Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UNLV on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 80
M Basketball
at UNLV
L 78-80
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Lopes survive test from National Champ Portland Bible
1/28/2009 10:21:24 PM | Men's Basketball
Engen Nurumbi checked himself into the health center earlier in the day. Wednesday night, he gave everyone on the court -- including his haters -- a reality check.
When Nurumbi rumbles, Grand Canyon is good.
Wednesday night, he rumbled.
Nurumbi scored a season-high 29 points and pulled down 12 boards, collecting his second double-double of the season. He sank 11 of 15 field goals and went 7 of 9 from the free throw line, and had three assists and three steals in a Herculean-type effort that lifted Grand Canyon past Portland Bible College, 85-79 in Antelope Gym.
Portland Bible (18-3) won the Association of Christian College Athletics Division II National Championship a year ago. The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the nation this year, and had not lost in 2009.
"Overall as a team, we weren't prepared tonight," GCU guard Milee Karre said after dishing out five assists as the Lopes moved a game over .500 at 9-8. "I think we kind of overlooked 'em."
Portland Bible sliced a nine-point deficit to two after Nurumbi's dunk on a feed from Dave Cuen with 2:21 to play. The Wildcats used a 7-0 to close the first half, drawing within 41-39.
Grand Canyon opened up a six-point lead on a dunk by Cuen with 17:47 remaining, but Cameron Guyton's triple 43 seconds later brought Portland Bible within one. Brandon McGruder sank a pair of free throws less than three minutes later to pad GCU's lead back to six. But PBC's Austin Hodges, who finished with 23 points, sank two free throws 1:19 later to draw within one.
"We came out sluggish," Grand Canyon's Brandon Dempster said. "I thought we were better than them."
Not by much. Portland Bible put up a fight for 40 minutes.
The Antelopes extended their lead to seven on a triple by Eric Cuen with 8:22 to go, but the Wildcats hung around and drew within three on Joseph Johnson's triple with 19 seconds to go before Grand Canyon put the game away at the free throw line.
Dave Cuen had 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting. McGruder (pictured) had 18 points on 6 of 7, including 4 of 5 from beyond the three-point arc.
Michael Cooper had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Guyton finished with 17 for the Wildcats, who went 32 of 70 from the field.
"We gave up way too many shots," Dempster said.
Reality check.
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