Brennan’s career night pushes Lopes to 10-1
On a night when Ray Harrison had just one point and Jovan Blacksher Jr. didn’t score any, it didn’t matter.
This isn’t last year’s team.
Duke Brennan, Collin Moore, Gabe McGlothan and Tyon Grant-Foster were there to pick up any slack in Grand Canyon’s 76-64 win Wednesday night over Sam Houston at Global Credit Union Arena to get the Lopes to 10-1.
This is the best start to a season for GCU since 1995, and it’s because this is a team with so many parts.
Even with Blacksher returning from the knee injury that happened last Jan. 5 at Sam Houston, GCU can wait for the point guard to work into form and knock the rust off with Moore making big plays at both ends of the court, with Grant-Foster slashing to the basket and drawing fouls, and with Brennan having a career night.
Here are takeaways on a night when Brennan had a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds:
Lopes’ Brennan rolling to the rim
Before Wednesday, Brennan, the former Arizona State forward, had a careerhigh of 12 points. He went for 19, making 8 of 10 field goals and 3 of 5 free throws. He also had three steals. This is how the 6foot-10 sophomore envisioned himself when he moved from Tempe to Phoenix.
“Had a little bit of a (size) advantage but my teammates were able to find me in certain zones,” Brennan said. “I was able to score in places and angles.
“Crashing the boards is something try to do.”
Coach Bryce Drew said that Brennan
I is good at rolling to the rim.
“Duke was sensational catching and finishing,” Drew said. “I thought our guards did a good job finding him.”
GCU fights off an offensive lull
GCU was ahead 7-0 in the first two and a half minutes and built a double-digit lead in the first seven minutes. The Lopes were ahead by 16 on Grant-Foster’s two free throws with 1:57 left in the half. But Sam Houston closed the half on an 8-2 run to get within 10.
Then, the Bearkats (6-7) got within 49-47 eight minutes into the second half when the Lopes were losing the ball on careless passes. They were also shooting just 30% after hitting at a 50% clip for most of the first half.
Harrison, who led GCU in scoring last year, had his only point on a free throw with 11:43 to play. But Grant-Foster hit a big shot falling away before the shot clock expired to make it a five-point game. Moore then scored on a drive, nailed a 3, scored again on a drive and fed GrantFoster for a layup, and GCU led 61-49 with less than eight minutes to play.
GCU has yet to get outrebounded in a game, gaining a 37-32 board advantage against the former WAC opponent.
This came four days after GCU scored a season-high 91 points in a win over Portland in the Jerry Colangelo Classic at Footprint Center. The Lopes didn’t have the full force of the Havocs there Wednesday because this is Christmas break. But they still had a sellout crowd of 7,000 cheering them on.
“Coach called this like a trap game,” Grant-Foster said. “That’s a word Coach used. We knew it was going to be one of those games where we had to play hard. We just kept attacking.
“We came into the huddle, and me and Gabe (McGlothan) were saying, ‘We’re not playing the kind of ball we’re used to.’ We had to get back to playing that.”
Moore’s magic
Because of the tough, physical play that Moore provides on the perimeter on defense and offense, there is no rush for Blacksher to get back to where he was coming into the 2022-23 season when he was named the Preseason WAC Player of the Year.
Moore is so good at changing the game with explosive plays, making steals, dishing great passes, hitting tough 3point shots and attacking the basket.
He had 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting, including 2 of 3 on 3s, in 23 minutes. Blacksher only played 10 minutes. Although he missed all six shots he took, Harrison had three steals and five assists. McGlothan had 12 points and five boards. Grant-Foster added 18 points, making 9 of 10 free throws.
“When Collin plays basketball like that, we’re at a whole different level,” Grant-Foster said. “He’s so good on the defensive end. And it translates to him on the offensive end. Collin is a great player.”
Picking up an extra game
GCU was going to have 10 days off after this but found a game to play Dec. 27 at 1 p.m., on Luke Air Force Base against nonDivision I Bethesda, before playing host to a tough Louisiana Tech team on Dec. 30.
“Coming back, we wanted to have one game before we play Louisiana Tech,” Drew said.
GCU came into this week with a No. 31 NET ranking, its highest ever since becoming
D-I 11 years ago. For the second week in a row, GCU picked up AP Top 25 votes. Drew said there is too much social media not to notice that stuff. So they embrace it.
“We’ve played a tough stretch, a tough schedule, and I’m happy with how our guys fought through the second half,” Drew said.