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 71, UVU 60
1/3/2019 6:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Grand Canyon prides itself on defense of its home court and defense of its opponents.
The Lopes stretched their regular-season home winning streak to 13 games and opened WAC play with a 71-60 Thursday night victory against Utah Valley in front of 7,205 fans at GCU Arena.
Utah Valley (11-5) entered Thursday having won 10 of its previous 11 games and five in a row but only shot 37.5 percent from the field. The Wolverines entered the game with a season shooting percentage of 48.3 and wound up scoring 15.5 points below their season average.
GCU (8-6) needed its defense to overcome cold 3-point shooting (4 for 24) but benefited from senior power forward Matt Jackson scoring a career-high 19 points and grabbing a career-high tying eight rebounds and sophomore point guard Damari Milstead adding a career-high seven assists. Sophomore center Alessandro Lever added 14 points but the best GCU effort was defense against Utah Valley cousins Jake and Conner Toolson. The pair entered the game averaging 30.1 points per game combined but went 6 for 20 combined.
GCU held the lead for the final 36 minutes of the game but its hold got more tenuous after leading 37-26 at halftime. The Lopes were shooting 30 percent in the second half as Utah Valley shaved their lead down to one.
GCU began playing more through sophomore Alessandro Lever, who assisted on three consecutive Lopes scores, and the defense denied the Wolverines on four consecutive possessions that could have taken the lead or tied the score.
The 10-2 stretch put GCU back in command with a 59-50 lead as Utah Valley senior big man Connor MacDougall, a Phoenix product, fouled out with 4:44 remaining.
The Lopes needed more players to step up on offense to help sophomore center Alessandro Lever, who took 17 first-half shots Saturday on the way to a season-high 27 points. That proved to be senior power forward Matt Jackson, who stayed in Thursday's starting lineup with Michael Finke returning from a three-game injury absence.
Jackson posted his season scoring high in the first half with 12 points, one off his career high. He has made a career of tormenting Utah Valley at GCU Arena, recording his career high against the Wolverines three years ago and helping GCU win last season with then-career highs for rebounds and assists.
Jackson helped the Lopes get off to one of their better starts, especially during a stretch in which they held Utah Valley scoreless for 4 1/2 minutes to take a 17-9 lead.
GCU struggled with 3-for-16 shooting from 3-point range in the first half but shot 50 percent inside the arc and held the Wolverines to 38 percent shooting with 10 turnovers. It was Utah Valley's lowest-scoring first half since Nov. 16, when it was 1-3 before winning 10 of 11 games.
The Lopes return to GCU Arena on Saturday for a 6 p.m. game against Seattle, another projected WAC challenger.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game recap with comments from Dan Majerle and players.
The Lopes stretched their regular-season home winning streak to 13 games and opened WAC play with a 71-60 Thursday night victory against Utah Valley in front of 7,205 fans at GCU Arena.
Utah Valley (11-5) entered Thursday having won 10 of its previous 11 games and five in a row but only shot 37.5 percent from the field. The Wolverines entered the game with a season shooting percentage of 48.3 and wound up scoring 15.5 points below their season average.
GCU (8-6) needed its defense to overcome cold 3-point shooting (4 for 24) but benefited from senior power forward Matt Jackson scoring a career-high 19 points and grabbing a career-high tying eight rebounds and sophomore point guard Damari Milstead adding a career-high seven assists. Sophomore center Alessandro Lever added 14 points but the best GCU effort was defense against Utah Valley cousins Jake and Conner Toolson. The pair entered the game averaging 30.1 points per game combined but went 6 for 20 combined.
GCU held the lead for the final 36 minutes of the game but its hold got more tenuous after leading 37-26 at halftime. The Lopes were shooting 30 percent in the second half as Utah Valley shaved their lead down to one.
GCU began playing more through sophomore Alessandro Lever, who assisted on three consecutive Lopes scores, and the defense denied the Wolverines on four consecutive possessions that could have taken the lead or tied the score.
The 10-2 stretch put GCU back in command with a 59-50 lead as Utah Valley senior big man Connor MacDougall, a Phoenix product, fouled out with 4:44 remaining.
The Lopes needed more players to step up on offense to help sophomore center Alessandro Lever, who took 17 first-half shots Saturday on the way to a season-high 27 points. That proved to be senior power forward Matt Jackson, who stayed in Thursday's starting lineup with Michael Finke returning from a three-game injury absence.
Jackson posted his season scoring high in the first half with 12 points, one off his career high. He has made a career of tormenting Utah Valley at GCU Arena, recording his career high against the Wolverines three years ago and helping GCU win last season with then-career highs for rebounds and assists.
Jackson helped the Lopes get off to one of their better starts, especially during a stretch in which they held Utah Valley scoreless for 4 1/2 minutes to take a 17-9 lead.
GCU struggled with 3-for-16 shooting from 3-point range in the first half but shot 50 percent inside the arc and held the Wolverines to 38 percent shooting with 10 turnovers. It was Utah Valley's lowest-scoring first half since Nov. 16, when it was 1-3 before winning 10 of 11 games.
The Lopes return to GCU Arena on Saturday for a 6 p.m. game against Seattle, another projected WAC challenger.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game recap with comments from Dan Majerle and players.
Players Mentioned
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