Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus IU Indy on December 22, 2025 , Win , 91, to, 78
M Basketball
vs IU Indy
W 91-78
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Tuesday, January 13
The Pit • Albuquerque, N.M.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
10-6,3-2Mountain West
64
at
87
New Mexico
14-3,5-1Mountain West
1
2
F
Grand Canyon
33
31
64
New Mexico
38
49
87
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Tie game put out of reach in big Lobos 2nd half
1/13/2026 11:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
New Mexico extends home winning streak to 21 games
'ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After his second career ejection, Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew was not able to watch the final 10 minutes and 51 seconds of the Lopes' loss at New Mexico on Tuesday night.
He would have liked not to have not seen the previous seven minutes too. A second-half tie unraveled on the Lopes into their largest deficit (10 points) at time of his ejection, and it only got worse for an 87-64 New Mexico win that was its 21 consecutive victory at The Pit.
A crowd of 12,512 fans reveled in how the Lobos (14-3, 5-1 Mountain West) blew open the game by scoring on 14 of 15 possessions over a second-half stretch of about 11 minutes.
After that stretch began with five consecutive New Mexico scores on two drives, two GCU fouls and a 3-pointer, GCU junior guard Makaih Williams missed a driving attempt when Drew came onto the court to debate the no-call. As he continued onto the floor, he was issued a second technical to be ejected. New Mexico converted three free throws for the technical fouls and scored on a backdoor dunk for a five-point possession that made its lead 64-49 with 10 minutes remaining.
"We had a stretch there where we had some guys hit the ground hard," Drew said. "And then I definitely wanted the first technical. The second one, I was very surprised, just to be flat-out honest. Very surprised and shocked that I would get a second (technical) like that without even have a chance to walk to the bench, especially when I don't curse. I don't degrade anybody. I don't yell at the other team. It was really shocking."
A pool reporter inquiry for an explanation about the ejection returned a conference response that it was "a judgment call."
GCU (10-6, 3-2 MW) did not have a response after the ejection. New Mexico continued a 25-7 run that buried the Lopes for an 81-56 lead with just more than two minutes to go.
The Lobos shot 52.7% from the field, the second-highest clip for a Lopes opponent this season. GCU did not disrupt New Mexico, which committed 11 turnovers to make the Lopes 2-5 when opponents make fewer than 12 turnovers.
GCU's 10-for-35 shooting (28.6%) dropped the Lopes to a season-low 33.8% for the game. Their trio of rotation big men combined to go 2 for 18 from the field
"Physicalitywise, he's got to embrace it on a day-to-day basis," Drew said of freshman center Efe Demirel. "Some games, he's more physical. Others, he's not. Tonight, he couldn't really grab the ball, couldn't put the ball on the rim. It's really hard for us to win when he and Nana (Owusu-Anane) go 1 for 14. It doesn't matter who you play. Those two have to be more productive."
The Lopes' most lopsided loss margin masked how they had challenged to a 40-40 tie despite never leading in the first 22 minutes.
"This place wears people down, and we wanted to just keep playing the game," New Mexico head coach Eric Olen said.
"I thought the crowd was impactful. They made a run to get it even in the second half, and we responded and separated. There were some loud moments in there. You never know how exactly much that is impacting. We certainly feel like it was maybe contributing to them losing their composure a little bit for a stretch."
After trailing 38-33 at half when Prescott, Arizona, native Uriah Tenette made a long, buzzer-beating 3-pointer, GCU charged back to start the second half with graduate guard Brian Moore Jr. fueling the Lopes with two aggressive scores.
"I was really pleased with Brian," Drew said of Moore, who tallied 11 points in 21 minutes. "I thought that was a great stretch for him. He was going to go back in the game before I had to leave."
GCU then missed eight consecutive shots against the switching defense of New Mexico, which has an all-new roster in Olen's first Lobos season since taking UC San Diego to the NCAA Tournament last season in the Tritons' first season of Division I postseason eligibility.
"I really thought we guarded good for 23 minutes of the game," Drew said. "We had a chance to take the lead. That was a crucial part. We had fought hard to get back. We had a wide-open 3. Couldn't make it. We had about four or five events out there that were uncontrollable on our part and that led to a double-figure lead."
The physical nature of the first half resulted in an early four-minute stretch with no scoring for either team. Lobos freshman Jake Hall, using fadeaways more than 3s on Tuesday night, lived up to his leading scorer role with 22 points, but the Lopes were just just as much by senior guard Dayton Albury's speed and playmaking (11 points and four assists) and backup center J.T. Rock stepping up for 13 points and four blocks when starting center and MW rebounding leader Tomislav Buljan was limited by foul trouble.
But with a relentless, running style, New Mexico shot nearly twice as many free throws (28) as GCU did (15).
"We've talked every game about physicality," Drew said. "Usually, the more physical team wins. But it has to be fair physicality both ways. I'll stand up for our guys. They work hard. They fight. They put their bodies on the line. They've won three league games so far by being physical, and we'll continue to be so."
GCU senior guard Jaden Henley, the only Lope with experience playing in The Pit, led his team with 17 points. He made 2 of 3 shots from 3-point range, but the rest of the team went 5 for 24 from beyond the arc. Henley also was the top rebounder with six boards while no player made more than two assists.
The Lopes returned home Tuesday night with three days of prep ahead for a visit from No. 23 Utah State, GCU's first ranked guest since upsetting San Diego State in 2023. The Aggies (14-1, 5-0 MW), who play Nevada at home Wednesday night, were No. 13 in NET, the highest of any Global Credit Union Arena visitor in the eight years of NET rankings.
"This is a tough league," Drew said. "Every game is hard. We have great opportunities ahead of us, and we get to play these guys twice. It will be nice to get home on Saturday.
"We've got to regroup and come out better and give a much effort for 40 minutes on Saturday."
He would have liked not to have not seen the previous seven minutes too. A second-half tie unraveled on the Lopes into their largest deficit (10 points) at time of his ejection, and it only got worse for an 87-64 New Mexico win that was its 21 consecutive victory at The Pit.
A crowd of 12,512 fans reveled in how the Lobos (14-3, 5-1 Mountain West) blew open the game by scoring on 14 of 15 possessions over a second-half stretch of about 11 minutes.After that stretch began with five consecutive New Mexico scores on two drives, two GCU fouls and a 3-pointer, GCU junior guard Makaih Williams missed a driving attempt when Drew came onto the court to debate the no-call. As he continued onto the floor, he was issued a second technical to be ejected. New Mexico converted three free throws for the technical fouls and scored on a backdoor dunk for a five-point possession that made its lead 64-49 with 10 minutes remaining.
"We had a stretch there where we had some guys hit the ground hard," Drew said. "And then I definitely wanted the first technical. The second one, I was very surprised, just to be flat-out honest. Very surprised and shocked that I would get a second (technical) like that without even have a chance to walk to the bench, especially when I don't curse. I don't degrade anybody. I don't yell at the other team. It was really shocking."
A pool reporter inquiry for an explanation about the ejection returned a conference response that it was "a judgment call."
GCU (10-6, 3-2 MW) did not have a response after the ejection. New Mexico continued a 25-7 run that buried the Lopes for an 81-56 lead with just more than two minutes to go.
The Lobos shot 52.7% from the field, the second-highest clip for a Lopes opponent this season. GCU did not disrupt New Mexico, which committed 11 turnovers to make the Lopes 2-5 when opponents make fewer than 12 turnovers.
GCU's 10-for-35 shooting (28.6%) dropped the Lopes to a season-low 33.8% for the game. Their trio of rotation big men combined to go 2 for 18 from the field
"Physicalitywise, he's got to embrace it on a day-to-day basis," Drew said of freshman center Efe Demirel. "Some games, he's more physical. Others, he's not. Tonight, he couldn't really grab the ball, couldn't put the ball on the rim. It's really hard for us to win when he and Nana (Owusu-Anane) go 1 for 14. It doesn't matter who you play. Those two have to be more productive."
The Lopes' most lopsided loss margin masked how they had challenged to a 40-40 tie despite never leading in the first 22 minutes.
"This place wears people down, and we wanted to just keep playing the game," New Mexico head coach Eric Olen said.
"I thought the crowd was impactful. They made a run to get it even in the second half, and we responded and separated. There were some loud moments in there. You never know how exactly much that is impacting. We certainly feel like it was maybe contributing to them losing their composure a little bit for a stretch."
After trailing 38-33 at half when Prescott, Arizona, native Uriah Tenette made a long, buzzer-beating 3-pointer, GCU charged back to start the second half with graduate guard Brian Moore Jr. fueling the Lopes with two aggressive scores.
"I was really pleased with Brian," Drew said of Moore, who tallied 11 points in 21 minutes. "I thought that was a great stretch for him. He was going to go back in the game before I had to leave."
GCU then missed eight consecutive shots against the switching defense of New Mexico, which has an all-new roster in Olen's first Lobos season since taking UC San Diego to the NCAA Tournament last season in the Tritons' first season of Division I postseason eligibility.
"I really thought we guarded good for 23 minutes of the game," Drew said. "We had a chance to take the lead. That was a crucial part. We had fought hard to get back. We had a wide-open 3. Couldn't make it. We had about four or five events out there that were uncontrollable on our part and that led to a double-figure lead."
The physical nature of the first half resulted in an early four-minute stretch with no scoring for either team. Lobos freshman Jake Hall, using fadeaways more than 3s on Tuesday night, lived up to his leading scorer role with 22 points, but the Lopes were just just as much by senior guard Dayton Albury's speed and playmaking (11 points and four assists) and backup center J.T. Rock stepping up for 13 points and four blocks when starting center and MW rebounding leader Tomislav Buljan was limited by foul trouble.
But with a relentless, running style, New Mexico shot nearly twice as many free throws (28) as GCU did (15).
"We've talked every game about physicality," Drew said. "Usually, the more physical team wins. But it has to be fair physicality both ways. I'll stand up for our guys. They work hard. They fight. They put their bodies on the line. They've won three league games so far by being physical, and we'll continue to be so."
GCU senior guard Jaden Henley, the only Lope with experience playing in The Pit, led his team with 17 points. He made 2 of 3 shots from 3-point range, but the rest of the team went 5 for 24 from beyond the arc. Henley also was the top rebounder with six boards while no player made more than two assists.
The Lopes returned home Tuesday night with three days of prep ahead for a visit from No. 23 Utah State, GCU's first ranked guest since upsetting San Diego State in 2023. The Aggies (14-1, 5-0 MW), who play Nevada at home Wednesday night, were No. 13 in NET, the highest of any Global Credit Union Arena visitor in the eight years of NET rankings.
"This is a tough league," Drew said. "Every game is hard. We have great opportunities ahead of us, and we get to play these guys twice. It will be nice to get home on Saturday.
"We've got to regroup and come out better and give a much effort for 40 minutes on Saturday."
Team Stats
GCU
UNM
FG%
.338
.527
3FG%
.259
.500
FT%
.867
.750
RB
29
39
TO
9
11
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
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/ Men's BasketballGCU Men's Basketball at New Mexico - Highlights
Wednesday, January 14
GCU Men's Basketball vs. San José State - Postgame with Jaden Henley, Dusty Stromer
Sunday, January 11
GCU Men's Basketball vs. San José State - Postgame with Bryce Drew
Sunday, January 11
GCU Men's Basketball vs. San José State - Postgame Radio with Bryce Drew
Sunday, January 11