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 70, NMSU 62
1/29/2021 8:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes keep 1st in WAC, beat defending champ Aggies
There were not 7,000 GCU Arena witnesses Friday night but there might be that many claiming to be someday for a momentous Grand Canyon victory against New Mexico State.
GCU maintained its WAC first-place hold and won its seventh straight game with a 70-62 victory against the Aggies, snapping an eight-game losing streak in the series by holding New Mexico State to 31% shooting from the field.
There were moments that looked dire for the Lopes (11-3, 5-0 WAC) and the 900 students permitted to attend the end of the Aggies' 31-game WAC regular-season winning streak. New Mexico State (3-2, 0-1 WAC) opened the game with a 13-4 lead, but the Lopes only were staggered before rallying to a 37-30 lead with 12 first-half points from senior power forward Alessandro Lever.
In the second half, GCU took a 42-34 lead on a 3-pointer from senior forward Oscar Frayer but went 5 1/2 minutes without scoring to put the lead in peril. It was amazing that GCU still led after such a stretch but the Lopes also shut out the Aggies for 3 1/2 minutes of the same time.
New Mexico State's offense was saved by getting into the foul bonus situation, sending the Aggies to the free throw line for every GCU foul over the final 13 minutes of the game. Lopes bench energizer Gabe McGlothan also fouled out, but GCU's fortitude showed up like it has on many occasions this season.
GCU lost the lead until sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. helped his team rediscover its offensive flow on his 11-point, eight-assist night with only two turnovers. He set up a 3-pointer for senior guard Mikey Dixon, who scored 14 in his first game not wearing the mask to protect a hairline fracture, to give GCU a 55-52 lead that it kept for the final six minutes.
Lopes center Asbjorn Midtgaard (12 points, eight rebounds) made a reverse hook for a 59-53 lead, but free throws (NMSU was 25 for 33) continued to keep the Aggies in the mix until the Lopes had their most efficient stretch of the night down the stretch.
A Lever drive and a Midtgaard post dunk put GCU ahead 65-58 entering the final minute and Frayer emphatically put the game away with a fastbreak alleyoop slam from Dixon and over Johnny McCants. Lever's score moved him into third place on the all-time GCU scoring list. Midtgaard's score gave him 15 consecutive made shots from the field to keep his national field goal percentage lead (75.5%).
The Lopes shot 53% from the field but the Aggies stayed in the game with 17 offensive rebounds, a shocking stat against the No. 1 rebound margin team in the nation. New Mexico State also outscored 25-11 at the free throw line. But after opening the game with three consecutive made 3-pointers, the Aggies went 2 for 25 from 3-point range for the remainder of the game.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game recap with comments from Bryce Drew and a player.
GCU maintained its WAC first-place hold and won its seventh straight game with a 70-62 victory against the Aggies, snapping an eight-game losing streak in the series by holding New Mexico State to 31% shooting from the field.
There were moments that looked dire for the Lopes (11-3, 5-0 WAC) and the 900 students permitted to attend the end of the Aggies' 31-game WAC regular-season winning streak. New Mexico State (3-2, 0-1 WAC) opened the game with a 13-4 lead, but the Lopes only were staggered before rallying to a 37-30 lead with 12 first-half points from senior power forward Alessandro Lever.
In the second half, GCU took a 42-34 lead on a 3-pointer from senior forward Oscar Frayer but went 5 1/2 minutes without scoring to put the lead in peril. It was amazing that GCU still led after such a stretch but the Lopes also shut out the Aggies for 3 1/2 minutes of the same time.
New Mexico State's offense was saved by getting into the foul bonus situation, sending the Aggies to the free throw line for every GCU foul over the final 13 minutes of the game. Lopes bench energizer Gabe McGlothan also fouled out, but GCU's fortitude showed up like it has on many occasions this season.
GCU lost the lead until sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. helped his team rediscover its offensive flow on his 11-point, eight-assist night with only two turnovers. He set up a 3-pointer for senior guard Mikey Dixon, who scored 14 in his first game not wearing the mask to protect a hairline fracture, to give GCU a 55-52 lead that it kept for the final six minutes.
Lopes center Asbjorn Midtgaard (12 points, eight rebounds) made a reverse hook for a 59-53 lead, but free throws (NMSU was 25 for 33) continued to keep the Aggies in the mix until the Lopes had their most efficient stretch of the night down the stretch.
A Lever drive and a Midtgaard post dunk put GCU ahead 65-58 entering the final minute and Frayer emphatically put the game away with a fastbreak alleyoop slam from Dixon and over Johnny McCants. Lever's score moved him into third place on the all-time GCU scoring list. Midtgaard's score gave him 15 consecutive made shots from the field to keep his national field goal percentage lead (75.5%).
The Lopes shot 53% from the field but the Aggies stayed in the game with 17 offensive rebounds, a shocking stat against the No. 1 rebound margin team in the nation. New Mexico State also outscored 25-11 at the free throw line. But after opening the game with three consecutive made 3-pointers, the Aggies went 2 for 25 from 3-point range for the remainder of the game.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game recap with comments from Bryce Drew and a player.
Players Mentioned
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