March Madness: Grand Canyon led Alabama late, then it all fell apart

SPOKANE, Wash. — With 5:37 to play, leading Alabama by three, the Havocs raising the roof at Spokane Arena, Grand Canyon seemed to have the the fourth-seeded Tide reeling.

But unlike most of their games this season when they would put a stranglehold on teams late in games, the Lopes let their grasp slacken.

Turnovers, missed shots — lots of missed 3s — lost rebounds, and little help for Tyon Grant-Foster (29 points), and GCU watched the magic end in the final four minutes. The Lopes were unable to score as the Tide escaped with a 72-61 win Sunday night and a trip to Los Angeles for the Sweet 16.

"If you would have told me before the game we're going to shoot 10% from 3 (2 of 20) and 32 from the field, and 68 from the free-throw line (23 of 37) and be up with six minutes let, there's no way I would have believed you," coach Bryce Drew said. "The fight in these guys, the will, the togetherness, the no-quit in them was really fun to be part of."

GCU won 30 games — a school-record in its 11-year Division I history. The Lopes won their first NCAA Tournament game in three tries.

Grant-Foster turned into a national story with his comeback two years after collapsing in a locker room and needing two heart surgeries, then becoming the WAC Player of the Year.

Fifth-year point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. came back from a torn ACL last year and found a late-season revival in his career.

Graduate forward Gabe McGlothan became the spiritual leader of the Lopes, putting in the last four years at GCU under Drew when he didn't get tempted like so many players do by the transfer portal.

Those are memories that GCU can keep forever. But after digging back from a 10-point deficit with 10 minutes left and taking the lead, 58-55, with 5:37 to play on a Grant-Foster drive, the Lopes, having the attention of college basketball fans from all over the country, couldn't finish.

That's when 6-foot-7 Mouhamed Dioubate showed up. He had five offensive rebounds and nine points, including a three-point play, during the devastating 17-3 run that ended the 12th-seed's feel-good story.

"I was just playing hard, and got lost in the game, honestly," said Dioubate, whose 12 minutes of action ended up being the game changer. "I wasn't thinking about scoring. I just let the game come to me. Coach (Nate Oats) put me in with a few minutes left in the game. I just tried to play as hard as I can and let my defense contribute to offense."

Guard Mark Sears, a second-team All-American, was big at both ends of the court for Alabama (23-11), scoring 26 points, making five of 11 3-point attempts, grabbing 12 rebounds and coming up with three steals. He was good on 8 of 18 shots, 5 of 11 from the 3-point arc.

"This is as good a defense he played all year, first double-double of the year," Bama coach Nate Oats said.

But Sears said, "We don't win this game without (Dioubate)."

GCU (30-5) suffered a big blow with four minutes to play when 6-foot-9 wing Lok Wur fouled out. He only played seven minutes in a first half that saw the Lopes get down 38-30. Without Wur down the stretch, the offense became stagnant and the Lopes lacked a rebounder and shot blocker.

"It really hurt our offense," Drew said. "We've been so good in the last month-and-a-half with Lok and Gabe on the floor together. So our inability to put them on the court for a long stretch of time really hurt."

At times, GCU's offense became stagnant with players going one-on-one, forcing shots, forcing passes that ended up rewarding the Tide the other way. The Lopes had only five assists, leaning on Grant-Foster to take over off the dribble.

He made their only two 3-pointers, but he missed five, and was 9 of 22 from the field and 9-for-16 from the line.

In the end, it was GCU's inability to rebound and hang onto the ball that hurt.

"The offensive rebounds (by Alabama) in the last five minutes cost us the game," Drew said. "It won the game for them. Long shots, long rebounds. Then the free-throw box-outs. I'll have to go back and watch the film and see if it was just a tip or we missed the coverage. But the offensive rebounds were probably the biggest difference in the game."

Alabama attempted 31 3s, making eight, which was much better than GCU's 2-of-20 performance from the arc. But the Tide had 20 of its 50 rebounds on the offensive end.

"You're boxing out, you're doing what you're supposed to, and it just flies over your head," said McGlothan, who had eight points, six rebounds and two steals in his final game. "You got to look at those moments and be like, you know what, I got to push 'em a little bit harder, get 'em out, box out a little better. But long shots equals long rebounds and I think that's what got us."

It was tough to keep momentum down the stretch when the only offense was going through Grant-Foster. The Lopes asked too much from him in the final minutes, and the Tide, led by Nick Pringle (nine rebounds, two blocked shots), was waiting.

After Alabama took a 64-61 lead with 3:48 to play, Grant-Foster missed a 3, Duke Brennan lost the ball after rebounding a Bama miss, Grant-Foster couldn't connect on a drive, then missed another 3, then lost the ball while trying to make something happened.

It all unraveled in the end.

After it was over, the Lopes crossed the court to a standing ovation from the student Havocs, all 237 of them filling Section 103, and thanked them for the season-long support. McGlothan raised two hands to form a heart, then gave the Antelope salute as he walked off the court.

"Just looking at each other's eyes and just being connected to see who we're fighting for, we're fighting for each other," McGlothan said. "I think that love that we have for each other is a bond that is not breakable.

"So when we were down by 10, being able to come back and fight, it was for each other and just being connected."

Grant-Foster said he felt the connectivity didn't leave at any point in the game, which gave the Lopes a fighting chance at the end.

"I say we were one rebound away from winning that game," Grant-Foster said. "We get like one rebound, the game's turned. We win that game."

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: Grand Canyon's magical March Madness ride ends vs. Alabama