Grand Canyon pulls off comeback win over Seattle U, huge WAC showdown up next

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Grand Canyon’s men’s basketball team needed a half to finally get things going Thursday in its 83-74 win over Seattle U before a sellout crowd of 7,191 for a late-night ESPNU game at Global Credit Union Arena.

Falling into an 11-point hole, the Lopes turned it up in the second half, holding Seattle U to 32% shooting. GCU improved to 16-5 overall and 6-1 in the WAC, setting up Saturday’s huge showdown at home against first-place Utah Valley (15-6, 7-0).

GCU’s only WAC loss came at Utah Valley, 72-64, on Jan. 9, before starting its current five-game win streak.

Asked if Saturday’s 6 p.m. game is a must-win, coach Bryce Drew said, “I think every game in conference is a must-win. It’s felt that way for the last three or four weeks.”

Here are takeaways heading into the showdown that could determine the WAC regular-season champion:

Tyon Grant-Foster’s star power off the bench

Maybe the best thing Drew has done since the start of this five-game winning streak was to open the game with his star player, Tyon Grant-Foster, on the bench. With Makaih Williams now the starting point guard (he had 11 points, four assists, no turnovers), it’s saving Ray Harrison more energy on defense and giving Grant-Foster time to dissect from the bench.

Once he gets it, Grant-Foster asserts himself, looking like the reigning WAC Player of the Year. He had a season-high 24 points against Seattle U (8-13, 3-4). He made 9 of 13 free throws, 7 of 12 field goals, and added nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

“I just go in there and play basketball,” Grant-Foster said. “I don’t worry too much about coming off the bench. Go in there, play and contribute as much as I can and put the ball in the basket.”

Grant-Foster kept GCU in the game in the first half when he scored 14 points, as the Lopes struggled to stop 6-foot-8 Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, who had 14 of his 20 points, mostly on dunks.

Second-half flip

GCU made only 1-of-10 3-pointers in the first half, when the Redbirds knocked down 5 of 12 from distance and…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/grand-canyon-pulls-off-comeback-172115813.html

Author : AZCentral | The Arizona Republic

Publish date : 2025-01-31 17:21:00

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