Ray Harrison had made only one of his first 10 shots Saturday, but with the score tied and 20 seconds left, there was no other player Grand Canyon coach Bryce Drew wanted with the ball in his hands.
With Western Kentucky’s defense falling back to its side of the court, Harrison slowly dribbled the ball downcourt. He dribbled to his left, then cut back to his right and swooped a shot off the glass with a second to play.
The Hilltoppers inbounded and threw up a shot that bounced off the top of the backboard, and GCU celebrated a 74-72 win that extended its home winning streak to 18 games before a sellout crowd of 7,332 at Global Credit Union Arena.
It was especially satisfying for Harrison to have his father, who flew in from South Carolina, there to watch it.
In the postgame news conference with Harrison and sophomore guard Makaih Williams, Harrison was asked if the last play was designed for him.
“Not necessarily,” Harrison said, before Williams interrupted.
“It was to him, it was to him,” Williams repeated.
“Coach drew up a good play and gave me some good options,” Harrison said. “I feel like he gave me the ball.”
Harrison had the most experience of any of the Lopes on the floor. Down two starters for the first two games, Drew used only six players the entire second half.
This is Harrison’s third year playing for GCU. He carried the Lopes to the NCAA Tournament two years ago down the stretch. He was instrumental in getting them back to March Madness last year.
And Harrison, who surpassed 2,000 points on Monday for his career in the season opener, wanted it.
He finished with eight points on 2 of 11 shooting, and knocking down 4 of 5 free throws.
“He’s been such a great player for us,” Drew said. “And when he has the ball, he sees a lot of the right plays at the right time. We definitely wanted the ball in his hands to let him decide whether to go shoot it or pass it to someone.”
How they rallied
With the Lopes turning the ball over and the Hilltoppers (0-2) making big shots down the stretch, it appeared over after Western Kentucky went on a 9-0 run to take a 67-58 lead with 5:53 left.
GCU (2-0) then started making stops and started attacking the glass. After JaKobe Coles (16 points, 11 rebounds) hit a soft jumper in the lane to make it 67-60, WKU had a shot-clock violation and Collin Moore — who had a GCU career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds — tipped in a missed shot to make it 67-62.
WKU, the Conference USA tournament champion last year, took a 69-62 lead on Tyrone Marshall’s driving basket with 3:06 left.
Williams hit two foul shots to make it a five-point game with 3:03 to play.
The Hilltoppers led 72-66 on a basket by Don McHenry (23 points).
But with 1:27 left, Lok Wur hit a corner 3 to make it a three-point game.
GCU forced a turnover and tied it on Williams’ three-point play with 42 seconds left.
Again, GCU forced a bad pass that sailed out of bounds, and GCU got the ball with 20 seconds to play, leaving it up to Harrison to make a play.
“We all looked each other in the eye and came together,” Harrison said.
Williams, who took only one shot in the first half when he had two fouls, finished with 12 points.
“It was a rough first half for all of us, honestly,” Williams said. “As a team, we stayed together and got through it. That’s a great team. Now we got Tyon (Grant-Foster) back so it will make us even better.”
Having Grant-Foster back
After missing two exhibition and the first two regular-season games, reigning WAC Player of the Year Tyon Grant-Foster will make his season debut on Thursday night against Arizona State at Footprint Center.
It’s uncertain whether center Duke Brennan will be back to face his former school. Brennan missed the first two games with a shoulder injury and is day-to-day, Drew said, adding he’s eager to have Grant-Foster return.
“I’d like to say he’ll come out and be the Tyon we know from the first possession,” Drew said. “Hopefully, he is. But our team has played four games without him. The quicker they can play together, the better we’ll be.”
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
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ray Harrison’s last-second shot lifts GCU Lopes basketball past WKU
