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
Saturday, November 14
Phoenix, Ariz.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
4-0,0-0Mountain West
88
vs
52
Louisiana-Monroe
1-5,0-0Sun Belt
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| ULM | 26 | 26 | 52 |
| Grand Canyon | 43 | 45 | 88 |
Photo by: Kaily Green
11/14/2026 11:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Henley's 7-for-7 game highlights best start of Lopes' D-I era ca
Grand Canyon plays like it is recess and there is only one ball to share for everyone to have fun.
The Lopes are sharing good basketball like a quality social media post, distributing it for all to enjoy. GCU posted a 23-assist, seven-turnover game for the second consecutive contest Saturday night, pounding Louisiana-Monroe 88-52 for its first 4-0 start against all Division I opponents in its D-I era (since 2013-14). Saturday's win also marked the Lopes' sixth-largest victory margin of their D-I era.
Until Wednesday's and Saturday's wins, GCU had posted one game of 20 or more assists and seven or fewer turnovers in its D-I era (vs. UT Arlington in the 2025 WAC Tournament). This cooperative team sets up each other so well that the Lopes have shot better than 50% in every win this season.
"They have really shared the ball," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "You knew Dylan (Darling) could pass. You knew Tre (Holloman) could. But Jaden (Henley) has really picked up his passing. Amarion (Dickerson) had five assists last game. You're getting passing from different guys. Tyler (Behrend) gives you a different dimension at the 5. He can really pass at the 5 position. It's much more enjoyable to watch when that ball is flying around, and they're finding the open guy for open shots."
The Lopes are averaging 97.3 points per game and winning by an average of 26.5 points per game. Being slowed by the Warhawks' occasional use of zone defense Saturday night still meant outscoring them 19-0 in fastbreak points.
GCU fifth-year point guard Dylan Darling dished eight assists with 11 points, six rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes, and fifth-year guard Jaden Henley went 7 for 7 from the field with a career high-tying four 3-pointers.
Henley had never shot 100% with more than three shots in any of his 126 previous games but was nearly flawless Saturday for 18 points, six rebounds and four assists without a turnover in 23 minutes.
"It's easy to have that many assists when you have guys like J-Hen who don't miss from the floor," Darling said.
Henley had put up 16- and 19-point second halves this month but scored 10 in Saturday's first half, which he opened with a 3 on the first possession and assisted sophomore center Efe Demirel on the next trip to spur an 8-0 start.
"I feel like the past few games I've had really slow starts to games," Henley said. "I feel like it's affected us a little bit. Obviously, my teammates picked me up in the past games. I just come out with the same energy. They keep telling me to shoot the ball and just be me and be aggressive, so that's what I did tonight."
When Henley was not knocking down 3s, he also was hitting a mid-range jumper, a more typical driving layup and a fastbreak finish while being fouled. He capped his night with a 3 that put GCU ahead 76-42 with 7:40 remaining. The performance was similar to a 22-point, four-assist, no-turnover game that the All-Mountain West first-team honoree posted for GCU last November against Northwestern State.
"He was tremendous," Drew said of Henley. "He had a complete game. When you have a pass-first guard like (Darling) and Tre has been a pass-first guard, it really opens up Jaden to be able to score more and attack the rim more. It also saves his energy a little bit from having to dribble so much and bring it up under pressure. I thought he just looked fantastic tonight."
The Lopes went 12 players deep again with no player logging more than 23 minutes (Henley) and five of them scoring in double figures.
As GCU improves its defense from allowing 47.3% shooting to Bethune-Cookman a week ago, the Lopes limited the Warhawks to 34.5% shooting, which would have been the fourth-lowest GCU opponent field goal percentage of last season.
Louisiana-Monroe was playing its fourth game in six nights but had taken TCU to double overtime in Fort Worth, Texas, earlier this week before losing 92-62 at Arizona State.
"I'm very pleased with our guys and their approach and how they came out," Drew said. "I thought our defense was good today with some really good one-on-one players. Especially in the second half, I thought we really guarded the ball much better."
After GCU power forward Blake Barkley enjoyed a breakout game Wednesday vs. Cal Poly, it was sophomore center Efe Demirel's turn to have one Saturday. The 7-foot-1 Turk was assertive and physical, tallying 10 points, eight rebounds (four offensive) and three blocked shots in 20 minutes.
"It's the best mentality I've seen him have all year, maybe since he's been here," Drew said. "He was yelling his ball-screen coverages. He was attacking balls. It was great to see him leaving the floor and jumping. He did exactly what we wanted him to do tonight. I was really proud of him."
GCU has 10 days to prepare for a Nov. 24 game against Saint Louis (3-0), potentially a top-25 team by Monday, at the Acrisure Series in Palm Desert, California. The Lopes will play Colorado or Stanford there a day later.
The college basketball nation is taking notice of the Lopes too. At any level, GCU has not outscored its first four opponents by 106 points for 30 years until this team.
"From the moment we all got here, we knew we had a lot of talent," Darling said. "I think we're all seeing it in real time that we're starting to blend and we're starting to pick up on what Coach wants and really buy into the system. It's kind of just a beautiful thing to see. I think everybody is sharing the ball and everybody is making plays and we're slowly improving in all areas."
The Lopes are sharing good basketball like a quality social media post, distributing it for all to enjoy. GCU posted a 23-assist, seven-turnover game for the second consecutive contest Saturday night, pounding Louisiana-Monroe 88-52 for its first 4-0 start against all Division I opponents in its D-I era (since 2013-14). Saturday's win also marked the Lopes' sixth-largest victory margin of their D-I era.Until Wednesday's and Saturday's wins, GCU had posted one game of 20 or more assists and seven or fewer turnovers in its D-I era (vs. UT Arlington in the 2025 WAC Tournament). This cooperative team sets up each other so well that the Lopes have shot better than 50% in every win this season.
"They have really shared the ball," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "You knew Dylan (Darling) could pass. You knew Tre (Holloman) could. But Jaden (Henley) has really picked up his passing. Amarion (Dickerson) had five assists last game. You're getting passing from different guys. Tyler (Behrend) gives you a different dimension at the 5. He can really pass at the 5 position. It's much more enjoyable to watch when that ball is flying around, and they're finding the open guy for open shots."
The Lopes are averaging 97.3 points per game and winning by an average of 26.5 points per game. Being slowed by the Warhawks' occasional use of zone defense Saturday night still meant outscoring them 19-0 in fastbreak points.
GCU fifth-year point guard Dylan Darling dished eight assists with 11 points, six rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes, and fifth-year guard Jaden Henley went 7 for 7 from the field with a career high-tying four 3-pointers.
Henley had never shot 100% with more than three shots in any of his 126 previous games but was nearly flawless Saturday for 18 points, six rebounds and four assists without a turnover in 23 minutes."It's easy to have that many assists when you have guys like J-Hen who don't miss from the floor," Darling said.
Henley had put up 16- and 19-point second halves this month but scored 10 in Saturday's first half, which he opened with a 3 on the first possession and assisted sophomore center Efe Demirel on the next trip to spur an 8-0 start.
"I feel like the past few games I've had really slow starts to games," Henley said. "I feel like it's affected us a little bit. Obviously, my teammates picked me up in the past games. I just come out with the same energy. They keep telling me to shoot the ball and just be me and be aggressive, so that's what I did tonight."
When Henley was not knocking down 3s, he also was hitting a mid-range jumper, a more typical driving layup and a fastbreak finish while being fouled. He capped his night with a 3 that put GCU ahead 76-42 with 7:40 remaining. The performance was similar to a 22-point, four-assist, no-turnover game that the All-Mountain West first-team honoree posted for GCU last November against Northwestern State.
"He was tremendous," Drew said of Henley. "He had a complete game. When you have a pass-first guard like (Darling) and Tre has been a pass-first guard, it really opens up Jaden to be able to score more and attack the rim more. It also saves his energy a little bit from having to dribble so much and bring it up under pressure. I thought he just looked fantastic tonight."
The Lopes went 12 players deep again with no player logging more than 23 minutes (Henley) and five of them scoring in double figures.As GCU improves its defense from allowing 47.3% shooting to Bethune-Cookman a week ago, the Lopes limited the Warhawks to 34.5% shooting, which would have been the fourth-lowest GCU opponent field goal percentage of last season.
Louisiana-Monroe was playing its fourth game in six nights but had taken TCU to double overtime in Fort Worth, Texas, earlier this week before losing 92-62 at Arizona State.
"I'm very pleased with our guys and their approach and how they came out," Drew said. "I thought our defense was good today with some really good one-on-one players. Especially in the second half, I thought we really guarded the ball much better."
After GCU power forward Blake Barkley enjoyed a breakout game Wednesday vs. Cal Poly, it was sophomore center Efe Demirel's turn to have one Saturday. The 7-foot-1 Turk was assertive and physical, tallying 10 points, eight rebounds (four offensive) and three blocked shots in 20 minutes.
"It's the best mentality I've seen him have all year, maybe since he's been here," Drew said. "He was yelling his ball-screen coverages. He was attacking balls. It was great to see him leaving the floor and jumping. He did exactly what we wanted him to do tonight. I was really proud of him."
GCU has 10 days to prepare for a Nov. 24 game against Saint Louis (3-0), potentially a top-25 team by Monday, at the Acrisure Series in Palm Desert, California. The Lopes will play Colorado or Stanford there a day later.
The college basketball nation is taking notice of the Lopes too. At any level, GCU has not outscored its first four opponents by 106 points for 30 years until this team.
"From the moment we all got here, we knew we had a lot of talent," Darling said. "I think we're all seeing it in real time that we're starting to blend and we're starting to pick up on what Coach wants and really buy into the system. It's kind of just a beautiful thing to see. I think everybody is sharing the ball and everybody is making plays and we're slowly improving in all areas."
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
ULM
GCU
FG%
.345
.525
3FG%
.179
.344
FT%
.500
.650
RB
33
44
TO
10
7
STL
1
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Thursday, November 12
Thursday, November 12
Sunday, November 08
Sunday, November 08