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Rapid recap: Abilene Christian 82, GCU 81 (OT)
3/8/2025 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Wildcats win regular-season finale on Madden FTs with 2.4 seconds
ABILENE, Texas – Grand Canyon rallied repeatedly Saturday at Abilene Christian, pushing the game to overtime and taking a last-minute lead before the Wildcats won 82-81 on two free throws by senior guard Hunter Jack Madden with 2.4 seconds remaining.
GCU (23-7, 13-3 WAC) locked into the WAC Tournament No. 2 seed with the loss at Moody Coliseum despite going on a 6-0 overtime run to take an 81-80 lead with 51.7 seconds to go in overtime. The Lopes had a chance to extend the lead after a Lok Wur defensive stop, but GCU senior guard Ray Harrison disqualified on an offensive foul with 11.7 seconds to go. That set up Madden's go-ahead free throws. Madden drove the left side into GCU defensive help, but sophomore guard Caleb Shaw was whistled for a foul on the back side of Madden.
After Madden finished his 17-point, four-steal game, GCU tried a full-court inbound pass with 2.4 seconds remaining. Junior center Duke Brennan deflected it from the lane, and Shaw tried a shot over the backboard and from out of bounds at the buzzer.
The loss puts GCU into the No. 2 seed vs. No. 7 seed WAC Tournament quarterfinal game, which will be played at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The final three WAC regular-season games Saturday night will determine the remainder of tournament seeding beyond Utah Valley at No. 1 and GCU at No. 2.
GCU senior power forward JaKobe Coles scored a team-high 17 points, his 14th consecutive double-digit scoring game.
Coles made 8 of 15 shots from the field and added four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot in a career-high 37 minutes. With 11 first-half points, Coles posted his third consecutive double-digit, first-half scoring total.
The Lopes committed 19 turnovers in the game after only committing 11 turnovers in Thursday night's home win against Utah Tech.
The Lopes missed three free throws in overtime on three consecutive possessions to slow a come back. Abilene Christian went 6 for 6 on overtime free throws, including the game-winning ones by Madden with 2.4 seconds remaining. The Wildcats entered the game ranked No. 232 nationally with 70.7% free throw shooting.
Return to GCULopes.com later tonight for Paul Coro's updated game recap with more details and reactions from Lopes head coach Bryce Drew.
GCU (23-7, 13-3 WAC) locked into the WAC Tournament No. 2 seed with the loss at Moody Coliseum despite going on a 6-0 overtime run to take an 81-80 lead with 51.7 seconds to go in overtime. The Lopes had a chance to extend the lead after a Lok Wur defensive stop, but GCU senior guard Ray Harrison disqualified on an offensive foul with 11.7 seconds to go. That set up Madden's go-ahead free throws. Madden drove the left side into GCU defensive help, but sophomore guard Caleb Shaw was whistled for a foul on the back side of Madden.
After Madden finished his 17-point, four-steal game, GCU tried a full-court inbound pass with 2.4 seconds remaining. Junior center Duke Brennan deflected it from the lane, and Shaw tried a shot over the backboard and from out of bounds at the buzzer.
The loss puts GCU into the No. 2 seed vs. No. 7 seed WAC Tournament quarterfinal game, which will be played at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The final three WAC regular-season games Saturday night will determine the remainder of tournament seeding beyond Utah Valley at No. 1 and GCU at No. 2.
Key player
GCU senior power forward JaKobe Coles scored a team-high 17 points, his 14th consecutive double-digit scoring game.Coles made 8 of 15 shots from the field and added four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot in a career-high 37 minutes. With 11 first-half points, Coles posted his third consecutive double-digit, first-half scoring total.
Key moment
After trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half, GCU was tied at halftime and had taken a 64-56 lead with 8:04 to go when Harrison had a 3-point play on a left-side drive. The Lopes followed that with three consecutive turnovers that allowed Abilene Christian to take a lead with 5:43 to go.The Lopes committed 19 turnovers in the game after only committing 11 turnovers in Thursday night's home win against Utah Tech.
Key statistic
GCU made 65% of its free throws, going 17 for 26, at the line in comparison to Abilene Christian making 19 of 20 free throws.The Lopes missed three free throws in overtime on three consecutive possessions to slow a come back. Abilene Christian went 6 for 6 on overtime free throws, including the game-winning ones by Madden with 2.4 seconds remaining. The Wildcats entered the game ranked No. 232 nationally with 70.7% free throw shooting.
Quotable
GCU head coach Bryce Drew: "There are kind of three stats that tell the tale. Rebounds, 31 to 44, getting outrebounded by 13. That's toughness. Seventeen of 26 free throws, 65%. It's a lot of focus. And then 19 turnovers. Carelessness. Twenty-five points off turnovers. We pretty much didn't sprint back. Those three stats pretty much told the game. You just can't play good for four minutes and then not be good for the next four."What's next?Â
The Lopes will begin WAC Tournament play on Wednesday night with a quarterfinal at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Wins would advance GCU to a Friday night semifinal and the Saturday night championship game 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.
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