Lopes share with flair, glide to 24-point win - Grand Canyon University Athletics

Monday, November 2

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-0,0-0Mountain West

103

Texas Southern

0-1,0-0SWAC

Team	1	2	F
Texas Southern	37	42	79
Grand Canyon	48	55	103

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

11/2/2026 11:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU opens season by pulling away from Texas Southern for 103-79 home victory

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon played an 11-man rotation in its season opener Monday night, with each one of them bringing Division I starting experience and Preseason All-Mountain West honoree Makaih Williams not among them for injury.

Where most would be concerned about each player being out for himself, the Lopes share like a pack of wolves and devoured Texas Southern with a 103-79 season introduction at Global Credit Union Arena.

Jaden Henley

The Lopes recorded their highest season-opening point total in 11 years with an unselfishness that programs strive to create and build over years. This team, with 11 newcomers, has shown the home fans that style of play in two home performances, exhibition and regular season, even though they barely have taken the court together as one healthy group since forming in June.

"It starts with the guys who had the ball in their hands," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "Really unselfish playing on their part. And it becomes contagious. When the ball is coming down and being shared right away, it seems like it continues to get shared. I loved the ball movement that we had."

The Lopes assisted on 18 of their first 21 made field goals, with starting fifth-year guards Dylan Darling and Tre Holloman making their official GCU debuts with six assists apiece. Their 23 assists would have tied the 2025-26 team's season high.

Blake Barkley

GCU's six early turnovers and poor free throw shooting helped Texas Southern stay tight until a 15-2 run late in the second half was highlighted by the style of play Drew envisioned for a deep, versatile team with team speed.

In the stretch that turned a tight game into one that the Tigers never threatened again, the defining sequence started with Holloman crossing over a defender and splitting two defenders before dropping a pass over another defender for a layup by senior power forward Blake Barkley.

On GCU's next offensive trip, fifth-year guard Jaden Henley drew a double team at the top of the key and dropped in a pass for a dunk by sophomore center Efe Demirel.

Dylan Darling

A possession later, it was the Lopes' penchant for swinging the ball across the perimeter for better shots, with Barkley hitting fifth-year swingman Amarion Dickerson for a 3-pointer. Nine Dickerson points in a 1 1/2-minute stretch thrust GCU to a 44-30 lead with 2:21 remaining in the first half.

"We just got to know that we have a common goal," Darling said. "Nothing really matters besides reaching that. We've got a long way to go, but we're all going to have to sacrifice, whether it be minutes, shots or whatever it is. We're all going to have to sacrifice, and we all know that. We have a really selfless team, and we're going to have to hold ourselves to that and build on that."

Much of what ailed GCU early improved as the game went on with handling Texas Southern's defensive pressure and shooting free throws. The Lopes went 12 for their first 26 at the free throw line before making 14 of their last 15 attempts.

Jaden Henley and Amarion Dickerson

Just as he did in the exhibition home game last week, Dickerson led GCU in plus-minus off the bench. He was a plus-23 in 25 minutes and racked up 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and five blocks, one shy of the GCU Division I-era record.

"That crowd is amazing, so it's only right if you play with that type of energy and enthusiasm," Dickerson said.

GCU outrebounded Texas Southern 47-30 with senior center Tyler Behrend grabbing a team-high eight boards in 15 minutes, although he fouled out in that short time just as he had in the exhibition game. Behrend started ahead of Demirel, who was one of four double-digit scorers with 11 off the bench in 16 minutes before 6-foot-8 senior Omaha Biliew closed the game well at center.

Henley scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, and Darling showed his embrace of the offensive freedom he has been given by Drew with 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals in his arena debut. He zipped one assist for a Demirel dunk that covered three-fourths of the court.

Omaha Biliew

"It's a really fun system, and it's really fun playing it with the guys we have," Darling said. "We've got a lot of players who do a lot of things, but it's really fun to play with those guys.

"Coach has a luxury of goods at his disposal. We've got a great team. It's going to depend on the matchups. We've got a bunch of guys who can do a bunch of different things."

Drew said Williams should be able to return to practice this week and build up toward a possible Saturday return against SWAC favorite Bethune-Cookman. But without last season's second-leading scorer, GCU still shot 51.6% from the field and outscored Texas Southern 17-6 on fastbreaks.

Yet, everyone could agree the performance left much area from improvement as the Lopes open this season with a four-game homestand. The game returned guards Jaden Zimmerman and Caleb Shaw to action, but the Lopes hope to get Williams back next after he was a gametime decision to hold out Monday night.

"With the continuity, something is just a little rigid," Drew said. "It's not smooth, and a lot of that is because guys have been out all summer or parts of the summer and the fall.

"They did some things that were uncharacteristic or the adrenaline was flowing too fast. Hopefully, it'll slow down for them in front of our crowd, and we'll be able to shoot the ball better and handle the ball better."