Strong road finish can create March momentum

Saturday, March 8 \| 2 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Moody Coliseum \| Abilene, Texas

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (23-6, 13-2 WAC)	at	ABILENE CHRISTIAN WILDCATS (15-15, 7-8 WAC)

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ABILENE, Texas – Grand Canyon is playing Saturday to be the WAC's No. 1 team a week later more than to be the conference's No. 1 at the end of this Saturday.

With WAC leader Utah Valley playing Saturday night, GCU will not know if it has a chance to catch Utah Valley when the Lopes play a Saturday afternoon regular-season finale at Abilene Christian. The Lopes can only aim to take their longest winning streak of the season and their best basketball to Las Vegas with a seventh consecutive victory Saturday.

GCU can move to 24-6 and finish at 14-2 in WAC play. That would be the Lopes' best WAC record in their 12-year association, but GCU still would need a Utah Valley loss at Tarleton State on Saturday night to tie in the standings and likely get the WAC Tournament No. 1 seed based on WAC Resume Seeding System.

Phoenix, AZ March 6, 2025 : The Lopes trounce Utah Tech 90-68 at Global Credit Union Arena.

Phoenix, AZ March 6, 2025 : The Lopes trounce Utah Tech 90-68 at Global Credit Union Arena.

"Abilene's really played well," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said of the Wildcats, who had won five of six games until a Thursday loss to Utah Valley. "We lost there last year. It's a quick turnaround. There's a lot to prepare in the next 36 short hours and a huge game. We've got to take care of business on our end and play as best as we can and then put our hope to put ourselves in a situation to see what happens in the night game."

The Lopes have been playing at the defensive level that became a program staple for three NCAA tournament trips in four seasons. Since Dec. 17, GCU boasts the best defensive rating in the nation, putting it amid a top 10 that includes Houston, Duke and St. John's.

The offensive efficiency is catching up to that standard lately, even with reigning WAC Player of the Year Tyon Grant-Foster out for the past four games. GCU shot its second-highest percentage from the field (58.5%) in Thursday night's win and has averaged just 12 turnovers over the past three wins.

"Honestly, I feel like we are where we need to be," said Harrison, who will play his 100th GCU game Saturday. "We could always be doing things better. There's never a point in the season where you can't get better, but I like where we are."

Senior Night was extra special for the multi-year Lopes, just as retribution is important to them after one of the 30-5 team's losses came at Abilene Christian last season.

Phoenix, AZ March 6, 2025 : The Lopes trounce Utah Tech 90-68 at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Phoenix, AZ March 6, 2025 : The Lopes trounce Utah Tech 90-68 at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

The Wildcats (15-15, 7-8 WAC) remain effective at creating turnovers, even getting 19 out of Utah Valley in a Thursday loss to put them at No. 29 nationally with 14.6 opponent turnovers per game. But GCU routed Abilene Christian 88-58 at home Jan. 15 and has added a weapon since last season's loss at Moody Coliseum. Senior power forward JaKobe Coles is giving the Lopes a different dimension at power forward with passing and ball-handling in addition to his 14.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Coles has posted 13 consecutive double-digit scoring games while impressing the coaching staff with his improved defense and rebounding as the season progresses. He is shooting a career-high 51.7% from the field this season in addition to career-best averages across the board from the most playing time of his career.

"We want to win out," Coles said. "It's getting to that time. It's getting close to WAC Tournament time and March Madness time. We just want to win the rest of our games, take each game seriously, do the things we do well and learn. Less mistakes as we go on. I just want to win. I want to get me a ring."

Lope tracks

Harrison is nine assists away from joining North Carolina's R.J. Davis, Arizona's Caleb Love and Alabama's Mark Sears as the only active Division I players with 2,000 career points and 500 career assists.
With 1,423 points in three GCU seasons, Harrison ranks fifth on the program's all-time scoring list and trails Duane Gagnon (1965-69) for fourth place by 67 points.
The Lopes have managed a 7-0 record in games Grant-Foster missed this season.
GCU is 5-0 in games decided by four points or fewer.
The Lopes went 16-1 at home this season, giving them the second-best home record in college basketball over the past two years (32-1). Houston is first at 33-1.
GCU junior center Duke Brennan ranks 20th in the nation with 9.5 rebounds per game. He has nine double-doubles, the fourth most in the Lopes' Division I era and the third most in the WAC this season.
Lopes senior guard Collin Moore has 14 assists in the past three games after having 14 assists in the preceding 10 games. He also has made a 3-pointer in six consecutive games (9 for 16) after not making a 3 in four consecutive games (0 for 8).
GCU ranks 13th nationally in steals per game (9.5) and 19th in blocked shots per game (5.0).
The Lopes averaged 18.6 free throw points per game (sixth in the nation) after averaging 19.3 last season.

Saturday, March 8 | 2 p.m. (Phoenix time) | Moody Coliseum | Abilene, Texas

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Players Mentioned

Duke Brennan

JaKobe Coles

Tyon Grant-Foster

Collin Moore

Grand Canyon University Athletics