Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
.png&width=100&type=webp)
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Tuesday, December 3
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
4-6,0-0WAC
75
vs
67
Mount St. Mary's
3-6,0-0NEC
1
2
OT 1
F
Mount St. Mary's
34
27
6
67
Grand Canyon
28
33
14
75
Season-best defense earns OT win
12/3/2019 10:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU downs Mount St. Mary's 75-67 at home
As the final seconds of regulation time wound down Tuesday night, Grand Canyon's chance at victory hung on a loose ball that was moving around like a feather in the wind.
The Lopes trailed by two points when GCU junior guard Isiah Brown had the ball stripped as he ascended toward the rim. It squirted from the clasps of teammate Lorenzo Jenkins and a Mount St. Mary's player. GCU junior swingman Carlos Johnson and Brown could not corral it as the ball bounced off the floor and Brown's touch sent it higher, where Jenkins' 6-foot-7 frame could secure it and lay it in as he was fouled.
It was the type of 50-50 ball that the Lopes have talked about needing to get more often through a rocky November. This one shifted GCU's outcome Tuesday, when Jenkins' tying layup with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation set up the Lopes to beat Mount St. Mary's 75-67 in overtime.
"All of the guys have been great," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "They have been taking a lot of hard coaching lately. A lot of watching film and showing, and they have responded. I've seen this in practice. I've seen this in film room. They're not hanging their heads. They are trying to get better, and it is our job as coaches to get them better."
GCU (4-6) held Mount St. Mary's to 36.1% shooting, the lowest Lopes opponent clip of the season. GCU shot 48.1% but had to sweat out a result through the Mountaineers' unexpected hot 3-point shooting in the first half and their eight-point lead in the second half.
With Johnson's 18 points and nine rebounds and junior center Alessandro Lever's 16 points and six rebounds, the Lopes take a much-needed victory into Sunday's Jerry Colangelo Classic matchup against undefeated Liberty at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
"It was probably the best defensive effort we had all year," Majerle said.
The Lopes upheld the right defensive game plan against Mount St. Mary's (3-6), which entered the game with the 22nd-worst 3-point percentage (26.6) in the nation. The unexpected turn was the Mountaineers' hot shooting, when they made 7 of their first 12 tries from 3-point range after making 3s on three consecutive trips for a 32-26 lead.
The scouting report proved true from there with Mount St. Mary's making 3 of their final 20 attempts from 3-point range. But GCU's offensive struggles could not get traction, scoring only on a follow slam by freshman power forward Bryce Okpoh in the first half's final 6 ½ minutes to trail 34-28 at halftime.
Okpoh grabbed seven rebounds and scored a season-high seven points in his second GCU start.
"That is why I put him in there, because of his energy and he can rebound the basketball," Majerle said. "He is a freshman that was supposed to be redshirted, but he works really hard."
The Lopes trailed 41-33 when Lever delivered nine consecutive points with the first seven coming on jump shots before a slam off Jenkins' feed.
A Lever 3 with 6:40 remaining put GCU ahead 53-48 but GCU leaned on free throws as they went five minutes without another made field goal. A Johnson drive tied the game with 1:18 remaining before a Mount St. Mary's driving slam necessitated the clutch tying basket by Johnson, a senior power forward.
In overtime, Johnson created or scored GCU's first nine points. He assisted on an Okpoh slam and a Brown 3-pointer and scored on two drives, including a big crossover move for a 70-65 lead with 57 seconds to go in overtime.
"Coaches say, 'If I put the ball in your hands, you've got to make a play. But if you're not open, look for your brothers,' " Johnson said. "That's what I'm determined to do. And if I didn't have a good look, I was going to look for my teammates. Doing the right thing, that's what is going to win the game."
Coming off his two lowest scoring games of the season, Johnson had his third-best scoring total (18) and second-best rebounding tally (nine) while tying season highs for assists (three) and steals (two) in a career-high 42 minutes of play.
"Whatever 'Los' needs to do to get the win for my teammates, that's what makes me feel good," Johnson said. "Of course, I'm not playing to my potential and all that. But if my team is winning, that's all that matters."
It took overtime but GCU finished with its highest scoring total (75) and second-best shooting percentage (48.1) on top of having its best defensive night.
"We had some really good performances by everybody," Majerle said. "Proud of our guys. It was obviously a huge win for us. We needed it as bad as can be."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
The Lopes trailed by two points when GCU junior guard Isiah Brown had the ball stripped as he ascended toward the rim. It squirted from the clasps of teammate Lorenzo Jenkins and a Mount St. Mary's player. GCU junior swingman Carlos Johnson and Brown could not corral it as the ball bounced off the floor and Brown's touch sent it higher, where Jenkins' 6-foot-7 frame could secure it and lay it in as he was fouled.
It was the type of 50-50 ball that the Lopes have talked about needing to get more often through a rocky November. This one shifted GCU's outcome Tuesday, when Jenkins' tying layup with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation set up the Lopes to beat Mount St. Mary's 75-67 in overtime.
"All of the guys have been great," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "They have been taking a lot of hard coaching lately. A lot of watching film and showing, and they have responded. I've seen this in practice. I've seen this in film room. They're not hanging their heads. They are trying to get better, and it is our job as coaches to get them better."
GCU (4-6) held Mount St. Mary's to 36.1% shooting, the lowest Lopes opponent clip of the season. GCU shot 48.1% but had to sweat out a result through the Mountaineers' unexpected hot 3-point shooting in the first half and their eight-point lead in the second half.
With Johnson's 18 points and nine rebounds and junior center Alessandro Lever's 16 points and six rebounds, the Lopes take a much-needed victory into Sunday's Jerry Colangelo Classic matchup against undefeated Liberty at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
"It was probably the best defensive effort we had all year," Majerle said.
The Lopes upheld the right defensive game plan against Mount St. Mary's (3-6), which entered the game with the 22nd-worst 3-point percentage (26.6) in the nation. The unexpected turn was the Mountaineers' hot shooting, when they made 7 of their first 12 tries from 3-point range after making 3s on three consecutive trips for a 32-26 lead.
The scouting report proved true from there with Mount St. Mary's making 3 of their final 20 attempts from 3-point range. But GCU's offensive struggles could not get traction, scoring only on a follow slam by freshman power forward Bryce Okpoh in the first half's final 6 ½ minutes to trail 34-28 at halftime.
Okpoh grabbed seven rebounds and scored a season-high seven points in his second GCU start.
"That is why I put him in there, because of his energy and he can rebound the basketball," Majerle said. "He is a freshman that was supposed to be redshirted, but he works really hard."
The Lopes trailed 41-33 when Lever delivered nine consecutive points with the first seven coming on jump shots before a slam off Jenkins' feed.
A Lever 3 with 6:40 remaining put GCU ahead 53-48 but GCU leaned on free throws as they went five minutes without another made field goal. A Johnson drive tied the game with 1:18 remaining before a Mount St. Mary's driving slam necessitated the clutch tying basket by Johnson, a senior power forward.
In overtime, Johnson created or scored GCU's first nine points. He assisted on an Okpoh slam and a Brown 3-pointer and scored on two drives, including a big crossover move for a 70-65 lead with 57 seconds to go in overtime.
"Coaches say, 'If I put the ball in your hands, you've got to make a play. But if you're not open, look for your brothers,' " Johnson said. "That's what I'm determined to do. And if I didn't have a good look, I was going to look for my teammates. Doing the right thing, that's what is going to win the game."
Coming off his two lowest scoring games of the season, Johnson had his third-best scoring total (18) and second-best rebounding tally (nine) while tying season highs for assists (three) and steals (two) in a career-high 42 minutes of play.
"Whatever 'Los' needs to do to get the win for my teammates, that's what makes me feel good," Johnson said. "Of course, I'm not playing to my potential and all that. But if my team is winning, that's all that matters."
It took overtime but GCU finished with its highest scoring total (75) and second-best shooting percentage (48.1) on top of having its best defensive night.
"We had some really good performances by everybody," Majerle said. "Proud of our guys. It was obviously a huge win for us. We needed it as bad as can be."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
MSM
GCU
FG%
.361
.481
3FG%
.313
.278
FT%
.684
.750
RB
35
38
TO
13
11
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballMakaih Williams | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Dusty Stromer | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Kaleb Smith | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Non-Conference Schedule Release | Men's Basketball
Monday, August 04