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
Rapid Recap: GCU 80, Chicago State 46
1/17/2019 8:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes use early 21-2 run to put away Cougars
No more drama.
After a road trip of wild finishes, Grand Canyon left nothing to the imagination in its return to GCU Arena by trouncing Chicago State 80-46 for its 15th consecutive regular-season home victory.
The Cougars, who lost their first two WAC games closely, held early leads until the Lopes (11-7, 3-1 WAC) went on a 21-2 run for a 24-8 lead that was too much for Chicago State to weather. The final margin was GCU's second largest of the season and the biggest of its WAC history. Chicago State's 46 points was the least GCU has allowed in a WAC game.
It was a balanced scoring attack for GCU with sophomore point guard Damari Milstead scoring in double figures (11 points) for the fourth consecutive game and junior guard Carlos Johnson (12 points) doing it for a fifth consecutive game. The Lopes put five players in double-digits for points as they shot 51.2 percent from the field. It was the fourth consecutive game that GCU had four players score in double figures.
It was GCU sophomore power forward Roberts Blumbergs' first-half performance that might prove to be the best product of the victory. Blumbergs has struggled with his shot, fouls and holding onto playing rotation time throughout this season but he had his best stretch of the season Thursday night. With a team-high eight points in the first half, Blumbergs earned a start for the second half in place of sophomore center Alessandro Lever and finished with 10 points.
Coming off their best 3-point shooting game of the season on Saturday (12 for 25), the Lopes perhaps showed that their perimeter touch is turning a corner before a cool finish put them at following 7 for 22 from the arc against Chicago State (3-15, 0-3 WAC). Meanwhile, the Lopes did not allow the Cougars to make a 3-pointer on 10 attempts.
Chicago State pushed back with a series of second-chance opportunities and GCU turnovers in the first half to trail 32-24 but GCU closed the half on an 11-2 run, including four points and a charge taken from Blumbergs during the stretch.
With top bench defender Gerard Martin returning from a one-game injury absence, Chicago State shot just 39.2 percent from the field to become GCU's eighth opponent to shoot less than 40 percent or less this season.
The game went so well that freshman walk-on forward Raef Gerdes checked into the game with 5:33 to play, much to the thrill of the Havocs. It was the Lopes' first home game with the students in session since a Dec. 1 win against Boise State.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game recap with comments from Dan Majerle and players.
After a road trip of wild finishes, Grand Canyon left nothing to the imagination in its return to GCU Arena by trouncing Chicago State 80-46 for its 15th consecutive regular-season home victory.
The Cougars, who lost their first two WAC games closely, held early leads until the Lopes (11-7, 3-1 WAC) went on a 21-2 run for a 24-8 lead that was too much for Chicago State to weather. The final margin was GCU's second largest of the season and the biggest of its WAC history. Chicago State's 46 points was the least GCU has allowed in a WAC game.
It was a balanced scoring attack for GCU with sophomore point guard Damari Milstead scoring in double figures (11 points) for the fourth consecutive game and junior guard Carlos Johnson (12 points) doing it for a fifth consecutive game. The Lopes put five players in double-digits for points as they shot 51.2 percent from the field. It was the fourth consecutive game that GCU had four players score in double figures.
It was GCU sophomore power forward Roberts Blumbergs' first-half performance that might prove to be the best product of the victory. Blumbergs has struggled with his shot, fouls and holding onto playing rotation time throughout this season but he had his best stretch of the season Thursday night. With a team-high eight points in the first half, Blumbergs earned a start for the second half in place of sophomore center Alessandro Lever and finished with 10 points.
Coming off their best 3-point shooting game of the season on Saturday (12 for 25), the Lopes perhaps showed that their perimeter touch is turning a corner before a cool finish put them at following 7 for 22 from the arc against Chicago State (3-15, 0-3 WAC). Meanwhile, the Lopes did not allow the Cougars to make a 3-pointer on 10 attempts.
Chicago State pushed back with a series of second-chance opportunities and GCU turnovers in the first half to trail 32-24 but GCU closed the half on an 11-2 run, including four points and a charge taken from Blumbergs during the stretch.
With top bench defender Gerard Martin returning from a one-game injury absence, Chicago State shot just 39.2 percent from the field to become GCU's eighth opponent to shoot less than 40 percent or less this season.
The game went so well that freshman walk-on forward Raef Gerdes checked into the game with 5:33 to play, much to the thrill of the Havocs. It was the Lopes' first home game with the students in session since a Dec. 1 win against Boise State.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game recap with comments from Dan Majerle and players.
Players Mentioned
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