There were lots of smiles, laughs, high fives and rings passed out before Grand Canyon took the floor against Eastern New Mexico in Tuesday’s basketball exhibition.
It took a while, after unfurling the WAC championship banner, for the 2024-25 Lopes to get into sync in an 87-57 victory over Division II ENMU before a sellout crowd of 7,244 at Global Credit Union Arena.
Makaih Williams, the WAC Freshman of the Year last season at UT-Arlington, made the biggest splash for a veteran team that was without its star, Tyon Grant-Foster, who won’t play his first game until Nov. 14 against Arizona State at Footprint Center.
Williams hit all seven of his shots, including all four of his 3-pointers, to finish with 18 points. It was a familiar place, but a different role for the guard, who lost to GCU in the WAC tournament championship game in Las Vegas with UT-Arlington last year.
Williams recalled coming into GCU as the villain last year. Now he’s one of the good guys.
“It was amazing,” Williams said of the raucous student-section Havocs. “I heard someone at courtside saying, ‘Good job.’ I was like, ‘Wow, I’m really here.’ It’s crazy.”
Williams entered for the first time six minutes into the game. He excited the Havocs with a steal and reverse layup to give the Lopes an 18-5 lead.
The Division II Greyhounds, who won 22 games last year, weren’t going to let the Lopes stay in a celebratory mood. They closed it to 18-13 with an 8-0 run, beating the Lopes’ understudies to the glass.
After a while, coach Bryce Drew brought his starting five back into the game. The Greyhounds kept chasing down loose rebounds and got within 22-17 on a 3 by Jaden Clarke.
Williams nailed a 3 to give GCU a 31-19 lead with 5:57 left in the half. He hit another 3 in the final minute of the half and the Lopes built a 44-26 lead, despite being outrebounded 23-18.
Williams was clearly the standout in the first half when he had 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting in 12 minutes of action.
In the second half, power forward JaKobe Coles, a transfer from TCU, asserted himself around the basket and creating for shots outside. He made 8 of 15 shots, 3 of 5 3-pointers, and had a team-high 19 points. He also had nine rebounds, complementing center Duke Brennan, who had 12 points and eight rebounds.
“With the guys we had out there today, we already are a really talented team,” said Coles, who played in three NCAA Tournaments at TCU. “So, of course, when Tyon comes back, it will fit in well with us.
“Most importantly, the talent means a lot. But it means nothing if you don’t have any execution with it. There was a couple of things today we didn’t execute on, like rebounding. We had too many turnovers.”
Coach Bryce Drew hopes to have that cleaned up in time for the Nov. 4 season opener against Cal State Fullerton. After that, the Lopes take on Western Kentucky on Nov. 11, before Grant-Foster makes his debut against ASU.
Coles is a different style of player than Gabe McGlothan, the only starter not back from last year’s 30-win team. McGlothan was a dynamic rebounder who charged up the Havocs with the way he skied for the ball and put down dunks.
Coles is more of a surgeon on the floor, creating off the dribble, finding his spots, and scoring quickly.
“I thought Makaih was great off the bench, and JaKobe can score in bunches,” Drew said. “He can shoot it. He’s creative with his shot-making abilities. When we signed those two guys, they were both over 40 percent 3-point shooters. Tonight, they were terrific.
“As you get Tyon back, we all know Ray (Harrison) can score a bunch more. It’s just going to create more space on the court.”
Harrison and Collin Moore, along with Brennan and wing Lok Wur are among the top five scorers from last season.
But, at least in this exhibition, two newcomers showed they will only add to the firepower.
“This is a great environment,” Coles said. “At TCU, this time of year, there might be a thousand people in the stands. Then, when the Big 12 hits, it’s kind of like this. But it’s great to see the fans come out just for an exhibition game. That just lets us know we have to be ready for every game. People are watching. It’s great we have this fan base.”
GCU will miss McGlothan’s dynamic dunks and the way he patrols the boards. But Coles has the experience of three NCAA Tournaments with TCU. He will give the Lopes’ a boost on the boards and on the offensive end.
Drew went with his starters much of the second half, subbing in Williams and Caleb Shaw as part of seven-man rotation.
The lead grew to 61-40 with 12 minutes to play as Williams knocked down his third 3 without missing. Coles started asserting himself. He had 16 points by then on 7 of 13 shooting, making 2 of 4 3-pointers.
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: Transfers put on show in GCU basketball’s exhibition victory
