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
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
WAC quarterfinal: GCU 98, UT Arlington 75
3/12/2025 11:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes advance to Friday semifinal vs. CBU-Tarleton State winner
LAS VEGAS – Grand Canyon advanced to the WAC Tournament semifinals with its largest-ever scoring performance in the conference tourney, a 98-75 quarterfinal victory Wednesday night over UT Arlington at Orleans Arena.
GCU (24-7) moved to 3-0 against UT Arlington this season and 8-0 since the Mavericks joined the WAC. The Lopes were clinical offensively, putting six scorers in double figures by racking up 24 assists with just eight turnovers and shooting 54% from the field.
GCU graduate Tyon Grant-Foster, who had not played since Feb. 15 due to injury, started Wednesday night's quarterfinal and tallied 12 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots in 21 minutes.
The Lopes will play the winner of the Thursday night quarterfinal between No. 3 seed California Baptist and No. 6 seed Tarleton State.
GCU senior power forward JaKobe Coles had the best scoring half of his college career with an 18-point first half, continuing a run of recent double-digit scoring first halves.
Coles finished with 24 points, two off his career high, on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 accuracy on free throws. He also led the Lopes with seven rebounds and added three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
GCU led 56-40 after UT Arlington power forward Lance Ware scored on a dunk follow, but Ware then fouled Lopes sophomore guard Makaih Williams at midcourt and picked up a technical foul for swiping at Williams during the dead ball. Ware then was ejected with 16 minutes remaining for something he shouted at official Randy McCall. Ware, who had 33 rebounds in his first two GCU meetings, ended his career with a five-point, six-rebound game.
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.
GCU (24-7) moved to 3-0 against UT Arlington this season and 8-0 since the Mavericks joined the WAC. The Lopes were clinical offensively, putting six scorers in double figures by racking up 24 assists with just eight turnovers and shooting 54% from the field.
GCU graduate Tyon Grant-Foster, who had not played since Feb. 15 due to injury, started Wednesday night's quarterfinal and tallied 12 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots in 21 minutes.
The Lopes will play the winner of the Thursday night quarterfinal between No. 3 seed California Baptist and No. 6 seed Tarleton State.
Key player
GCU senior power forward JaKobe Coles had the best scoring half of his college career with an 18-point first half, continuing a run of recent double-digit scoring first halves. Coles finished with 24 points, two off his career high, on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 accuracy on free throws. He also led the Lopes with seven rebounds and added three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Key moment
The Lopes trailed once in the game, when UT Arlington ran a backdoor alleyoop for a 25-24 lead. They responded with a 13-3 run and ended the half with seven unanswered points for a 46-32 halftime lead. GCU kept a double-digit lead for the entire second half.GCU led 56-40 after UT Arlington power forward Lance Ware scored on a dunk follow, but Ware then fouled Lopes sophomore guard Makaih Williams at midcourt and picked up a technical foul for swiping at Williams during the dead ball. Ware then was ejected with 16 minutes remaining for something he shouted at official Randy McCall. Ware, who had 33 rebounds in his first two GCU meetings, ended his career with a five-point, six-rebound game.
Key statistic
The Lopes only made eight turnovers, one of which was a shot clock violation at the end of the game to not take another shot at the end of a blowout win. GCU had posted five previous single-digit turnover games this season, one of which also came against UT Arlington. Coles did not make a turnover in his 32 minutes of action.Quotable
GCU head coach Bryce Drew: "We've had some adversity this year with different lineups in and out, and Tyon hasn't played in 3 1/2 weeks. It's a compliment to these two guys up here (Coles and junior center Duke Brennan), to him and to everybody for how quick they adapted to playing with each other. That was a concern coming in with the rhythm perspective. The 24 assists was huge for us and the eight turnovers. I loved the ball movement, and I loved the continuity that our guys had out there today."What's next?
The Lopes will play a WAC Tournament semifinal game at 8:30 p.m. Friday against the winner of Thursday's 8:30 p.m. game between No. 3 seed California Baptist (16-14) and No. 6 seed Tarleton State (12-19). If GCU wins that game at Orleans Arena, it will return to the same venue and the same time for the Saturday night championship game with an NCAA tournament berth at state on ESPN2.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.
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