Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Iowa on November 26, 2025 , Loss , 46, to, 59
M Basketball
vs Iowa
L 46-59
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Rapid recap: GCU 82, Wyoming 70
12/20/2025 3:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes begin Mountain West era wtih impressive road win
LARAMIE, Wyo. – Grand Canyon backed up last Saturday's best half of the season with one even better this Saturday, starting its Mountain West era by handing Wyoming its first home loss with GCU's 82-70 conference-opening victory.
The Lopes (7-4, 1-0 MW) took a 45-26 halftime lead, its largest road win at intermission since March 2024 (41-21 at California Baptist), and built a second-half lead of as many as 22 points without letting the margin slip to single digits. The Cowboys (9-3, 0-1 MW) slipped to 8-1 at Arena-Auditorium with the Lopes shooting a season-best 56.8% from the field and holding its opponent to 37.3% shooting for a second consecutive game
GCU junior guard Makaih Williams delivered a game-high 20 points off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 shooting at the free throw line. .
Pressed into early play after starting guard Brian Moore Jr.'s two fouls in the first three minutes, Williams made the first of two steals soon after entry and turned it into a breakaway, two-hand slam. Williams delivered a balanced performance, scoring nine points in the first half and 11 points in the second half to be a plus-15 in his 29 reserve minutes.
Wyoming scored on its opening possession when Kiani Saxon made his first 3-pointer of the season, but then the Cowboys did not score on their next 10 possessions with five misses and five turnovers. During the Lopes' 16-0 run, graduate power forward Nana Owusu-Anane made back-to-back 3-pointers.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game story with quotes from head coach Bryce Drew and Lopes players.
The Lopes (7-4, 1-0 MW) took a 45-26 halftime lead, its largest road win at intermission since March 2024 (41-21 at California Baptist), and built a second-half lead of as many as 22 points without letting the margin slip to single digits. The Cowboys (9-3, 0-1 MW) slipped to 8-1 at Arena-Auditorium with the Lopes shooting a season-best 56.8% from the field and holding its opponent to 37.3% shooting for a second consecutive game
Key player
GCU junior guard Makaih Williams delivered a game-high 20 points off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 shooting at the free throw line. . Pressed into early play after starting guard Brian Moore Jr.'s two fouls in the first three minutes, Williams made the first of two steals soon after entry and turned it into a breakaway, two-hand slam. Williams delivered a balanced performance, scoring nine points in the first half and 11 points in the second half to be a plus-15 in his 29 reserve minutes.
Key moment
GCU arrived authoritatively in the Mountain West with a game-changing, 16-0 run to lead 18-3 less than seven minutes into the game.Wyoming scored on its opening possession when Kiani Saxon made his first 3-pointer of the season, but then the Cowboys did not score on their next 10 possessions with five misses and five turnovers. During the Lopes' 16-0 run, graduate power forward Nana Owusu-Anane made back-to-back 3-pointers.
Key statistic
Wyoming's trio of leading scorers (Nasir Meyer, Khaden Bennett and Leland Walker) went 9 for 27 from the field Saturday. Each of the three Cowboys was held below his season scoring average.Quotable
GCU head coach Bryce Drew: "Those first 10 minutes, that's as good as you could pray for, especially in a road game. I think you've got to give the players credit. They were extremely focused this week in practice, very focused in the shootaround this morning and, in the locker room, they were locked in. We talked about the significance of starting conference."What's next?
The Lopes have a quick turnaround with a 6 p.m. Monday home game against IU Indy. That game will conclude their nonconference schedule and send them into the holiday break. Mountain West play resumes against Colorado State at home on Jan. 3.Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game story with quotes from head coach Bryce Drew and Lopes players.
Players Mentioned
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