GCU slams door at Fresno State

Saturday, January 24

Save Mart Center • Fresno, Calif.

5:50 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

13-6,6-2Mountain West

Fresno State

9-11,3-6Mountain West

Grand Canyon

Fresno St.

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

1/24/2026 10:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Henley's, Williams' 2nd half backs up Lopes' dominant defense

By: Paul Coro

FRESNO, Calif. – There was an obstruction standing between Grand Canyon and its goal Saturday.

To rise for a quality road win without injured starter Brian Moore Jr., GCU would need to go through and/or over the impediment with aggression and purpose.

Fresno, CA Jan. 24, 2026: The Lopes win 68-57 against Fresno State at Save Mart Center. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Fresno, CA Jan. 24, 2026: The Lopes win 68-57 against Fresno State at Save Mart Center. David Kadlubowski/GCU

And just as Lopes senior Jaden Henley did so for a posterizing SportsCenter Top 10 dunk on a 7-foot Bulldog, GCU ascended to a 68-57 win at Fresno State that kept the Lopes one game behind first-place San Diego State in the Mountain West loss column.

Henley's high-flying highlight was part of his first career double-double (23 points and 10 rebounds). The 6-foot-7 guard scored 15 points in the second half, when junior teammate Makaih Williams ripped off all of his 14 points to hold off Bulldogs rallies in front of 6,462 fans at Save Mart Center.

GCU (12-6, 5-2 Mountain West) scored half of its 68 points in the game's final 13 minutes to make its best statistical defense of the season stand up. Fresno State (9-10, 3-5 MW) missed 16 of its first 18 shots and finished with 30.2% shooting, a season low for the Bulldogs and any Lopes opponent.

Fresno, CA Jan. 24, 2026: The Lopes win 68-57 against Fresno State at Save Mart Center. David Kadlubowski/GCU

In those final 13 minutes, Williams scored all of his 14 points and Henley carried his team with 12 consecutive Lopes points on rim attacks.

"He closed that game," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said of Henley. "He was spectacular, him and Makaih. I thought they made really good decisions the last five minutes. They were strong with the ball. Obviously, Jaden's finishes were just sensational around the rim. I thought Makaih made a huge play, the and-one out of a timeout. That was a huge play because they were on a run."

Fresno State took its last lead on a four-point possession by freshman DeShawn Gory, a 6-foot-6 forward who followed a 31-point, 14-rebound game at New Mexico with a 20-point, 10-rebound outing. Gory made two free throws on a flagrant foul by GCU junior guard Caleb Shaw, who left with an ankle sprain on the play, and followed with a spinning score for a 48-46 Bulldogs lead with 6:45 to go.

But in GCU's second-best offensive rebounding game of the season, freshman center Efe Demirel grabbed one of the Lopes' 17 offensive rebounds to extend a possession into a go-ahead Williams 3 off Henley's assist. Moments later, it was graduate power forward Nana Owusu-Anane grabbing another offensive rebound so that junior guard Dusty Stromer could knock down another 3 off Williams' assist for a 52-48 lead with 5:10 remaining.

Fresno, CA Jan. 24, 2026: The Lopes win 68-57 against Fresno State at Save Mart Center. David Kadlubowski/GCU

"I just thought they went harder than we did, which is disappointing," Fresno State head coach Vance Walberg said of the Lopes.

By the time Williams hit fifth gear to blow by Fresno State for a fastbreak score, the Bulldogs' will was fragile when Henley dribbled from midcourt before lining up Fresno State center Wilson Jacques in the paint. Henley's knees wound up elevating to Jacques' head for the poster slam.

"Coach Drew always says, 'Finish with some passion,' " Henley said. "So I just went in there and did what I do with my God-given ability. That's two points to me, honestly."

It remained a one-possession game until Williams' driving 3-point play doubled the lead to 61-55 with 2:13 to play. That began GCU's 10-2 close to its third win in four Mountain West road games.

Fresno, CA Jan. 24, 2026: The Lopes win 68-57 against Fresno State at Save Mart Center. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Henley has been a consistent threat for GCU all season, scoring in double digits in all but one game. He played some of his best basketball in a week with a 17-point, seven-rebound, two-assist game to beat San Diego State at home Wednesday and the 23-point, 10-rebound, three-assist game Saturday.

"It was just me playing in space, my teammates finding me and making plays," Henley said. "We played pretty well together, moving the ball and keeping constant movement without one person just doing it themselves. I was the beneficiary with most of them, but my teammates created a lot of open shots with screens and moving the ball. They created the space by making them help off of me."

Fresno State ranks fifth nationally for opponent 3-point percentage, and GCU lowered that number with Saturday's 19% accuracy (5 for 26), its worst clip of the season when attempting at least 14.

The Lopes thrived on opportunities, keeping turnovers low (10) and second chances high. Each of the eight GCU rotation players had an offensive rebound, with Owusu-Anane grabbing four and guards such as Shaw (three) and Stromer (two) crashing as well.

The win marked the Lopes' largest second-chance scoring advantage of the season (21-4).

"We needed guys to offensive rebound besides Nana," Drew said. "Credit him for getting four, but everyone that played over five minutes got an offensive rebound for us. That's just a tremendous effort to go to the class."

Fresno, CA Jan. 24, 2026: The Lopes win 68-57 against Fresno State at Save Mart Center. David Kadlubowski/GCU

GCU held Fresno State to one made field goal for the first eight minutes of the game, but a five-minute scoreless stretch kept the Lopes from building a lead until Henley began attacking the paint more and Demirel asserted himself on the interior.

Demirel delivered eight points, five rebounds and a season-high three blocks in 26 minutes, registering the team's highest plus-minus of plus-22. Missing his pick-and-roll defense, the Lopes were outscored by 11 in the 7-foot-1 Turk's 14 minutes off the court.

"It was one of Efe's best defensive games of the year with the three blocks, a lot he altered and just his presence," Drew said. "Defensively, he was really good. He came out aggressive, positing and wanting the ball and finished strong around the rim to begin with. But then defensively, he made some plays on balls that he hasn't been making, getting his hands on balls and rebounding."

With Moore injured, Williams started for the first time since Dec. 2 and played a career-high 37 minutes without a turnover. He was 0 for 8 from the field until he scored 14 points in the final 13 minutes.

When Williams made the 3 that put GCU ahead for good with 6:18 remaining, it was his first 3 after missing his first four tries.

"Trust, that's all it is," Henley said on setting up Williams for that shot. "As long as we trust each other, we know shots are going to fall. As long as we share the ball and continue to make the right play, it's going to come to us. That's how you win games.

"Makaih did a great job controlling the offense tonight. He had to step into a different role of playing a little bit more, not coming off the bench and just having to score. He's a great vocal leader inside huddles. His energy is amazing. He controlled the pace for us tonight."

GCU will play on the road again Tuesday night at Nevada, one of the Mountain West's most surprising successful teams. The Wolf Pack fell to 14-6 overall and 6-3 in conference play Saturday with an 80-73 loss at New Mexico.