Georgia

What we learned in Grand Canyon basketball losses to Georgia, Louisiana Tech

Published

11 months ago

December 17, 2024

Press Room

What we learned in Grand Canyon basketball losses to Georgia, Louisiana Tech

Grand Canyon lost a chance to make a big statement during its trip through the South.

The Lopes (6-4) had won four straight with their full team, after getting center Duke Brennan back from an injury.

But in a 73-68 loss to Georgia (9-1) on Saturday, followed by a 74-66 loss to Louisiana Tech on Monday, their biggest star, WAC Preseason Player of the Year Tyon Grant-Foster, had his two worst games since joining the Lopes last year and leading them to an historic 30-win season.

He shot a combined 2 for 25 in the losses, missing all 13 3-pointers he took. This is baffling for last year’s WAC Player of the Year, who averaged 20 points in his first college season in two years, leading the Lopes to their first NCAA Tournament win last season.

To make matters worse Monday night at Louisiana Tech (10-2), guard Ray Harrison was only 1 of 10 shooting, making just 1 of 7 3-pointers, two days after he led GCU with 16 points, making 2 of 4 3s, against Georgia.

Here are takeaways from this two-game swing as the Lopes look to recover Thursday night at home against 0-12 Chicago State. That will be followed by a 2 p.m. home game Sunday against Saint Louis:

Shooting woes

It wasn’t just Grant-Foster who struggled. The Lopes made only 7 of 27 3-pointers against Georgia and 2 of 27 from behind the arc against Louisiana Tech.

This was supposed to be a roster built to make 3-pointers. JaKobe Coles came from TCU, where he was a 42% shooter from 3. Coles was 1 of 5 from 3-point range against Georgia and 1 of 3 against Louisiana Tech. He led the Lopes with 19 points on 7 of 13 field-goal shooting against Louisiana Tech.

Both Coles and Grant-Foster missed open 3s in the final minute of the Georgia game. If either of them knock down a 3, it could have been a different outcome.

In the 75-68 home loss to UC Davis, the Lopes made just 4 of 25 3-pointers. Even against NAIA Life Pacific, a team the Lopes beat 100-52 before hitting the road, they made only 8 of 28 3-pointers.

On the season, Harrison has made 11 of 40 3-pointers (27.5%) and Grant-Foster 6 of 39 (15%). Last season, Grant-Foster, who made his living at the free-throw line, drawing fouls on quick moves to the basket, made 33% of his 3s (50 of 151), the second-best shooting percentage from the arc on the team, behind Gabe McGlothan (39.8%).

Against Louisiana Tech, the Lopes were within two points with 2:13 left, but got outscored 6-0 in the end.

“Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go in for him,” coach Bryce Drew said in the postgame GCU radio interview about Grant-Foster, who missed the first two games this season. “It’s not going in right now. There’s other parts of his game that he can do. I thought at Georgia he did a great job getting six steals.

“He’s a much better player than he’s playing. My job as a coach is we’ve got to get it out of him. We’ve been trying different things in the last month, and we’re going to keep trying more things to get him back on track.”

Scheduling

Because the WAC and Conference USA were locked into a contract to have non-conference games against each other, GCU had to go to Louisiana Tech in this home-and-home series. Last year, GCU pulled out a 73-70 win over Louisiana Tech at home. This game happened to fall two days after facing Georgia against a pro-Bulldogs crowd at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

“The scheduling has been very difficult,” Drew said. “We would never ever played this game where we played it. It’s the Conference USA challenge with the WAC, so we had this game. We had a chance to play Georgia, a top-40 team, in Atlanta. We didn’t want to turn that game down.”

But Drew added he didn’t want to use the Georgia game as an excuse.

“I’ve got to do a better job in the future with scheduling,” he said. “It’s super hard to get games. Doing a back-to-back basically after a super physical Georgia game, and, for 40 minutes, I think you saw the legs come out a little bit on some of our 3-point shooting.”

Brennan not backing down

The overall play of 6-foot-10 Brennan has been a bright spot since his return from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the first four games.

Brennan had 13 points on 5 of 6 shootings and pulled down seven rebounds against Louisiana Tech. He got big man Daniel Batcho to pick up two fouls and head to the bench after Louisiana Tech jumped out to a 13-2 lead.

GCU pulled ahead of Louisiana Tech late in the first half, but that couldn’t be sustained, as Batcho returned and finished with 19 points and seven rebounds without picking up another foul. Sean Newman Jr., had his season-average nine assists to go with 25 points.

Brennan had 10 points and eight rebounds against a big Georgia team that blocked nine GCU shots. Earlier this season, Brennan played well in the 78-71 Stanford win with 14 points and eight rebounds, going against Maxime Raynaud (29 points, 11 rebounds).

Georgia center Somto Cyril had 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocks against GCU.

“We’ve played three really good centers so far, and you look at those, and they’re as good as any center in the country,” Drew said. “Hopefully, we’re done playing that size and length for a while.

“Obviously, Saint Louis (Sunday’s home opponent) has a good center (Robbie Avila) but he’s a different kind of center. This stuff is going to make us better. It’s going to make our bigs better, our guards better, finishing, and also show what we need to work on in practice to get better.”

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

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Georgia

Special Election Day Results: How Georgia State Senate District 35 voted

Published

12 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Press Room

Special Election Day Results: How Georgia State Senate District 35 voted

Voters in Georgia’s State Senate District 35 headed to the polls Tuesday to select a new state senator, filling the seat left vacant by Democrat Jason Esteves, who is launching a gubernatorial bid.

The district, which includes portions of south Fulton, Douglasville, and Austell, saw a crowded field of six candidates vying for the seat during a pivotal off-year special election.

The candidates reflected a wide range of professional backgrounds and political priorities, offering voters differing visions for the district’s future from infrastructure upgrades and youth mentorship to policing, small business growth, and affordable housing.

The eventual winner will complete the remainder of Esteves’ term and likely play an influential role in legislative debates around education funding, economic development, voting rights, and criminal justice, issues that dominated this year’s campaigns.

No candidate secured more than 50% of the vote, so Democrats Jaha Howard and Roger Bruce – the top two finishers – will head to a runoff election, which is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.

Who was on the ballot

Roger Bruce (D) – A longtime state lawmaker, Bruce represented House District 61 from 2003–2024. He was a central figure in the successful effort to incorporate the City of South Fulton. Bruce has highlighted his legislative record on expanding voting rights, increasing fairness in minority business contracting, and strengthening community development.

Jaha V. Howard (D) – A pediatric dentist and former Cobb County Board of Education member, Howard campaigned on small business support, lowering healthcare barriers, and expanding affordable housing options.

Corenza Morris (I) – A former police officer, Army National Guard veteran, and small business owner, Morris focused his platform on job creation, reducing crime, and expanding family and youth economic opportunities.

Erica-Denise Solomon (D) – A journalist and media professional — and former 11Alive staffer — Solomon’s platform centered on workforce training, infrastructure investments, small business growth, and affordable housing.

Josh Tolbert (R) – An engineer and small business owner, Tolbert emphasized strengthening K–12 education, supporting entrepreneurs, partnering with local charities and churches, and improving housing affordability for working families.

John D. Williams (D) – A community mentor and organizer, Williams prioritized expanding youth programs, addressing voter suppression, improving infrastructure, and deepening trust between law enforcement and neighborhoods through community-based partnerships.

Election results

Democrats Jaha Howard and Roger Bruce were the top two candidates.

Full precinct-level results for the November 18 special election can be found on the Georgia Secretary of State’s elections portal.

View the complete results here.

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Georgia

Tariffs hurt Georgia’s ports in October. There’s cautious optimism for 2026.

Published

1 day ago

November 18, 2025

Press Room

Tariffs hurt Georgia’s ports in October. There’s cautious optimism for 2026.

Business

‘I really, truly believe things are settling down,’ ports authority CEO says.

The Cosco Pride is unloaded at the Port of Savannah, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Garden City, near Savannah, Ga. (Mike Stewart/AP)

Georgia’s bustling Savannah port wasn’t so busy in October, with container volumes down 8.4% compared to the same month a year ago, as the effects of global tariffs continued.

But Georgia Ports Authority President and CEO Griff Lynch is optimistic that the second half of the fiscal year, starting in January, will see improvement at its Savannah and Brunswick ocean ports.

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The cargo vessel Zim Mount Vinson navigates the Savannah River moving toward the Port of Savannah, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Garden City, near Savannah, Ga. (Mike Stewart/AP)

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Georgia Ports Authority plans to open its new inland rail port, the Blue Ridge Connector, northwest of Gainesville, Ga., in May. It is 80% complete as of November. (Courtesy of Georgia Ports Authority)

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As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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