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
Insider: Toughness, positivity take root
12/27/2020 5:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Gauntlet of losses to top-75 teams provided moments
There is no solace in a three-game losing streak, but there is perspective.
Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew is not one for moral victories. However, Drew is all about establishing a winning culture in his first year at the helm of the Lopes. Victories do that best, but winning moments help get a team to those.
The Lopes' three consecutive losses came against top-75 teams, according to kenpom.com ratings, but each defeat provided moments of progress as much as the 4-0 start that preceded them:
GCU wants that holiday spirit to carry through the break for when the Lopes are scheduled to resume play at home Tuesday night against Denver.
The next step is capitalizing on those moments and sustaining them. After Colorado's lead dwindled to 60-59 last week in Las Vegas, the Buffaloes called time out and reversed the momentum for a 10-0 run that included three GCU turnovers, two GCU fouls and two Colorado offensive rebounds.
"We're asking them to do things that sometimes aren't even showing up on this court, as far as building a foundation and building roots into our program for what we want going forward," Drew said. "I think you see those five guys on the court at the end building roots on toughness, building roots on playing hard, building roots on playing with positive emotions. That is what we want our program to be going forward."
Colorado wound up with a 74-64 win, but the Buffaloes knew they dodged a bullet. They had won their previous three games by an average of 34 points and are 6-1 with the only loss coming at No. 8 Tennessee.
"We knew coming into this game that this team's for real," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said of GCU. "Their two big guys (Asbjørn Midtgaard and Alessandro Lever), they are Pac-12-level players. That little guard, No. 10, Blacksher, is a hell of a player. He is fast. Those three guys can play. The other guys, that play their roles, play them well."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew is not one for moral victories. However, Drew is all about establishing a winning culture in his first year at the helm of the Lopes. Victories do that best, but winning moments help get a team to those.
The Lopes' three consecutive losses came against top-75 teams, according to kenpom.com ratings, but each defeat provided moments of progress as much as the 4-0 start that preceded them:
- GCU went on a 12-4 run to take the lead against Arizona State in the final minute, when a pair of 3-pointers were clutch only because senior small forward Sean Miller-Moore came up with a key offensive rebound.
- Trailing most of the game against San Francisco, GCU gave itself a chance to take the lead with less than eight minutes to go, when the Lopes were on a breakaway but sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr.'s shot was blocked to shift momentum.
- With potential top-25 team Colorado leading 57-48, GCU mustered an 11-3 response to pull within one point when freshman guard Jayden Stone broke up a dribble hand-off, laid out on the hardwood for the loose ball and passed it ahead for a layup with 5:11 to go.
GCU wants that holiday spirit to carry through the break for when the Lopes are scheduled to resume play at home Tuesday night against Denver.
The next step is capitalizing on those moments and sustaining them. After Colorado's lead dwindled to 60-59 last week in Las Vegas, the Buffaloes called time out and reversed the momentum for a 10-0 run that included three GCU turnovers, two GCU fouls and two Colorado offensive rebounds.
"We're asking them to do things that sometimes aren't even showing up on this court, as far as building a foundation and building roots into our program for what we want going forward," Drew said. "I think you see those five guys on the court at the end building roots on toughness, building roots on playing hard, building roots on playing with positive emotions. That is what we want our program to be going forward."
Colorado wound up with a 74-64 win, but the Buffaloes knew they dodged a bullet. They had won their previous three games by an average of 34 points and are 6-1 with the only loss coming at No. 8 Tennessee.
"We knew coming into this game that this team's for real," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said of GCU. "Their two big guys (Asbjørn Midtgaard and Alessandro Lever), they are Pac-12-level players. That little guard, No. 10, Blacksher, is a hell of a player. He is fast. Those three guys can play. The other guys, that play their roles, play them well."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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