GCU falls flat in 2nd half to No. 3 BYU-Hawaii

Give them an inch to move and BYU-Hawaii will bury teams.

Monday, in the final home game of the season, Grand Canyon gave the No. 3 Seasiders about a foot. On numerous second half occasions.

Needless to say, BYU-Hawaii ran its unbeaten streak to 18 straight in a runaway 86-71 win over the Antelopes in front of 867.

GCU seniors Milee Karre, Engen Nurumbi, Brandon Dempster and Shansan Chambers stepped on the floor in Antelope Gym for the final time in their career. Karre became just the 27th player in GCU's 59-year history to play all four years in Antelope Purple and Black.

But BYU-Hawaii (21-1, 11-0 PacWest) took the sting to an extreme after Chambers hit a three-pointer with 11:13 to play to tie the game at 55-55. Even BYU center Lucas Alves' ejection, following a double technical foul, couldn't derail the Seasiders from remaining perfect in league play.

GCU (13-12, 5-6) needed more than help from the officials to beat what Lopes coach Dan Nichols said days earlier was the best team he's seen all year. But the 16 turnovers and 15 of 22 free throw shooting didn't help matters.

The Antelopes never drew within striking distance after Chambers' triple. He finished with 17 points and four assists. Dave Cuen added 20 points and nine boards. Nurumbi (pictured) had 14 points, seven boards and two steals.

GCU shot 26 of 66 from the field, going just 4 of 16 from beyond the arc. BYU-Hawaii hit 32 of 63 shots, canning its first five triples en route to a 6 for 21 three-point effort.

The Antelopes were outrebounded 43-36.

Trenson Akana had 15 points, Nathan Sims had 12 points and six boards, Jermaine Odjegba 11 points and eight rebounds, and Tsung-Hsien Chang 11 points for the Seasiders. Alves was held to nine points and four rebounds, which was 11 points and three boards under his averages.

GCU will conclude the season on the road at Dixie State March 5-6 in St. George, Utah.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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