Tyon Grant-Foster’s first shot bounced high off the rim and back through the hoop for a 3-pointer.
“I knew the Lord was with me after that one,” he said.
Grant-Foster’s next shot was a 3. It hit hard, as the 6-foot-7 senior guard was back in the kind of offensive rhythm that made him the WAC Player of the Year. last season. That helped Grand Canyon earn an 82-71 victory over Southern Utah in Lopes’ Western Athletic Conference opener in front of a sold-out crowd of 7,398 at Global Credit Union Arena Saturday night.
He had 12 points in GCU’s 41-31 first half, making 4 of 7 shots, 2 of 3 from 3-point range and both free throws. He finished with a game-high 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 3-of-5 from the arc, and pulled down nine rebounds, blocked two shots and made three streaks.
Here are the takeaways from GCU’s win that improved it to 11-4 overall:
Grant-Foster emerges from shooting crisis
On Saturday, Grant-Foster made just one of his last 36 3-point attempts. Since scoring 23 points against Hawaii on Dec. 3, he had made just 14 of 74 field goals.
“The Lord is with me every game, but I knew it was time,” Grant-Foster said.
Because Grant-Foster was doing it on the defensive end during that time, coach Bryce Drew felt it was only a matter of time before his star player came out of the scoring slump.
“I’m so happy for Tyon,” Drew said. “He worked and did other things very well. He rebounds, makes steals. He leads us in blocks. But we were all waiting for his goal. Tonight, his score was visible.”
Drew even brought him off the bench three games in a row, before inserting him back into the starting lineup in the final non-conference game, a blowout win over Bryant. But even in that game, Grant-Foster made just one of 13 shots, with the only basket coming during trash time.
“These guys believed in me so much,” Grant-Foster said. “It’s really amazing. As many shots as I took and as many shots as I missed, they really told me to keep going.”
Duke Brennan’s rescue work
Southern Utah (8-7), which was 8-2 early in the season before injuries derailed it, was healthy again. He took his only lead with 7:40 to play. But, after GCU blew a 13-point lead in 10 minutes of the second half, the Lopes were successful down the stretch, mostly behind the offensive work of center Duke Brennan.
Brennan pulled down 15 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end. GCU had 25 second-chance points, with Brennan finishing missed shots or returning the ball to teammates for baskets. Brennan had 16 points. It was his fourth career collegiate double-double and second in a row.
“These last two games, I’ve found things really good,” Brennan said. “Bypass a defender on offense for a play or two.”
Set work wins the game
GCU cruised past Southern Utah 45-32. The Lopes had to attack the glass the same way Southern Utah hit everything in the second half, making 55 percent of its shots and 4 of 8 from behind the arc. With Dominique Ford making 4 of 9 3-pointers and scoring 22 points for Southern Utah, Drew brought Ray Harrison back into the game to cover for him. It became much more difficult for Ford to score in the final six minutes.
“We need to improve some of our coverages,” Drew said. “But they’re a good team. They were 8-2. Some guards were injured. Now that they’re at full strength, they’re back to their 8-2 form.”
Lopes gets back on track
With Grant-Foster playing like he did last season, taking over with hard moves to the basket, with JaKobe Coles, Collin Moore and Lok Wur knocking down 3-pointers, the Lopes looked a lot like they did when They won 30 games and their first NCAA Tournament game last season.
“I think the most important thing is to play the right way, especially on offense, to help someone else score a basket, to take care of the ball,” Drew said. “When we do that, things look really fluid. When you start dribbling too much, things don’t look as good. I think our 11 of 23 3s, that was a direct correlation to our ball movement, especially in the first half.
GCU made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the first half when Grant-Foster and Coles each connected on two 3s. Only six players scored in the game, but Coles finished with 10 points and Moore had 17 points and two steals . The Lopes made 12 interceptions.
Afterwards
GCU travels to Utah Valley on Thursday night, then returns home on Jan. 16 against Abilene Christian.
Richard Obert has covered high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. To suggest ideas for human interest stories and other news, contact Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azc_obert
This article was originally published on Arizona Republic: GCU takeaways from win over Southern Utah: Tyon Grant-Foster breaks out
