What we learned about Grand Canyon basketball in win over UT Arlington minus Grant-Foster

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Grand Canyon men’s basketball team played without Tyon Grant-Foster for the second game in a row Thursday night but showed others can fill the void in an 85-71 win over UT Arlington before an energetic sellout crowd of 7,186 at Global Credit Union Arena.

Guard Ray Harrison led the Lopes (21-6, 11-2 in WAC) in scoring for the second game in a row with 19 points, adding six assists and three steals without turning the ball over in 32 minutes.

But Collin Moore and Caleb Shaw had huge breakout performances that helped the Lopes lead by as many as 23 in the second half.

Moore had his college career highs for assists (seven) and steals (six) to go with 16 points, including a windmill dunk that electrified the crowd and a four-point play after he was grabbed from behind intentionally on what would have been another breakaway dunk.

Moore still got the ball to go in on a layup, then converted two free throws on the intentional foul. GCU inbounded with JaKobe Coles (13 points) scoring on a drive, and the Lopes had a 78-58 lead with less than four minutes to play. A 3-pointer by Makaih Williams moments later gave GCU its biggest lead.

“A lot of people know I’m good at defense, so that’s what I try to do,” Moore said.

Here’s what else we learned about the Lopes, who have to make a quick turnaround to play at Seattle U on Saturday:

Caleb Shaw’s big night

The 6-foot-4 Shaw, coach Bryce Drew’s nephew, who spent last season as a redshirt, had his best game in a GCU uniform against a Division I opponent, scoring 15 points.

He hit all six of his field goals, including three 3-pointers. He also had an offensive rebound for a dunk to end the first half that gave the Lopes a 40-27 lead.

“We know we’re missing Tyon out there, the way he can score the ball, rebound the ball,” Shaw said. “I think this week there was a big emphasis on doing one thing better individually as players and as a team, because he does so much for our team.”

Drew was impressed by his nephew’s play, especially the 10 points he…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/learned-grand-canyon-basketball-win-143005645.html

Author : AZCentral | The Arizona Republic

Publish date : 2025-02-28 14:30:00

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