Brad CesmatVideo by Jordan Hamm
It felt like a NCAA Tournament game and then the Havocs stormed the court.
When I last saw GCU in person, they gave Gonzaga fits in a NCAA Tourney match-up in Denver. On that day, the ‘Lopes simply didn’t have a horse to slow down the Zags Drew Timme. Tuesday night on their home court, national champion runner=up San Diego State dropped in. The ‘Lopes don’t get many national brands wanting to battle in their rowdy/raucous arena, but the Aztecs showed up. Aztec head coach Brian Dutcher had a small smile when he came out of the tunnel to start the game, only to be welcomed by Havoc Nation.
GCU won the game 79-73, their first win over a Top 25 team in the program’s history.
The ‘Lopes are still playing without Jovan Blacksher Jr., a first-team all-conference player a season ago. When he returns from injury in a few weeks, Grand Canyon will have four guards who will cause problems. Ray Harrison, Collin Moore, and Tyon Grant-Foster make things happen on both ends.
Gabe McGlothan has been the glue guy throughout his long run with the ‘Lopes. I watched Gabe at Basha High School during the Obama administration. Yep, he’s been around a while. But he is my kind of player. A dirt worker. He does everything necessary on both ends of the court. He scored 15 points and 13 rebounds “without him, we don’t win this game. he’s our MVP,” said Grant-Foster.
