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
Thursday, March 6
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
23-6,13-2WAC
90
vs
68
Utah Tech
6-24,2-13WAC
1
2
F
Utah Tech
33
35
68
Grand Canyon
43
47
90
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Home work: GCU sends off seniors with rout
3/6/2025 11:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Global Credit Union Arena season finale pays tribute to 6 players in 90-68 win vs. Utah Tech
Grand Canyon home basketball games are about more than the purple seats and a GCU hardwood logo under bright lights.
It is about the feelings and memories that GCU players and fans have coming and going. For this season's final home game Thursday night, Global Credit Union Arena was Lope Nation's happy place with a 90-68 rout of Utah Tech that made GCU 32-1 at home over the past two seasons.
Nationally, only Houston (33-1) has a better home record over the past two seasons that what GCU has done. And it is in large part due to Lopes seniors who were honored before the game and shined during the game.
A team that has received 68% of its scoring from its seniors this season was led again by them Thursday night, when GCU enjoyed its second-best shooting game (58.5%) of the season. Senior power forward JaKobe Coles scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the first half, and senior guard Ray Harrison logged 10 of his 13 in the second half to move into fifth place on the Lopes' all-time scoring list (1,423 points).
"He just has a knack to score the ball, and he does it quietly," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said of Harrison. "We've seen him do this for three years. There have been games where he has flat-out put us on his back. Especially two years ago, he put the whole program on his back and helped get us to the NCAA tournament.
"We like where he's at right now. He's in a great mindset with his approach. He's scoring when he's needed, but he's also exerting a lot of energy on defense guarding sometimes the best player on the other team."
The game was not as dramatic as pregame and postgame emotions with another overflow crowd. The Lopes defense, rated No. 1 nationally since Dec. 17, shut out Utah Tech for a 4 1/2-minute stretch of the second half to break the game open. Over nine minutes, GCU went on a 26-7 run to lead 81-53 and secure a must-win for the WAC race.
"That was the turning point – us locking in defensively," Harrison said of the stretch with six Trailblazers turnovers in nine minutes. "We felt like we weren't being as physical down low as we could, but we shored things up and it made our offense better."
GCU (23-6, 13-2 WAC) remains a game behind Utah Valley (22-7, 14-1 WAC) entering the final regular-season games on Saturday, when the Lopes are at Abilene Christian and the Wolverines are at Tarleton State. A first-place tie likely would make GCU the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament by a WAC Resume Seeding System tiebreaker.
Conference standings were of less consequence on Senior Night, when the Lopes wanted to send their six-pack of departing players out on a sixth consecutive victory.
"It's a special feeling," said Harrison, the team's only third-year player. "We all felt appreciated tonight. That was good for all of the seniors.
"When I woke up this morning, I knew this was going to be my last time playing here, so I just wanted to come out and have fun and enjoy it."
Senior guard Collin Moore delivered 12 assists over his final two home games and did not make a turnover Thursday night in 27 minutes. He scored nine points, leaving him a point shy of being the sixth Lopes player in double figures.
His clean game was indicative of a GCU team that has handled the ball better recently, averaging only 11 turnovers over the past three games.
With senior star Tyon Grant-Foster missing his fourth consecutive game for injury, the Lopes moved to 7-0 when he is out because of how players like Coles step up. He posted a 13-point first half for the second consecutive game.
With his all-around offensive game netting 19 points, Coles has posted nine of his career's top 14 scoring performances for GCU this season.
"It means a lot," Coles said. "I can't thank enough Coach Drew and the coaching staff and all the guys that brought me in. It's only been a year, but it's been a wonderful and blessed year for myself and the team. I'm just so appreciative."
Coles' 6-of-9 shooting was part of GCU's 58.5% shooting, its best shooting since hitting 61.1% against Norfolk State on Nov. 22.
That efficiency showed at the end of the first, when GCU scored on its final eight consecutive possessions to look like the team that finished a win at UT Arlington with scores on 12 consecutive possessions.
"For whatever the reason, the focus wasn't great to start, but for the last five minutes of the first half, our defensive intensity turned up," Drew said. "We started to get some deflections and get some steals."
The game also featured junior center Duke Brennan's ninth double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds), the fourth most by a Lopes player in the program's Division I era. Sophomore guard Caleb Shaw nearly recorded his first career double-double with a career-best nine rebounds while scoring in double digits for the third consecutive game.
Senior forward Lök Wur added seven points and a steal, and the entire team's effort helped get Havocs favorite Jason Amador, a graduate walk-on, into the game for a three-minute run.
Per his postgame custom in home finales, Drew thanked the seniors and prayed for them over the arena sound system to share with GCU home fans.
"Last year, what they did was special," Drew said of the seniors. "Thirty wins. Second round of the NCAA tournament. This year, they've done some really good things. It's just that they did so many great things last year. It's hard not to talk about those first and foremost. This year, they've put up 23 wins and the first Power 4 win in school history. Right now, they're 13-2 in conference. Those are all things to really be proud of. And we played without the WAC Preseason Player of the Year for seven games. I'm really proud of them collectively as a group. We're sure hopeful that our best basketball is still ahead of us."
It is about the feelings and memories that GCU players and fans have coming and going. For this season's final home game Thursday night, Global Credit Union Arena was Lope Nation's happy place with a 90-68 rout of Utah Tech that made GCU 32-1 at home over the past two seasons.
Nationally, only Houston (33-1) has a better home record over the past two seasons that what GCU has done. And it is in large part due to Lopes seniors who were honored before the game and shined during the game.
A team that has received 68% of its scoring from its seniors this season was led again by them Thursday night, when GCU enjoyed its second-best shooting game (58.5%) of the season. Senior power forward JaKobe Coles scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the first half, and senior guard Ray Harrison logged 10 of his 13 in the second half to move into fifth place on the Lopes' all-time scoring list (1,423 points).
"He just has a knack to score the ball, and he does it quietly," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said of Harrison. "We've seen him do this for three years. There have been games where he has flat-out put us on his back. Especially two years ago, he put the whole program on his back and helped get us to the NCAA tournament.
"We like where he's at right now. He's in a great mindset with his approach. He's scoring when he's needed, but he's also exerting a lot of energy on defense guarding sometimes the best player on the other team."The game was not as dramatic as pregame and postgame emotions with another overflow crowd. The Lopes defense, rated No. 1 nationally since Dec. 17, shut out Utah Tech for a 4 1/2-minute stretch of the second half to break the game open. Over nine minutes, GCU went on a 26-7 run to lead 81-53 and secure a must-win for the WAC race.
"That was the turning point – us locking in defensively," Harrison said of the stretch with six Trailblazers turnovers in nine minutes. "We felt like we weren't being as physical down low as we could, but we shored things up and it made our offense better."
GCU (23-6, 13-2 WAC) remains a game behind Utah Valley (22-7, 14-1 WAC) entering the final regular-season games on Saturday, when the Lopes are at Abilene Christian and the Wolverines are at Tarleton State. A first-place tie likely would make GCU the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament by a WAC Resume Seeding System tiebreaker.
Conference standings were of less consequence on Senior Night, when the Lopes wanted to send their six-pack of departing players out on a sixth consecutive victory.
"It's a special feeling," said Harrison, the team's only third-year player. "We all felt appreciated tonight. That was good for all of the seniors.
"When I woke up this morning, I knew this was going to be my last time playing here, so I just wanted to come out and have fun and enjoy it."
Senior guard Collin Moore delivered 12 assists over his final two home games and did not make a turnover Thursday night in 27 minutes. He scored nine points, leaving him a point shy of being the sixth Lopes player in double figures.His clean game was indicative of a GCU team that has handled the ball better recently, averaging only 11 turnovers over the past three games.
With senior star Tyon Grant-Foster missing his fourth consecutive game for injury, the Lopes moved to 7-0 when he is out because of how players like Coles step up. He posted a 13-point first half for the second consecutive game.
With his all-around offensive game netting 19 points, Coles has posted nine of his career's top 14 scoring performances for GCU this season.
"It means a lot," Coles said. "I can't thank enough Coach Drew and the coaching staff and all the guys that brought me in. It's only been a year, but it's been a wonderful and blessed year for myself and the team. I'm just so appreciative."
Coles' 6-of-9 shooting was part of GCU's 58.5% shooting, its best shooting since hitting 61.1% against Norfolk State on Nov. 22.That efficiency showed at the end of the first, when GCU scored on its final eight consecutive possessions to look like the team that finished a win at UT Arlington with scores on 12 consecutive possessions.
"For whatever the reason, the focus wasn't great to start, but for the last five minutes of the first half, our defensive intensity turned up," Drew said. "We started to get some deflections and get some steals."
The game also featured junior center Duke Brennan's ninth double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds), the fourth most by a Lopes player in the program's Division I era. Sophomore guard Caleb Shaw nearly recorded his first career double-double with a career-best nine rebounds while scoring in double digits for the third consecutive game.
Senior forward Lök Wur added seven points and a steal, and the entire team's effort helped get Havocs favorite Jason Amador, a graduate walk-on, into the game for a three-minute run.
Per his postgame custom in home finales, Drew thanked the seniors and prayed for them over the arena sound system to share with GCU home fans.
"Last year, what they did was special," Drew said of the seniors. "Thirty wins. Second round of the NCAA tournament. This year, they've done some really good things. It's just that they did so many great things last year. It's hard not to talk about those first and foremost. This year, they've put up 23 wins and the first Power 4 win in school history. Right now, they're 13-2 in conference. Those are all things to really be proud of. And we played without the WAC Preseason Player of the Year for seven games. I'm really proud of them collectively as a group. We're sure hopeful that our best basketball is still ahead of us."
Team Stats
UTTECH
GCU
FG%
.377
.585
3FG%
.310
.294
FT%
.765
.697
RB
27
36
TO
13
11
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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