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 75, MSMU 67 (OT)
12/3/2019 9:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes retrack with home win against Mount St. Mary's
Grand Canyon needed extra effort and extra time to win Tuesday night when the Lopes defeated Mount St. Mary's 75-67 in overtime at GCU Arena.
GCU held Mount St. Mary's to 33% percent shooting in the second half and overtime and came up with enough clutch offensive plays to go into Sunday's Jerry Colangelo Classic matchup with undefeated Liberty on a win.
Led by 18 points and nine rebounds from senior swingman Carlos Johnson and 16 points and six rebounds by senior center Alessandro Lever, the Lopes (4-6) found their way to overtime with senior power forward Lorenzo Jenkins pulling away from a loose-ball scramble for a tying score with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation.
In overtime, GCU initially trailed 63-61 but Johnson set up a slam by freshman power forward Bryce Okpoh and a 3-pointer by junior guard Isiah Brown with his own scoring drive in between to give the Lopes command. The Mountaineers pulled within three points for the last time with 1:19 to go but Johnson again answered with a crossover score that staved off the final threat.
GCU shot 48.1% from the field with only 11 turnovers while Mount St. Mary's shot 36.1% percent with 23 points from point guard Damian Chong Qui. The Mountaineers were hot from 3-point range in the first half but missed its final seven 3-point shots of the game.
GCU was facing its largest deficit of the game when early second-half turnovers helped Mount St. Mary's take a 41-33 lead with 15:24 to go in the game. But Lever emerged for nine consecutive Lopes points and GCU went on a 10-0 run that put it ahead 48-44 with 9:35 remaining in the game.
The Lopes kept that lead but ran into offensive issues, going five minutes without a field goal while surviving on getting into the bonus situation early. Mount St. Mary's took the lead with 1:26 to go but Johnson retied the game at 59-59 with 1:18 to go.
A late shot clock breakdown gave Mount St. Mary's a slam and a 61-59 lead with 50 seconds to go but a front-end Mountaineers bonus free throw miss gave GCU a second chance to tie. That is when Jenkins saved the Lopes by coming up with the ball amid a loose-ball scramble and scoring inside while being fouled. Jenkins missed the free throw but the score was enough to send the game to overtime in a 61-61 tie.
The first half was frustrating for GCU because it largely stuck to its game plan to keep Mount St. Mary's out of the paint. The Mountaineers scored all eight of their first-half points in the paint in the first four minutes but uncanny 3-point shooting still carried them.
Mount St. Mary's entered the game in the nation's bottom 25 for 3-point shooting percentage (26%) but hit 3s on three consecutive possessions, with two coming off GCU turnovers, to take the first game lead of more than three for either team. The Mountaineers led 32-26 at that stage before cooling off but the Lopes offense turned stagnant and could not close the gap before halftime.
Okpoh's slam follow was the only GCU score in the first half's final 6 1/2 minutes, leaving them in a 34-28 halftime hole. Johnson and junior guard Isiah Brown each scored seven points in the first half but Johnson had all of those in the first 2:20 of the game and went 0 for 5 after that.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro 's full game recap with comments from Dan Majerle and players.
GCU held Mount St. Mary's to 33% percent shooting in the second half and overtime and came up with enough clutch offensive plays to go into Sunday's Jerry Colangelo Classic matchup with undefeated Liberty on a win.
Led by 18 points and nine rebounds from senior swingman Carlos Johnson and 16 points and six rebounds by senior center Alessandro Lever, the Lopes (4-6) found their way to overtime with senior power forward Lorenzo Jenkins pulling away from a loose-ball scramble for a tying score with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation.
In overtime, GCU initially trailed 63-61 but Johnson set up a slam by freshman power forward Bryce Okpoh and a 3-pointer by junior guard Isiah Brown with his own scoring drive in between to give the Lopes command. The Mountaineers pulled within three points for the last time with 1:19 to go but Johnson again answered with a crossover score that staved off the final threat.
GCU shot 48.1% from the field with only 11 turnovers while Mount St. Mary's shot 36.1% percent with 23 points from point guard Damian Chong Qui. The Mountaineers were hot from 3-point range in the first half but missed its final seven 3-point shots of the game.
GCU was facing its largest deficit of the game when early second-half turnovers helped Mount St. Mary's take a 41-33 lead with 15:24 to go in the game. But Lever emerged for nine consecutive Lopes points and GCU went on a 10-0 run that put it ahead 48-44 with 9:35 remaining in the game.
The Lopes kept that lead but ran into offensive issues, going five minutes without a field goal while surviving on getting into the bonus situation early. Mount St. Mary's took the lead with 1:26 to go but Johnson retied the game at 59-59 with 1:18 to go.
A late shot clock breakdown gave Mount St. Mary's a slam and a 61-59 lead with 50 seconds to go but a front-end Mountaineers bonus free throw miss gave GCU a second chance to tie. That is when Jenkins saved the Lopes by coming up with the ball amid a loose-ball scramble and scoring inside while being fouled. Jenkins missed the free throw but the score was enough to send the game to overtime in a 61-61 tie.
The first half was frustrating for GCU because it largely stuck to its game plan to keep Mount St. Mary's out of the paint. The Mountaineers scored all eight of their first-half points in the paint in the first four minutes but uncanny 3-point shooting still carried them.
Mount St. Mary's entered the game in the nation's bottom 25 for 3-point shooting percentage (26%) but hit 3s on three consecutive possessions, with two coming off GCU turnovers, to take the first game lead of more than three for either team. The Mountaineers led 32-26 at that stage before cooling off but the Lopes offense turned stagnant and could not close the gap before halftime.
Okpoh's slam follow was the only GCU score in the first half's final 6 1/2 minutes, leaving them in a 34-28 halftime hole. Johnson and junior guard Isiah Brown each scored seven points in the first half but Johnson had all of those in the first 2:20 of the game and went 0 for 5 after that.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro 's full game recap with comments from Dan Majerle and players.
Players Mentioned
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