Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Coastal Carolina on December 13, 2025 , Win , 82, to, 61
M Basketball
vs Coastal Carolina
W 82-61
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Rapid recap: GCU 75, Boise State 58
1/7/2026 11:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes take physical road battle to move to 2-1 in Mountain West
BOISE, Idaho – Grand Canyon handed Boise State its worst home loss since February 2020 by flexing in a physical battle to win the Mountain West game 75-58 in front of 8,806 fans at ExtraMile Arena.
The Lopes (9-4, 2-1 MW) responded to Saturday's disappointing home loss to Colorado State by winning the toughness test at Boise State, which had only lost 13 of 96 home games over the past seven years. In a standalone national television game, GCU ended a six-game home winning streak for Boise State, which was ranked 44th nationally in NET.
GCU freshman center Efe Demirel scored the first eight points of the gave, using a pair of pick-and-roll assists from graduate guard Brian Moore Jr. to set a physcal tone for the Lopes.
Demirel, the 7-foot-1 Turkey native who turned 21 on Sunday, celebrated his 21st birthday in Boise with a 13-point, eight-rebound game that also included two blocked shots. GCU outscored Boise State by 25 points in his 28 minutes of action.
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game story with quotes from head coach Bryce Drew and freshman center Efe Demirel.
The Lopes (9-4, 2-1 MW) responded to Saturday's disappointing home loss to Colorado State by winning the toughness test at Boise State, which had only lost 13 of 96 home games over the past seven years. In a standalone national television game, GCU ended a six-game home winning streak for Boise State, which was ranked 44th nationally in NET.
Key player
GCU freshman center Efe Demirel scored the first eight points of the gave, using a pair of pick-and-roll assists from graduate guard Brian Moore Jr. to set a physcal tone for the Lopes.Demirel, the 7-foot-1 Turkey native who turned 21 on Sunday, celebrated his 21st birthday in Boise with a 13-point, eight-rebound game that also included two blocked shots. GCU outscored Boise State by 25 points in his 28 minutes of action.
Key moment
When Boise State reduced the lead to 51-47 with 9:30 to go, GCU employed a 2-3 zone for the remainder of the game. An immediate 17-4 run stretched the lead back out to 68-51 with 2:21 to go when junior guard Makaih Williams scored on a blow-by drive. In the second half, junior guard Jaden Henley scored 14 of his team-high 22 points and junior guard Caleb Shaw notched all 10 of his points.Key statistic
Grand Canyon outrebounded Boise State 38-28 for a plus-10 margin that was a massive flip from Boise State's average rebounding margin of plus-8.4, which ranked 30th nationally.Quotable
GCU head coach Bryce Drew: "That was a difficult level of physicality right there. I'm so proud of our guys for how they responded. We had guys play a lot of minutes, and there's a lot of physical toll in that game. Man, what a blessing for those guys to play like they did and close out the last five minutes."What's next?
The Lopes return home for more Mountain West action on Saturday, when they play San José State at 6 p.m. in Global Credit Union Arena. The Spartans have lost their first four conference game to fall to 5-10.Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game story with quotes from head coach Bryce Drew and freshman center Efe Demirel.
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballGCU Men's Basketball at Boise State - Postgame with Efe Demirel
Thursday, January 08
GCU Men's Basketball at Boise State - Postgame with Bryce Drew
Thursday, January 08
Lope Lavender is Here! #collegebasketball
Thursday, January 08
Lopes celebrate win in Boise #collegebasketball
Thursday, January 08