What we learned about GCU after loss to South Carolina in Arizona Tip-Off championship
Grand Canyon fell to South Carolina 75-68 on Sunday in the Cactus Division championship game of the Arizona Tip-Off, leaving Desert Diamond Arena with a reality check of how much works needs to be done to get ready for a behemoth like San Diego State in a couple of weeks.
The Antelopes (3-1), suffering their first loss, was able to overcome a taller San Francisco team, 76-72, on Friday in the first round of the showcase.
But not a bigger, deeper, more powerful and talented South Carolina team, which might be the surprise team of the SEC this season after rebuilding its roster with lots of fifth-year seniors through the portal.
The Gamecocks improved to 5-0 with a bullish performance that exposed GCU's bench and showed how much further along they are than the Antelopes with a methodical, deliberate half-court pace.
Here are takeaways from the two-game event that had a strong Havocs crowd:
No answer for B.J. Mack
As poorly as GCU shot most of the game, it kept hanging around. But, in the end, 6-foot-8, 270-pound graduate B.J. Mack was too much to handle. Mack had 27 points, making 9 of 9 free throws, and 4 of 7 3-pointers. It was the best he's shot.
He used his big frame to overpower the Antelopes in the paint at times whenever GCU got within striking distance in the second half. And he feasted at the free-throw line.
GCU got within 71-68 after a Collin Moore jumper with 1:10 left, but Jacobi Wright scored easily along the baseline to make it a two-possession game with 45 seconds to play. Tyon Grant-Foster missed a three and Mack sank two foul shots to ice it.
"They're old, and that helps," Drew said. "They have seven super-seniors. This is their fifth year of college basketball and that makes a big difference. I think they have their identity of who they are right now. I think we're going to look substantially different a month from now."
GCU will need Blacksher to return
Point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., should help whenever he gets back from the torn ACL he suffered last Jan. 5. He still is rehabbing but once he is back, the Antelopes should look a lot different and give them more bench help. That bench in the Arizona Tip-Off was practically non-existent.
The starting five logged heavy minutes in the San Francisco game, because the starters were playing too well for Drew to take them out.
"Not concerned," Drew said. "We have confidence in those guys, that they'll play better. They need more minutes to produce. When they're out there, they have to impact the game and help our team."
It will help when guard Josh Baker can get back to full strength. Coming off a shoulder injury that kept him out all off-season, he struggled over the weekend. He did not take a shot in just four minutes against South Carolina and had four turnovers in eight minutes against San Francisco.
That's putting more on Moore, who has been solid, along with Ray Harrison and Grant-Foster in the backcourt. All three logged more than 34 minutes Sunday. Harrison had 12 points, Grant-Foster 16 points and Moore 15 points on a night when GCU made 23 of 27 free throws, but got only four points from the bench, all of that from 6-8, 270-pound Sydney Curry.
GCU shot just 33% in the first half. The Lopes shot it better in the second half (11 of 24 for 45.8%), but they allowed the Gamecocks to make 57.7% of their shots in the second half and 54% for the game.
"We kind of left this game knowing we could have performed much better," Drew said. "So that's encouraging going into practice. I think we're still trying to find our identity of who we are. It's starting to shape after four games but we're not there yet."
Gabe McGlothan provides stability
Drew stuck with forward Gabe McGlothan after he picked up his fourth foul with 10:40 left. He was GCU's best player on the court at the time. McGlothan, who ended up playing 38 minutes, had 18 points and nine rebounds and didn't foul out until the final seconds when the game was decided.
He made 9 of 10 free throws. He needed help inside, though. Forward Duke Brennan scored all three of his points from the line and had five rebounds in 19 minutes. Curry had just three rebounds in 13 minutes.
"I know these guys look for me, and I wanted to be a rock for them," McGlothan said. "I just wanted to stay in the game. Coach trusted me with that opportunity, so I didn't want to let them down."
McGlothan said a lot of South Carolina's baskets in the paint (28 points inside) "were off of our mistakes."
"It's a good learning curve," McGlothan said. "It's unfortunate we couldn't get this win. Sometimes you can lose properly."
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What we learned about GCU after loss to South Carolina
