When Tyon Grant-Foster made his recruiting go to to Grand Canyon, there was a easy pitch: win a championship. The Lopes completed that final Saturday with a 15-point win over UT Arlington within the WAC title sport. Now, they’re merely increasing on that legacy.
“The one pitch we gave him was I requested him if he wished a hoop,” GCU junior guard Ray Harrison mentioned.
The Lopes claimed their first NCAA Event win Friday night time as they defeated No. 5 Saint Mary’s 75-66 in Spokane, Wash., on the backs of Grant-Foster and the remainder of their transfers.
Six of the seven gamers that performed important minutes transferred into this system and accounted for 71 of the Lopes’ 75 factors.
Grant-Foster, who made three collegiate stops earlier than arriving on Camelback Highway in Phoenix, knocked in a game-high 22 factors and pulled down seven rebounds. It was the fifth time within the final six video games he reached the 20-point plateau. In three postseason video games, he’s averaging 24.0 factors per sport.
The senior from Kansas Metropolis, Kan., is enjoying in his first season with the Lopes. His journey is an extended one as in his debut at DePaul within the 2021-22 season, he was rushed to the hospital, and it appeared his hoops profession could also be over.
However he refused to let that be the ultimate chapter and located a house at Grand Canyon. Extra than simply discovering a spot to proceed enjoying, Grant-Foster established a deeper connection along with his teammates.
“My facet of the recruiting course of [with him] was simply attending to know Tyon and figuring out that no matter what’s on the court docket, I’ve a brother for all times, and we have been going to start out constructing that,” GCU redshirt senior Gabe McGlothan mentioned. “That was considered one of my favourite issues.”
That bond among the many gamers has proved pivotal within the switch portal period. Grand Canyon has 10 transfers among the many 15 gamers on the roster. Those that have been with this system for a number of years, comparable to Harrison and McGlothan, supplied sturdy pitches to these within the portal.
“They helped us within the recruiting course of with this portal course of and when guys got here on visits like Tyon,” GCU head coach Bryce Drew mentioned. “We’d all the time group afterward with Ray and Gabe, ‘Do you want them? Would you like them right here? Would you like them part of our household?’ I credit score these two for actually recruiting nice transfers for coming to hitch us. It’s been a extremely enjoyable journey.”
GCU has been a Division I program for 11 years and is making its third look within the NCAA Event – all within the final 4 seasons below Drew. The Lopes have improved their seeding every time as effectively, garnering a 15-seed in 2021, a 14-seed final 12 months and a 12-seed this season.
They’ve gained a program-record 30 video games this season and sit at 30-4 on a six-game profitable streak (all by not less than eight factors). Throughout that stretch, the Lopes are holding opponents to 60 factors per sport in that stretch.
Towards Saint Mary’s, GCU restricted the Gaels to 38.8% capturing and 28% from 3-point land whereas forcing 13 turnovers.
“We’ve had a linked staff,” Drew mentioned. “We’ve had a staff that’s been actually motivated to win. What I really like about them is that they actually compete. I believe you noticed that on the market… how onerous they guarded to the tip of [the shot clock] buzzer. They don’t have any stop in them. Simply actually happy with them and the hassle they gave for 40 minutes.”
Offensively, the Lopes had 4 gamers in double figures. Behind Foster-Grant have been Harrison with 17, McGlothan with 12 and Moore with 10.
Final season, GCU fell to Gonzaga within the opening spherical of the NCAA Event. It was a sport during which the Lopes trailed by simply two within the second half earlier than a 24-2 Zags’ run put the sport out of attain. So, it’s a little bit of irony, that one 12 months later, Grand Canyon earned its first NCAA Event win within the metropolis the Bulldogs name dwelling.
“What introduced me to GCU was the profitable tradition that they have been constructing right here and simply how a lot I do know Gabe and Ray wished to win,” Foster-Grant mentioned. “After I was on my go to, they talked about that Gonzaga sport lots. I knew it meant an entire lot to them.”
The Lopes have elevated their win complete every year below Drew going from 17 wins in 12 months one to almost twice as many this season.
With gamers from the likes of Kansas, Louisville, Arizona State, Oregon and UNLV amongst different, GCU has change into a hotbed for second probabilities.
And now this system is 40 minutes away from a spot within the Candy 16. The Lopes are set to sq. off in opposition to fourth-seeded Alabama Sunday.