and a lot of will to win. Everybody on the court made a big play for us."
Graduate swingman Tyon Grant-Foster rediscovered his scoring swagger at the turn of the new year and has averaged 17 points per game since then for the Lopes. He found another level Saturday, when he played decisively to score 14 of his 18 points in the second half.
Grant-Foster set up Coles' go-ahead bucket with spectacular end-to-end play. He split a double team in the post for a 3-point play that tied the game with 3:42 to go and then swatted a potential go-ahead shot for one of his three blocked shots.
"It was probably his best five-minute stretch of the season," Drew said of Grant-Foster, who was plus-14 in 30 minutes of a five-point win. GCU was minus-9 in his 10 minutes out.
Harrison scored on back-to-back drives to each side of the basket late, but he had been key throughout the game just as he was for last season's win at UT Arlington.
GCU's recent turnover issues continued in the first half, when it committed eight and trailed 31-30 at halftime. But it could have been worse if not for an eight-point Harrison burst in less than a minute after had not scored in the game's first 14 minutes.
Harrison matched the most minutes he has played over the past 23 games with 36 minutes Saturday night, and he committed only one turnover. GCU only made four second-half turnovers with none in the final nine minutes.
"I think it was just a little bit more focused," said Harrison, who tied Doug Baker (1955-59) for sixth place on the all-time GCU scoring list with 1,373 points in his three seasons. "Being on the road, we know
how it is being a hostile environment. We've just got to come together, be more connected and be more focused."
The Lopes (19-6, 9-2 WAC) did that to stay one game behind WAC leader Utah Valley with five regular-season games remaining.
The Mavericks were 8-2 at home this season and had been battle-tested by seven one-possession WAC games (4-3), but GCU did not even allow it to finish that close.
"That's a championship team," UT Arlington head coach KT Turner said. "They've been there, and they know what to do. They turned it on and made plays the last 3 1/2 minutes of the game, and we didn't."
Despite Mavericks power forward Lance Ware's 16 rebounds, the Lopes did not allow an offensive rebound in the final 10 minutes. GCU made just enough defensive plays, such as Grant-Foster's key late-game blocked shot and a steal by sophomore Makaih Williams, the former UT Arlington player who was knocked to the floor twice off-ball by Mavericks in the first half. One incident received a flagrant foul.
The physical nature led to GCU shooting 37% with eight turnovers in the first half before the Lopes played through it in the second half, when they shot 67% with four turnovers.
"You can't duck it," Harrison said. "You can't try to go around it. You have to meet their physicality."
There were seven lead changes over the game's final 15 minutes but none in the final three minutes once Coles put GCU ahead for good. Drew wants to bottle up that ball sharing, play execution and defense on a string with the WAC Tournament just 3 1/2 weeks away.
"They were locked in," Drew said. "They were locked into running the action and then played out the action.
GCU is idle Thursday night before getting a chance at quick revenge next Saturday against California Baptist, which upset the Lopes last week. Since that trip, the Lopes closed out two tightly contested games on the road.
"This was big for us, especially as far as momentum going into this postseason," Harrison said. "Just being ready. I feel like we're in a good position. Even coach Drew said that he feels like, out of all the things we've been able to get better at as a team, it is starting to form us into a different team – a better team. Sharper."
But when it was winning time on the road Saturday, Grand Canyon looked different in a grit-and-grind game that could catapult the regular season's stretch run.
Facing a 64-57 deficit with 6 1/2 minutes remaining at UT Arlington, GCU scored with the same efficiency as a pregame layup line to take a clutch 82-75 win and finish a Texas trip sweep.
The Lopes (19-6, 9-2 WAC) scored on their final 12 possessions at UT Arlington, outscoring the Mavericks 25-11 in that final 6 1/2 minutes. GCU's 52-point second half rolled into more moves in the postgame locker room, where head coach Bryce Drew even joined the team's dance party.
With each of the five Lopes on the floor scoring, GCU's furious finish featured eight consecutive made shots with four trips to the free throw line sprinkled amid them. Lopes senior power forward JaKobe Coles, who is from nearby Denton, Texas, put GCU ahead for good with 3:14 to go.
The victory keeps the Lopes within a game of WAC leader Utah Valley, which played Saturday night at Southern Utah, with five regular-season games remaining apiece.
Lopes senior guard Ray Harrison, who went scoreless Thursday night for the first time since his freshman year, burst back Saturday for a team-high 19 points with three made 3-pointers. His swooping, scoring drive with a high kiss off the glass was most clutch, putting GCU ahead 78-73 with 55 seconds remaining.
"I'm so proud of our last five, six minutes there," Drew said. "It was really fun to watch. We had a majority of our seniors out there. They were really connected, playing with a lot of focus, a lot of energy and a lot of will to win. Everybody on the court made a big play for us."
Graduate swingman Tyon Grant-Foster rediscovered his scoring swagger at the turn of the new year and has averaged 17 points per game since then for the Lopes. He found another level Saturday, when he played decisively to score 14 of his 18 points in the second half.Grant-Foster set up Coles' go-ahead bucket with spectacular end-to-end play. He split a double team in the post for a 3-point play that tied the game with 3:42 to go and then swatted a potential go-ahead shot for one of his three blocked shots.
"It was probably his best five-minute stretch of the season," Drew said of Grant-Foster, who was plus-14 in 30 minutes of a five-point win. GCU was minus-9 in his 10 minutes out.
Harrison scored on back-to-back drives to each side of the basket late, but he had been key throughout the game just as he was for last season's win at UT Arlington.
GCU's recent turnover issues continued in the first half, when it committed eight and trailed 31-30 at halftime. But it could have been worse if not for an eight-point Harrison burst in less than a minute after had not scored in the game's first 14 minutes.
Harrison matched the most minutes he has played over the past 23 games with 36 minutes Saturday night, and he committed only one turnover. GCU only made four second-half turnovers with none in the final nine minutes."I think it was just a little bit more focused," said Harrison, who tied Doug Baker (1955-59) for sixth place on the all-time GCU scoring list with 1,373 points in his three seasons. "Being on the road, we know
how it is being a hostile environment. We've just got to come together, be more connected and be more focused."
The Lopes (19-6, 9-2 WAC) did that to stay one game behind WAC leader Utah Valley with five regular-season games remaining.
The Mavericks were 8-2 at home this season and had been battle-tested by seven one-possession WAC games (4-3), but GCU did not even allow it to finish that close.
"That's a championship team," UT Arlington head coach KT Turner said. "They've been there, and they know what to do. They turned it on and made plays the last 3 1/2 minutes of the game, and we didn't."Despite Mavericks power forward Lance Ware's 16 rebounds, the Lopes did not allow an offensive rebound in the final 10 minutes. GCU made just enough defensive plays, such as Grant-Foster's key late-game blocked shot and a steal by sophomore Makaih Williams, the former UT Arlington player who was knocked to the floor twice off-ball by Mavericks in the first half. One incident received a flagrant foul.
The physical nature led to GCU shooting 37% with eight turnovers in the first half before the Lopes played through it in the second half, when they shot 67% with four turnovers.
"You can't duck it," Harrison said. "You can't try to go around it. You have to meet their physicality."
There were seven lead changes over the game's final 15 minutes but none in the final three minutes once Coles put GCU ahead for good. Drew wants to bottle up that ball sharing, play execution and defense on a string with the WAC Tournament just 3 1/2 weeks away.
"They were locked in," Drew said. "They were locked into running the action and then played out the action.
GCU is idle Thursday night before getting a chance at quick revenge next Saturday against California Baptist, which upset the Lopes last week. Since that trip, the Lopes closed out two tightly contested games on the road.
"This was big for us, especially as far as momentum going into this postseason," Harrison said. "Just being ready. I feel like we're in a good position. Even coach Drew said that he feels like, out of all the things we've been able to get better at as a team, it is starting to form us into a different team – a better team. Sharper."
Team Stats
GCU
UTA
FG%
.509
.491
3FG%
.400
.318
FT%
.824
.667
RB
30
31
TO
12
16
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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