Antelopes prove to be 'Warriors' of their own

Dan Nichols had a look of exasperation on his face.

His team found a way to make him smile.

Grand Canyon's Dave Cuen sank two free throws with two seconds left to seal a game that got close after the Antelopes let a seven-point lead with 4:04 to play get away from them. GCU escaped with a 66-64 win over Hawai'i Pacific Wednesday night to move back to the .500 mark.

It snapped a three-game losing streak that began at Hawai'i Pacifc eight days earlier.

Hey coach, you won the game.

"You should tell me that more often," Nichols said as he sought out post-game attention.

Here's what's to tell: Grand Canyon (11-11, 4-5) has two more games this week to complete a stretch during the busiest time of the year for GCU athletics. And if the Lopes rest on winning strictly tonight, there won't be happy campers at the end of this seemingly endless dawn-to-dusk week.

On this night, there was sunshine.

Engen Nurumbi sat on the scorer's table after the game, a glow on his face after he fell a rebound shy of his third double-double of the season. He finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Milee Karre (pictured) wanted to talk about tennis after the win, practicing his -- Milee you need work -- interviewing skills. He finished with 12 points, three assists and two steals.

Cuen went 6 of 9 from the line, hitting the biggest two when it mattered, and finished with 12 points and three assists in a reserve role.

Assistant coach Daven Vo, who shrewdly after informing Nichols on the bench of a strategy not to call a timeout when the boss was ready to pull the trigger -- and it worked -- said his customary "thank yous" to look at numbers on a piece of paper.

And the Lopes, as a whole, rallied around each other in the aftermath of two players being excused.

Now Grand Canyon gears for Notre Dame on Friday with anticipation in knowing that winning a pair would do them a lot of good. But a loss or two will result in, at best, only a .500 mark by week's end.

It's a place Grand Canyon doesn't want to revisit again this year.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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