Rapid recap: Grand Canyon 91, Portland 63

Grand Canyon used stifling defensive stretches to defeat Portland 91-63 on Saturday night in the Colangelo Classic at Footprint Center, giving the Lopes their first 9-1 start in the 11-year Division I era.

Key player

GCU graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan continued his four-year string of quality first halves (15 points, seven rebounds on Saturday) and finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds. With the first points of his 19th career double-double, McGlothan also became the 27th player to score 1,000 points for GCU after already hitting 1,000 career points (including one year at Southeast Missouri) last season.

Key moment

The Lopes shut out Portland for six minutes in the first half, allowing GCU to stretch an 8-7 lead to 17-7 before Portland called timeout midway through the half, following consecutive scores at the rim by senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster and McGlothan.

Key statistic

GCU recorded a season-high 18 assists on 35 made shots after having a previous season of 13 twice (vs. San Diego State and UT Rio Grande Valley).

Quotable

GCU graduate point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr.: "We haven't reached our full potential yet. With me coming back, i feel like that's adding a couple pieces. It's more in synch, but we're not all the way there yet. Once we get all the way there and just trust the process and trust what the coaches are saying, I feel like we can take it a long way,"

What's next?

The Lopes play former WAC foe Sam Houston on Wednesday at Global Credit Uniont Arena with a 6 p.m. tipoff.

Return to GCULopes.com later tonight for Paul Coro's updated game recap with more details and reactions from Lopes head coach Bryce Drew and players.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Key player

Key moment

Key statistic

Quotable

What's next?

Players Mentioned

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Tyon Grant-Foster

Gabe McGlothan

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