Grand Canyon rides Arena crowd to upset against Saint Mary’s

Grand Canyon University introduced itself to a national audience and etched its name in March Madness lore.

The 12th-seeded Antelopes scored their first NCAA Tournament win in program history, knocking off No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s 75-66 on Friday evening at the Arena.

The WAC champion Lopes (30-4), making their third tourney appearance in the past four seasons, broke through against midmajor power in Saint Mary’s, which has qualified for the national tournament 13 times.

A popular bracket pick for a 12-over-5 upset, Grand Canyon made it clear early that it was no underdog. The Lopes traded blows with the WCC champion Gaels (26-8) throughout a back-and-forth first half, then separated with a 17-1 scoring run midway through the second half and withstood a late surge from Saint Mary’s.

The Lopes advance to face fourth-seeded Alabama on Sunday at the Arena.

A massive contingent of purple-clad fans made the sold-out Arena feel like a home atmosphere for GCU during its game-changing run. Lopes guard Tyon Grant-Foster hit a 3 and followed with an alley-oop dunk to headline the spurt, which ended with GCU leading 52-35 with about 11 minutes to play.

Gaels guard Aidan Mahaney spearheaded a rally. He knocked down a 3 to trim the deficit to 57-52 with 6:30 remaining, but the Lopes responded and didn’t let Saint Mary’s get closer.

Grant-Foster, a former five-star recruit and Kansas transfer, led all scorers with 22 points. Guard Ray Harrison scored 17 and forward Gabe McGlothan added 12, including a couple of high-flying dunks.

The Lopes shot 42.9% from the field and 5 of 18 on 3-pointers, but they attacked the paint and shot 28 of 36 from the foul line. GCU outplayed Saint Mary’s on defense – the Gaels entered the game with the No. 2 scoring defense nationally.

Saint Mary’s shot 38.8% from the field and 7 of 25 on 3-pointers. Mahaney scored 13 points but shot 5 of 21 from the floor. Center Mitchell Saxen tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds.