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 becomes WAC co-champs
3/6/2021 8:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes' win earns share of regular-season title with Wolverines
Grand Canyon's final moment in GCU Arena for the 2020-21 regular season was a memorable one.
The Lopes claimed their first WAC championship, beating Utah Valley 74-64 in the regular-season finale Saturday night to become WAC regular-season co-champions with the Wolverines.
GCU (15-6, 9-3 WAC) finished in first place in conference play by a half-game ahead of Utah Valley (11-10, 9-4), but this season's conference standings and WAC Tournament seeding were calculated with winning percentage multiplied by games played percentage.
The Lopes also claimed the tournament No. 1 seed by tiebreaker and will play a Friday evening semifinal at Las Vegas' Orleans Arena against the Thursday first-round winner of California Baptist-Seattle U. Saturday's WAC Tournament championship game winner will advance to the NCAA tournament in Indianapolis.
The Lopes turned around their play from Friday night's loss to UVU by dominating the boards, 37-27, leading to a 14-0 advantage in second-chance points against a team with the national rebounding leader, Fardaws Aimaq. GCU kept Aimaq to nine rebounds, six below his average, and made it stand up with a much-improved offensive night.
GCU took better care of the ball with 10 turnovers and shot 50% from the field, including center Asbjorn Midtaarrd's 11th double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Lopes' big men flipped the script of Friday night by winning up front with Midtgaard and his senior partner, power forward Alessandro Lever, who had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Five players scored in double figures with sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. posting 14 points and five assists and senior guard Mikey Dixon and sophomore power forward Gabe McGlothan each scoring 10 points. McGlothan gave the Lopes swing energy off the bench, recording a plus-13 in his 15 minutes.
GCU trailed 15-5 in a turnover-plagued first seven minutes, but found its offensive rhythm from there and turned around the game with a 17-4 run that gave the Lopes a lead they would never relinquish. It began with GCU finding Midtgaard and McGlothan in the post, but that ability was helped by the Lopes making three consecutive 3-pointers.
The Lopes took a 35-30 halftime lead and were leading 45-41 early in the second half before a 12-5 stretch opened up the lead to keep Utah Valley at bay. Again, McGlothan sparked the momentum with a lefthanded drive and the much-improved ball movement combined with steady defense to stretch the GCU lead to as much as 14 when Lever scored on a post-up for a 69-55 lead with 3:41 to go.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game recap with comments from Bryce Drew and players.
The Lopes claimed their first WAC championship, beating Utah Valley 74-64 in the regular-season finale Saturday night to become WAC regular-season co-champions with the Wolverines.
GCU (15-6, 9-3 WAC) finished in first place in conference play by a half-game ahead of Utah Valley (11-10, 9-4), but this season's conference standings and WAC Tournament seeding were calculated with winning percentage multiplied by games played percentage.
The Lopes also claimed the tournament No. 1 seed by tiebreaker and will play a Friday evening semifinal at Las Vegas' Orleans Arena against the Thursday first-round winner of California Baptist-Seattle U. Saturday's WAC Tournament championship game winner will advance to the NCAA tournament in Indianapolis.
The Lopes turned around their play from Friday night's loss to UVU by dominating the boards, 37-27, leading to a 14-0 advantage in second-chance points against a team with the national rebounding leader, Fardaws Aimaq. GCU kept Aimaq to nine rebounds, six below his average, and made it stand up with a much-improved offensive night.
GCU took better care of the ball with 10 turnovers and shot 50% from the field, including center Asbjorn Midtaarrd's 11th double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Lopes' big men flipped the script of Friday night by winning up front with Midtgaard and his senior partner, power forward Alessandro Lever, who had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Five players scored in double figures with sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. posting 14 points and five assists and senior guard Mikey Dixon and sophomore power forward Gabe McGlothan each scoring 10 points. McGlothan gave the Lopes swing energy off the bench, recording a plus-13 in his 15 minutes.
GCU trailed 15-5 in a turnover-plagued first seven minutes, but found its offensive rhythm from there and turned around the game with a 17-4 run that gave the Lopes a lead they would never relinquish. It began with GCU finding Midtgaard and McGlothan in the post, but that ability was helped by the Lopes making three consecutive 3-pointers.
The Lopes took a 35-30 halftime lead and were leading 45-41 early in the second half before a 12-5 stretch opened up the lead to keep Utah Valley at bay. Again, McGlothan sparked the momentum with a lefthanded drive and the much-improved ball movement combined with steady defense to stretch the GCU lead to as much as 14 when Lever scored on a post-up for a 69-55 lead with 3:41 to go.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game recap with comments from Bryce Drew and players.
Players Mentioned
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