3-point shooting, bench play overcome GCU

Friday, November 7

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-1,0-0Mountain West

Youngstown State

1-1,0-0Horizon

Youngstown St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

11/7/2025 11:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Youngstown State made 12 3s to cancel Owusu-Anane, Henley scoring 19 each

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon went the previous two seasons with one home loss.

So when GCU lost 90-81 to Youngstown State in its second game of opening week, the time for anything positive about the game was not in Friday's aftermath. But it may come with the Lopes' response and the Penguins' season.

Youngstown State outscored GCU by 30 points in 3-point shooting and 27 in bench scoring. The Penguins scored the most points of any Lopes visitor in a regulation-length game during GCU's Division I era (since 2013-14).

Phoenix, AZ Nov. 7, 2025: The lopes fall 81-90 to Youngstown State at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Phoenix, AZ Nov. 7, 2025: The lopes fall 81-90 to Youngstown State at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Last season's Horizon League Championship finalist led for the final 15:30 of the game, pumping its lead to double digits and staving off any Lopes threat in front of 7,142 fans.

"A lot just comes down to toughness," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "We just weren't tough enough, physically at times, mentally at other times and emotionally at other times. We have a lot of guys who come from programs that have not made the NCAA Tournament. We have to be part of this process to get them to acclimated to GCU and having winning plays and winning habits."

The Penguins, coming off three consecutive seasons with 20-plus wins, took most of their shots from 3-point range in their season-opening loss at Pittsburgh and thrived there Friday night. Youngstown State went 12 for 27 from 3-point range, where GCU went 2 for 13 with the only makes coming from junior guard Makaih Williams in a one-minute span.

The Penguins did let the Lopes off the hook at the free throw line, shooting 24 of 30 there. Its bench was 18 of 20, as 7-foot senior reserve center Imanuel Zorgvol set a career high with 18 points and Phoenix native Andrew King nearly posted a triple double off the bench with 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

"If they play like that, they will be an NCAA Tournament team," Drew said. "They shot well. Pretty much everything we threw at them, they made a shot that next possession. They have a lot of experience, and it really showed."

Phoenix, AZ Nov. 7, 2025: The lopes fall 81-90 to Youngstown State at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

After trailing 38-37 at halftime, GCU seemed like it would emerge differently for the second half when it scored aggressively on its firs three possessions with a post hook by freshman center Efe Demirel, a turnaround jumper by graduate guard Brian Moore Jr. and a power take by graduate power forward Nana Owusu-Anane on his 19-point, 12-rebound night.

Williams' pair of 3s had the game tied at 51-51, but a 12-2 Youngstown State stretched the lead again for a 63-53 advantage with 11:45 remaining.

GCU then made its best run with Owusu-Anane again powering to a bucket and the Lopes scoring on three fastbreaks. The latter was a follow by junior guard Caleb Shaw after a missed dunk by senior guard Jaden Henley. Drew picked up a technical foul arguing that Henley had been clipped from behind with no call.

"My big thing is we've got the most athletic player in the air, bringing the ball back and dunking and he gets hit in the air," Drew said. "The safety of players is always important. I don't want Jaden to get hurt. It was just a reaction to having a really good player high up in the air trying to dunk full-speed and getting hit in the air."

The ensuing free throws and a 3-pointer by reserve guard Rontavious Blackshear, who had 14 points in 16 minutes, helped put the Penguins back up by nine once guard Jason Nelson's swerving layup made it 70-61 with 8:20 to go.

GCU was never within two possessions for the game's final 5:40.

Phoenix, AZ Nov. 7, 2025: The lopes fall 81-90 to Youngstown State at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Drew said he and his staff had warned the team that Youngstown State, considered a Horizon League title contender, was talented and could it together on any night.

"Well, they put it together tonight," Drew said. "They hit a lot of tough shots. It seemed like their 3s kept going in all night. Obviously, we had some really tough breaks. I don't know if I've seen as many tough breaks in a home game in my six years here.

"We've got to look within, and it starts with me. I've got a to do a better job with these guys."

Henley's 19 points shared the scoring lead with Owusu-Anane and Moore added 16 points despite taking a shot that inflicted bloody damage to his mouth. The other two GCU starters did not have the same impact. Junior guard Dusty Stromer went 1 for 8 for two points in 35 minutes and freshman center Efe Demirel was a minus-16 in his 19 minutes.

"(Zorgvol) looked like a senior, and Efe looked like a freshman," Drew said. "Efe's got to grow up fast, and he's got to be a pretty big factor for us in the middle."

Williams scored 11 points off the bench, but he fouled out in 14 minutes. Graduate center Wilhelm Breidenbach was the only Lopes player with a positive plus/minus (plus-3 in 14 minutes) but he suffered an ankle sprain.

"We had the luxury the last couple years with guys that we kind of knew what to expect down the stretch," Drew said. "We don't know what to expect the stretch from a lot of these guys. This game is either going to crush us or make us way better. We sure hope we can look back at this and say this game made us better."

GCU returns to Global Credit Union Arena on Monday to face Northern Illinois, which defeated Louisiana-Monroe 102-82 in its opener and lost 97-72 at No. 24 Wisconsin on Friday night.