Rapid recap: GCU 68, Utah 58

Tuesday, November 25

Palm Desert, Calif. / Acrisure Arena

10 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

4-2,0-0Mountain West

Utah

5-2,0-0Big 12

Utah

Grand Canyon

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

11/25/2025 11:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

Lopes topple Utes, advance to Acrisure Classic final vs. Iowa

By: Paul Coro

PALM DESERT, Calif. – Grand Canyon won a game without making a 3-pointer for the first time in the program's Division I era by taking care of the ball and locking down Utah defensively Tuesday night for a 68-58 Acrisure Classic victory.

The Lopes (4-2) advanced to the tournament's championship game against Iowa (6-0) at 7:30 Phoenix time in an Acrisure Arena that was painted purple with Havocs and Lope Nation fans. GCU won the possession battle, outrebounding Utah (5-2) by two on offensive boards and making eight fewer turnovers for an extra 10 possessions.

GCU kept Utes guard Terrence Brown, the nation's second-leading scorer, 16 points below his scoring average with nine points on 3-of-11 shooting from the field. It snapped Brown's share of the nation's longest active double-digit scoring streak at 37 consecutive games.

Key player

GCU senior guard Jaden Henley scored a game-high 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 accuracy at the free throw line.

Henley put away the win with a driving 3-point play that put the Lopes ahead 64-52 with 54.6 seconds remaining in the game.

Key moment

GCU took control early in the second half with a 9-0 run that started with graduate guard Brian Moore Jr. scoring consecutive plays on a cutting layup off junior guard Makaih Williams' assist and a running bank shot.

When the Lopes followed with a Henley pull-up jumper, they led 39-29 to prompt a Utah timeout less than three minutes into the second half. GCU led for 38 of 40 minutes.

Key statistic

The Lopes outscored the Utes 17-0 on points off turnovers because they only made six turnovers, with most of those not being live-ball turnovers.

Utah committed 14 turnovers, including eight in the second half with Williams twice making backcourt steals that turned into his layup and his alleyoop pass to freshman center Efe Demirel, who scored a season-high 12 points in 19 minutes.

Quotable

GCU head coach Bryce Drew said of winning without making a 3: "It really speaks volumes to our defense and then our guys attacking the rim. I thought Efe had some really good finishes that the guards found him on. I just really liked our pace on offense, and I thought our ball control was good."

What's next?

GCU advances to the Acrisure Classic championship game against Iowa, which improved to 6-0 with a 74-69 win over previously undefeated Ole Miss in the early evening game Tuesday. The Lopes and Hawkeyes, a rematch from the 2021 NCAA Tournament, will tip off at 8 p.m. Phoenix time on CBS Sports Network and the GCU Lopes app.

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.