Rapid recap: UNLV 80, GCU 78

Saturday, February 7

Thomas & Mack Center • Las Vegas, Nev.

2:30 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

15-8,8-4Mountain West

UNLV

11-12,6-6Mountain West

Grand Canyon

UNLV

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

2/7/2026 4:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Late Lopes rally falls short; Owusu-Anane records 20th career double-double

By: Paul Coro

LAS VEGAS – Grand Canyon rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final 2 1/2 minutes but could not come all the way back in an 80-78 conference loss Saturday at UNLV.

The Lopes (15-8, 8-4 Mountain West) were trailing 74-59 before going on a 17-4 that cut the Runnin' Rebels' lead to 78-76 with 12 seconds remaining at Thomas & Mack Center. GCU nearly stole an inbound pass, but UNLV (11-12, 6-6 MW) kept possession and finished its 18-of-19 free throw shooting with two game-cinching free throws with five seconds remaining for an 80-76 lead. The Runnin' Rebels, missing two injured starters, ended a four-game losing streak and dropped GCU into a tie for fourth-place with Nevada.

Key player

GCU graduate power forward Nana Owusu-Anane recorded his 20th career double-double and fifth this season with 19 points and 13 rebounds in 38 minutes of action.

Owusu-Anane made 6 of 9 shots from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Owusu-Anane delivered three assists without a turnover and tied his career high with four steals.

Key moment

GCU reduced the UNLV lead, which had been 16 and was 10 at halftime, to four points on three occasions in the middle of the second half. But at the same time, UNLV scored on four consecutive possessions to fight off the comeback and took the lead back to double digits a short time later. Backup guard Al Green scored on consecutive possessions to put the Runnin' Rebels ahead 72-57 with 3:37 remaining.

Key statistic

GCU shot 38.6% from the field after making its last six shots and seven of its last eight. Prior to that run, the Lopes were shooting 30.6% from the field to trail by 15 with 3:37 to go.

Quotable

GCU head coach Bryce Drew: "Basically, we got punked. Just plain and simple. They were more physical than us. They pushed us off our line. We couldn't hold our line. We couldn't get through the line. And a little too late in the last four minutes. It's disappointing because we were playing really good, high-level basketball. Nana gave us toughness for 40 minutes, but we couldn't find other guys who were willing to be tough. They got through screens.We couldn't get through screens. That's where the game was won.."

What's next?

The Lopes return to Phoenix and do not play a game until Wednesday, when New Mexico visits Global Credit Union after beating the Lopes 87-64 in Albuquerque last month.

Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game story with quotes from head coaches Bryce Drew and Josh Pastner.