0
0
GCU late surge in Las Vegas turned a flat afternoon into a frantic finish, but the Lopes’ rally ran out of time in an 80–78 loss to UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center.
How the game unfolded for GCU
UNLV, shorthanded but energized after a tough loss at Fresno State, punched first behind guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who poured in 20 first‑half points on his way to 29 for the night. His three‑level scoring helped the Rebels build a 39–23 cushion, and Isaac Williamson’s deep three in the final seconds of the half sent GCU to the locker room down 44–34, the most first‑half points the Lopes have allowed this season. GCU’s guards struggled to stay attached over ball screens, a breakdown Bryce Drew pointed to afterward as UNLV repeatedly found rhythm jumpers.
Midway through the second half, Grand Canyon strung together a 7–0 run entirely at the free‑throw line, cutting the deficit to two possessions but never getting the stop‑and‑score combination needed to flip momentum. Each time the Lopes crept within four, UNLV answered—often through bench guard Al Green, whose back‑to‑back buckets pushed the margin back to 72–57 with 3:37 left. At that point, GCU was shooting just 30.6 percent from the field and looked destined for a quiet double‑digit defeat.
The frantic finish
Instead, the final four minutes turned into the kind of chaos GCU usually thrives on in Vegas. The Lopes scored 22 points in that stretch, with Jaden Henley pouring in nine of his 17 and Makaih Williams adding seven of his 16 as GCU’s pressure finally bothered the Rebels. Nana Owusu‑Anane fueled the push on both ends, jumping passing lanes and tying up UNLV ball‑handlers to steal extra possessions, including one that led to Henley free throws and a one‑possession game for the first time since early in the half.
Owusu‑Anane capped his night—19 points, 13 rebounds, four steals, three assists—with a trail three that cut the deficit to 78–76 with 12 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds, he nearly forced a turnover again, but the possession arrow and a scrambling save from Jacob Bannarbie kept the ball with UNLV. Williamson’s two free throws with 5.2 seconds left pushed the lead to 80–76, and a final GCU push could only shave the margin to two as the horn sounded.
Key performances and stats
Owusu‑Anane’s double‑double was his fifth of the season and the 20th of his career, a stat line that underscored how much of GCU’s toughness ran through the graduate forward on a day when Drew felt his team “got punked.” Henley, returning to his former home floor, finished with 17 points and 10 boards but struggled for the first 30 minutes before finding rhythm during the rally. Williams’ 16 points and Dusty Stromer’s timely first‑half threes were crucial in keeping GCU connected when UNLV threatened to break the game open.
As a team, GCU shot 38.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three, numbers buoyed only by that closing stretch when they hit six straight and seven of eight. UNLV countered at 42.9 percent overall, matched the Lopes from deep, and made 18 of 19 free throws, including the last two that effectively sealed it. The Rebels also edged GCU 41–36 on the glass thanks in large part to Bannarbie’s 15 rebounds off the bench, a key reason Drew lamented his team’s inability to hold its line physically.
What it means for GCU right now
In the immediate Mountain West picture, the loss drops Grand Canyon to 15–8 overall and 8–4 in league play, sliding them into fifth place—just behind Nevada and one game back of New Mexico, which visits Phoenix on Wednesday. A win would have tightened the top of the standings and put GCU in a stronger spot heading into that showdown; instead, the Lopes return home needing to quickly rediscover the physical edge that has defined their best basketball.
Drew’s postgame message centered on urgency and toughness for all 40 minutes, not just the final four. With New Mexico coming off its own one‑point home loss and holding a blowout win over GCU from the first meeting, Wednesday now becomes less about bracket talk and more about identity—whether the Lopes can turn the sting of Vegas into a sharper, more aggressive version of themselves down the stretch.
About the Author
