Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Western New Mexico (Exhibition) on October 27, 2026 , Win , 82, to, 59
M Basketball
vs Western New Mexico (Exhibition)
W 82-59
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Wednesday, November 11
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
3-0,0-0Mountain West
99
vs
71
Cal Poly
1-2,0-0Big West
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Poly | 29 | 42 | 71 |
| Grand Canyon | 37 | 62 | 99 |
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
11/11/2026 9:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU scores 90 or more points in season's 1st 3 games for 1st time
The fastest pace in the nation? Sounds good to Grand Canyon.
The Lopes are going from 0 to 99 on the scoreboard with a vroom that sped away from Cal Poly to continue GCU's historically strong start Wednesday night.
With a 62-point second half, the Lopes looked their best yet this season for a 99-71 home victory against the Mustangs that gave GCU a pair of program distinctions:
"We're a special team," GCU senior guard Makaih Williams said. "Our offense will take care of itself. As long as our defense comes along, we'll be hard to beat."
And it did, facing a team that recorded the nation's quickest tempo, launched the fourth-most 3-pointers and boasts a Big West scoring champion who dropped 30 points at Arizona last week. GCU contested Cal Poly to 5-of-25 accuracy on 3-pointers and held 6-foot-8 swingman Hamad Mousa to 16 points and two 3s, six fewer than he made in Tucson.
The Lopes played relentlessly and rapidly with 11 players logging at least 10 minutes and the bench contributing most of their points (51 of 99).
"It's a very competitive atmosphere," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "It's very competitive on the court. You've got to bring it in practice. You've got to bring it in games. When your number is called and you're in the game, you don't have time to warm up. You don't have time to not be fully engaged and focused because the nice thing is we have a lot of guys who we are comfortable playing. Tonight, the guys who played well, they stayed on the court. They got runs. They got minutes."
Fifth-year guard Tre Holloman played the most Lopes minutes, 25, in a reserve role. Holloman and fifth-year point guard Dylan Darling set the ball-sharing tone as the primary ball-handlers by combining for 10 assists with only two turnovers. Fifth-year wings Amarion Dickerson and Jaden Henley added eight assists without a turnover, as the Lopes cumulatively dished out 23 assists with only seven turnovers.
They were finding senior power forward Blake Barkley, a game after he had not taken a shot. On Wednesday, Barkley scored GCU's first basket and went 7 for 10 for 16 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes.
"Coming here, we have so many great players so I'm kind of finding my way and how I can affect the team in a positive manner," Barkley said. "We shared the ball. When we play like that, that's the best brand of basketball we can play.
"I've got to be one of the players, coach told me, coming in and being aggressive and shooting the shots that are open to me. They were finding me tonight."
Barkley's first-half finish with his ability to score on three levels helped extend a tight first half to a 37-29 halftime lead for the Lopes.
GCU busted that open in the second half with a 12-1 run in the first 3:20, starting with a post-up to senior center Tyler Behrend.
The Navy veteran appropriately enjoyed his best game on Veterans Day with his teammates saluting him as he conducted the postgame television interview.
Behrend handled foul trouble to play 21 minutes and deliver 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
"We talked about how our bigs had to impose our will in the paint because Cal
Poly likes to spread the floor and be on the perimeter," Behrend said.
"We have so many guys at every position. We can go small ball. We can go big ball. I think we're probably one of the deepest teams in the country, and I look forward to showing that."
That showed Wednesday as the Lopes came at the Mustangs in waves for runs of 12-1, 9-2 and 12-0 in the second half, when GCU shot 61% from the field with 36 points in the paint.
"I thought that was our best game by far of the three that we've played," Drew said. "That second half was by far the best complete half. We didn't have the lapses. We played both ends of the court. We were really active on defense. It started with rebounding the ball."
That came by committee as well with sophomore Efe Demirel and junior Omaha Biliew each adding five rebounds too. Because of Cal Poly's five-out offense, Beliew share the center spot with Behrend in the second half to cover the perimeter.
Despite 11-for-20 free throw shooting, GCU posted its second consecutive 99-point total after having a 103-point opener,
Like Barkley, junior guard Jaden Zimmerman enjoyed a chance to show more of what we can bring offensively with 13 points in 17 minutes. Like Holloman, Zimmerman shot from long range well as each sank three 3s off the bench.
"Just really good decision-making," Drew said. "The guys really shared the ball well. It was fun to see, and it was fun to be part of that group in the locker room with how they played."
GCU had four players whose plus-minus exceeded their playing time – Barkley at plus-29 in 19 minutes, Darling at plus-27 in 24 minutes, Behrend at plus-26 in 21 minutes and Dickerson at plus-17 in 16 1/2 minutes.
"Our thing is just giving it your all for as long as you can," Behrend said. "You have just as good of a player coming up, and then he needs to give his all. We're constantly able to sub and have fresh legs coming in the game. You know you don't have to reserve your energy because the person coming in for me is just as good and just as strong. It's a blessing."
GCU will complete its season-opening, four-game homestand at 6 p.m. Saturday against Louisiana Monroe, which took TCU to double overtime in Fort Worth, Texas, before losing 100-92 on Tuesday night. After that, the Lopes will have an extended break to prepare for the Acrisure Series, which will open with a showdown against undefeated Saint Louis on Nov. 24 in Palm Desert, California, and continue Nov. 25 against either Colorado or Stanford.
The Lopes are going from 0 to 99 on the scoreboard with a vroom that sped away from Cal Poly to continue GCU's historically strong start Wednesday night.
With a 62-point second half, the Lopes looked their best yet this season for a 99-71 home victory against the Mustangs that gave GCU a pair of program distinctions:
- With 99 or more points in each win of a 3-0 start, this team became GCU's first in program history to even hit 90 or more points in each of a season's first three games.
- Wednesday night's game marked the first time in the Lopes' 14-year Division I era that they had seven double-digit scorers in a game.
"We're a special team," GCU senior guard Makaih Williams said. "Our offense will take care of itself. As long as our defense comes along, we'll be hard to beat."And it did, facing a team that recorded the nation's quickest tempo, launched the fourth-most 3-pointers and boasts a Big West scoring champion who dropped 30 points at Arizona last week. GCU contested Cal Poly to 5-of-25 accuracy on 3-pointers and held 6-foot-8 swingman Hamad Mousa to 16 points and two 3s, six fewer than he made in Tucson.
The Lopes played relentlessly and rapidly with 11 players logging at least 10 minutes and the bench contributing most of their points (51 of 99).
"It's a very competitive atmosphere," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "It's very competitive on the court. You've got to bring it in practice. You've got to bring it in games. When your number is called and you're in the game, you don't have time to warm up. You don't have time to not be fully engaged and focused because the nice thing is we have a lot of guys who we are comfortable playing. Tonight, the guys who played well, they stayed on the court. They got runs. They got minutes."
Fifth-year guard Tre Holloman played the most Lopes minutes, 25, in a reserve role. Holloman and fifth-year point guard Dylan Darling set the ball-sharing tone as the primary ball-handlers by combining for 10 assists with only two turnovers. Fifth-year wings Amarion Dickerson and Jaden Henley added eight assists without a turnover, as the Lopes cumulatively dished out 23 assists with only seven turnovers.They were finding senior power forward Blake Barkley, a game after he had not taken a shot. On Wednesday, Barkley scored GCU's first basket and went 7 for 10 for 16 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes.
"Coming here, we have so many great players so I'm kind of finding my way and how I can affect the team in a positive manner," Barkley said. "We shared the ball. When we play like that, that's the best brand of basketball we can play.
"I've got to be one of the players, coach told me, coming in and being aggressive and shooting the shots that are open to me. They were finding me tonight."
Barkley's first-half finish with his ability to score on three levels helped extend a tight first half to a 37-29 halftime lead for the Lopes.
GCU busted that open in the second half with a 12-1 run in the first 3:20, starting with a post-up to senior center Tyler Behrend.The Navy veteran appropriately enjoyed his best game on Veterans Day with his teammates saluting him as he conducted the postgame television interview.
Behrend handled foul trouble to play 21 minutes and deliver 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
"We talked about how our bigs had to impose our will in the paint because Cal
Poly likes to spread the floor and be on the perimeter," Behrend said.
"We have so many guys at every position. We can go small ball. We can go big ball. I think we're probably one of the deepest teams in the country, and I look forward to showing that."
That showed Wednesday as the Lopes came at the Mustangs in waves for runs of 12-1, 9-2 and 12-0 in the second half, when GCU shot 61% from the field with 36 points in the paint.
"I thought that was our best game by far of the three that we've played," Drew said. "That second half was by far the best complete half. We didn't have the lapses. We played both ends of the court. We were really active on defense. It started with rebounding the ball."That came by committee as well with sophomore Efe Demirel and junior Omaha Biliew each adding five rebounds too. Because of Cal Poly's five-out offense, Beliew share the center spot with Behrend in the second half to cover the perimeter.
Despite 11-for-20 free throw shooting, GCU posted its second consecutive 99-point total after having a 103-point opener,
Like Barkley, junior guard Jaden Zimmerman enjoyed a chance to show more of what we can bring offensively with 13 points in 17 minutes. Like Holloman, Zimmerman shot from long range well as each sank three 3s off the bench.
"Just really good decision-making," Drew said. "The guys really shared the ball well. It was fun to see, and it was fun to be part of that group in the locker room with how they played."
GCU had four players whose plus-minus exceeded their playing time – Barkley at plus-29 in 19 minutes, Darling at plus-27 in 24 minutes, Behrend at plus-26 in 21 minutes and Dickerson at plus-17 in 16 1/2 minutes.
"Our thing is just giving it your all for as long as you can," Behrend said. "You have just as good of a player coming up, and then he needs to give his all. We're constantly able to sub and have fresh legs coming in the game. You know you don't have to reserve your energy because the person coming in for me is just as good and just as strong. It's a blessing."
GCU will complete its season-opening, four-game homestand at 6 p.m. Saturday against Louisiana Monroe, which took TCU to double overtime in Fort Worth, Texas, before losing 100-92 on Tuesday night. After that, the Lopes will have an extended break to prepare for the Acrisure Series, which will open with a showdown against undefeated Saint Louis on Nov. 24 in Palm Desert, California, and continue Nov. 25 against either Colorado or Stanford.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
CPO
GCU
FG%
.424
.506
3FG%
.200
.303
FT%
.762
.550
RB
35
38
TO
19
7
STL
2
11
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Thursday, November 12
Thursday, November 12
Sunday, November 08
Sunday, November 08