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 semifinal: GCU 75, California Baptist 66
3/14/2025 11:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes play Utah Valley in 8:40 p.m. Saturday championship
LAS VEGAS – Grand Canyon will have the chance to three-peat at the WAC Tournament after its 75-66 semifinal victory over California Baptist on Friday night thrust the Lopes into Saturday night's championship game against top-seeded Utah Valley.
GCU (25-7) had its best defensive half of the season, holding California Baptist to 16 first-half points, and kept a double-digit lead for most of the second half to get a chance at the Lopes' fourth WAC Tournament championship in five seasons under head coach Bryce Drew.
The Lopes led by as much as 17 points with 7:25 to go and staved off a Lancers comeback attempt that tightened the lead to six in the final minute. GCU scored on 11 of the game's final 12 possessions to keep California Baptist from a rally behind guard Dominique Daniels Jr.'s 18 points and power forward Kendal Coleman's 11-point, 11-rebound game. But the Lopes' bench outscored the Lancers' bench 13-3 and outrebounded it 9-1 to flex GCU's depth.
GCU senior power forward JaKobe Coles had been on a first-half scoring roll of late but scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half Friday night.
Coles made 7 of 13 shots from the field, 2 of 3 from 3-point range and 6 of 7 at the free throw line in 36 minutes and picked up one of his two blocked shots on a late-game Daniels drive to help put the GCU win away.
The native of Denton, Texas, scored in double digits for the 16th consecutive game and posted the best consecutive scoring games of his career in the WAC Tournament's first two rounds. He scored 24 points in the quarterfinal win against UT Arlington and is now 16 for 28 from the field (57%) in the tournament.
The Lopes found some offensive rhythm during that span to stretch their lead with a 13-0 run that was keyed by graduate Lök Wur playing through his second foul to get a driving baseline slam and a 3-pointer. That sent the Lopes to a 25-16 halftime lead with California Baptist shooting just 26% from the field at the time.
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 (25-7) had its best defensive half of the season, holding California Baptist to 16 first-half points, and kept a double-digit lead for most of the second half to get a chance at the Lopes' fourth WAC Tournament championship in five seasons under head coach Bryce Drew.
The Lopes led by as much as 17 points with 7:25 to go and staved off a Lancers comeback attempt that tightened the lead to six in the final minute. GCU scored on 11 of the game's final 12 possessions to keep California Baptist from a rally behind guard Dominique Daniels Jr.'s 18 points and power forward Kendal Coleman's 11-point, 11-rebound game. But the Lopes' bench outscored the Lancers' bench 13-3 and outrebounded it 9-1 to flex GCU's depth.
Key player
GCU senior power forward JaKobe Coles had been on a first-half scoring roll of late but scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half Friday night.Coles made 7 of 13 shots from the field, 2 of 3 from 3-point range and 6 of 7 at the free throw line in 36 minutes and picked up one of his two blocked shots on a late-game Daniels drive to help put the GCU win away.
The native of Denton, Texas, scored in double digits for the 16th consecutive game and posted the best consecutive scoring games of his career in the WAC Tournament's first two rounds. He scored 24 points in the quarterfinal win against UT Arlington and is now 16 for 28 from the field (57%) in the tournament.
Key moment
A physical, slow-tempo first half had GCU trailing 14-12 with 8:25 remaining until halftime when the Lopes defense shut out California Baptist for eight minutes.The Lopes found some offensive rhythm during that span to stretch their lead with a 13-0 run that was keyed by graduate Lök Wur playing through his second foul to get a driving baseline slam and a 3-pointer. That sent the Lopes to a 25-16 halftime lead with California Baptist shooting just 26% from the field at the time.
Key statistic
GCU did not make a turnover for the first 14 minutes of the second half. That allowed the Lopes to build their largest lead at 55-38 with 7:25 remaining on sophomore guard Makiah Williams' driving score.Quotable
Lopes head coach Bryce Drew: "We're really thankful to win and advance. A very physical game on both ends. They're really good defensively. They get up in you. They're strong and hold their lines on drives. They did a really good job screening, so we really struggled offensively for those first 10 minutes. Thankfully, we were able to get a little ball movement, get the ball side to side and see the ball go in the rim a few times. Our cutting was really good and our passing off the ball in the second half. We got in transition a few times and were able to score. JaKobe, Ray and Tyon just made some great individual plays to go get baskets. Each one of those guys had stretches that really carried us."What's next?
GCU will play in the WAC Tournament championship game at 8:30 p.m. Saturday night against regular-season champion Utah Valley, which defeated Seattle U 68-55 in Friday's first semifinal. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2. The Lopes and Wolverines split their regular-season series with each team winning at home.The teams have not played since Feb. 1, when GCU won 75-57 in Phoenix.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.
Players Mentioned
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