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
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
11/2/2026 9:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes open regular season with ball-sharing home win over Tigers
Grand Canyon opened up a season of high expectations with high scoring, coming within a point of its home-opening, Division I-era scoring record with an authoritative 103-79 victory against Texas Southern at Global Credit Union Arena.
GCU (1-0) busted open its lead late in the first half and stayed in control with a ball-sharing offense and an 11-man rotation. Playing without injured Preseason All-Mountain West honoree Makaih Williams for the night, the Lopes put four scorers in double figures with 51.6% shooting from the field.
The Lopes won their seventh consecutive home opener with the streak's victory margins coming by an average of 16.7 points per game.Â
GCU swingman Amarion Dickerson was the Lopes' top plus-minus player, just as he was in last week's home exhibition win. Dickerson, the 6-foot-7 transfer from USC, was a plus-23 in his 25 minutes off the bench.
Dickerson,a Cleveland native, racked up 12 points, four assists and five blocked shots without committing a turnover. He made 4 of 5 shots, including 2 of 3 from the 3-point line while continuing to show his game-changing defense.
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Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game story with quotes from Drew and players.
GCU (1-0) busted open its lead late in the first half and stayed in control with a ball-sharing offense and an 11-man rotation. Playing without injured Preseason All-Mountain West honoree Makaih Williams for the night, the Lopes put four scorers in double figures with 51.6% shooting from the field.
The Lopes won their seventh consecutive home opener with the streak's victory margins coming by an average of 16.7 points per game.Â
Key player
GCU swingman Amarion Dickerson was the Lopes' top plus-minus player, just as he was in last week's home exhibition win. Dickerson, the 6-foot-7 transfer from USC, was a plus-23 in his 25 minutes off the bench.Dickerson,a Cleveland native, racked up 12 points, four assists and five blocked shots without committing a turnover. He made 4 of 5 shots, including 2 of 3 from the 3-point line while continuing to show his game-changing defense.
Key moment
The Lopes were clinging to a 29-28 lead with 6:15 remaining in the first half when a string of six consecutive scoring possessions opened up their lead for the first time. A 15-2 run was highlighted by a variety of playmakers assisting on made baskets and nine of the points coming from Dickerson, who made a pair of 3s and finished a 3-point play in one four-possession stretch.Â
Key statistic
The Lopes assisted on 14 of 17 first-half made field goals and finished with 23 assists, led by starting guards Dylan Darling and Tre Holloman each having six. GCU made 15 turnovers but cleaned up their ball care after committing six of those in the game's first five minutes.Quotable
GCU head coach Bryce Drew: "I thought it was much better than last week (in an exhibition win). I thought we rebounded a little bit better. Our defensive intensity was better to start the game.I thought the last 10 minutes we closed it out well and executed well. Dylan made some nice plays at the rim and some nice passes. Jaden made some nice finishes. I really liked how we closed the game."What's next?Â
The Lopes continue the season-opening, four-game homestand with a 6 p.m. Saturday game against SWAC preseason favorite Bethune-Cookman. That game can be watched on Fox 10 Plus (Channel 45) or MW+ and heard on the GCU Lopes app.ÂReturn to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game story with quotes from Drew and players.
Players Mentioned
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