Collin Moore led a balanced attack with 15 points and Grand Canyon overcame a 29-point performance from Maxime Raynaud for a 78-71 victory over previously unbeaten Stanford in Palm Desert, Calif., on Tuesday night.
Fellow starters Duke Brennan (14), Ray Harrison (13) and JaKobe Coles (10) also scored in double figures for the Lopes, as did reserve Makaih Williams (14). Tyon Grant-Foster contributed eight points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks as Grand Canyon (4-2) won its second consecutive game.
Raynaud collected a game-high 11 rebounds to complete his seventh straight double-double for the Cardinal (6-1), who lost despite outrebounding the Lopes 38-32.
Raynaud sank a jumper to get Stanford within 64-60 with 3:57 to play, but he failed to complete a three-point play by missing a free throw.
Coles followed by hitting a jumper, and after a Stanford miss, Williams dropped in two foul shots, making it an eight-point game with 2:52 left.
Stanford’s Jaylen Blakes made the game’s only two field goals after that — including a three-point play with 11 seconds remaining — but it wasn’t nearly enough to offset 10-for-12 free throw shooting by Grand Canyon down the stretch. Moore was 5-for-6 at the line over the final 24 seconds.
The tightly contested affair saw Stanford build a seven-point lead in the first half, only to see Grand Canyon score the next seven points.
Down 33-32 at halftime, the Lopes built the second half’s biggest lead at 61-52 before Stanford rallied within 64-60, setting up Grand Canyon’s big finish.
Brennan shot 6-for-9 and Moore 3-for-5 for the Lopes, who outshot the Cardinal 46.3 percent to 38.1 percent. Brennan also found time to tie Grant-Foster for team-high rebounding honors with eight.
Raynaud shot 12-for-21 from the floor. He misfired on five of his six 3-point attempts, however, as the Cardinal went just 4-for-22 (18.2 percent) from beyond the arc.
Blakes finished with 22 points to go with six rebounds and a game-high-tying five assists, while Oziyah Sellers added 12 points for Stanford.
–Field Level Media