Once Moore: Guard heads 'home' for GCU-Georgia
Lopes meet 8-1 Bulldogs at Atlanta Hawks' arena for Holiday Hoopsgiving tripleheader
Saturday, December 14 | 4 p.m. (Phoenix time) | State Farm Arena | Atlanta, Ga. | ||||
| GRAND CANYON LOPES (6-2) | vs. | GEORGIA BULLDOGS (8-1) | 
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| WATCH: SEC Network, ESPN+ | |
ATLANTA – Grand Canyon's Holiday Hoopsgiving marquee matchup with Georgia might seem like a tilted environment for the Bulldogs, coming just 70 miles away from their Athens campus.
Even as the event's only local team, Georgia will be hard-pressed to see more meaning in the downtown Atlanta event than what "C-Mo" takes into the Lopes-Bulldogs game, which can be seen on SEC Network and ESPN+ at 4 p.m. (Phoenix time). The tripleheader at the Atlanta Hawks' arena starts with Auburn vs. Ohio State at 11 a.m. and Arizona State vs. Florida at 1:30 p.m.
"This game hits a lot different because I'm going back to my second home," said Moore, who grew up in North Little Rock, Arkansas. "I've got a lot of family and friends that are coming out to support me, and I appreciate every single one of them."
The game will draw plenty more eyes for being the highest-ranked opponent that GCU (6-2) has played this season. Georgia (8-1) is No. 22 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings with wide-ranging statistical excellence.
The bulldogs rank third nationally in rebound margin per game (plus-13.2), fourth in blocked shots per game (6.1), 22nd in field goal percentage (49.9%) and 25th in scoring margin per game (plus-17.9).
"Georgia is really big around the rim," said GCU head coach Bryce Drew, who recorded his 100th Lopes win on Saturday. "They've dominated the paint. Obviously, that's a major concern going in with how dominant they've been.
"They have a really good combination of bigs who finish at an elite level, protect the rim and are really physical."
Georgia's only loss came Nov. 23, when Marquette beat the Bulldogs 80-69 in the Bahamas. Georgia has not played since defeating Notre Dame 69-48 at home on Dec. 3.
The Bulldogs' balance features five players averaging between 9.4 points and 15.9 points with the leading scorer being 6-foot-11 freshman Asa Newell, Georgia's second-highest ranked recruit to Anthony Edwards. He is shooting 56% from the field and complements the backcourt experience of 6-5 graduate transfers Tyrin Lawrence (Vanderbilt) and Dakota Leffew (Mount St. Mary's).
"They have perimeter players who make shots and have a lot of speed to beat you off the dribble," Drew said. "We just want to overall defend better. We've had some good moments where we've defended well, but getting consistency defensively for longer stretches is what we're looking for."
Consistency is the second-best area of growth at GCU for Moore, a high school teammate of Lawrence. Health is the leading change for Moore after his 2020-23 stay in Atlanta was marred by two left knee procedures and torn left hand ligaments.
After missing 40 of 82 games while at Georgia State, Moore played 42 consecutive games for GCU before cautiously sitting out Saturday's blowout of Life Pacific. Moore is having his career's best shooting season, hitting 48% of his 3-point attempts and shooting 50% overall from the field. He also is averaging a career-best 4.9 rebounds per game to go with 10.6 points, 2.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
"I'm just blessed to be at Grand Canyon because it's great to be here," Moore said. "Phoenix is just a different vibe of where Atlanta is. At first, I was a two-way player with more focus on scoring and playing defense. Now, I can do a variety of things. I can pass, score, defend, rebound."
The Lopes surely will need all of that and more from Moore to upset Georgia in the Peach State, the first stop of a challenging trip that will continue Monday at Louisiana Tech (8-2).
GCU arrived in Atlanta late Thursday to have Friday for practice and acclimation. A group of Havocs students also traveled to make the "neutral" site less partial to the home-state team.
The last time the Lopes traveled nearly as far for a game, GCU won 69-64 at Liberty last December.
"We expect to see a lot of red there," Drew said of the It'll be good four guys. We'll definitely have some purple too cheering there for us. But this will help prepare us for conference season with going on the road for two games."
Lope tracks
- GCU ranks fifth nationally for free throw attempts per game at 28.0, which is more than last season's average (25.8) that also ranked fifth nationally. This season's team is shooting 73.2% from the charity stripe to lag slightly behind last season's 74.9% clip.
- The Lopes rank 19th nationally for most opponent turnovers per game (16.3). Georgia averages 13.8 turnovers per game, which is the nation's 62nd highest average.
- GCU is 4-0 since junior center Duke Brennan returned from an arm injury that sidelined him for the Lopes' 2-2 start.
- In his third Lopes season, senior guard Ray Harrison needs eight points to pass T.C. Dean (1956-59, 1,210 points) on the GCU career scoring leader list. Harrison's 2,094 career points, including two years at Presbyterian, rank seventh among active Division I players.
- Georgia head coach Mike White is in his third season leading the Bulldogs after previously coaching seven seasons at Florida and four seasons at Louisiana Tech. he has a 287=162 career record.
Once Moore: Guard heads 'home' for GCU-Georgia - Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, December 14 | 4 p.m. (Phoenix time) | State Farm Arena | Atlanta, Ga. GRAND CANYON LOPES (6-2) vs. GEORGIA BULLDOGS (8-1) WATCH:
gculopes.com
Additionally Grand Canyon’s SG Ray Harrison grew up in South Carolina
- Ht./Wt.:6-4 / 190
- Position:Guard
- Class:Senior
- Hometown:Greenville, S.C.
- High School:Legacy Early College
- Prev School
resbyterian
