Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UNLV on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 80
M Basketball
at UNLV
L 78-80
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Rapid recap: GCU 86, Air Force 60
3/3/2026 9:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes move to 12-7 in MW, take over 4th place with 1 to go
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Grand Canyon put five scorers in double figures and dominated bench scoring despite injury absences to blow out Air Force 86-60 on Tuesday night at Clune Arena.
GCU (19-11, 12-7 Mountain West) moved into fourth place alone with Nevada lostng 83-73 at Wyoming on Tuesday night. If the Lopes also win Saturday at home against Fresno State, that No. 4 seed would give GCU a first-round bye in the Mountain West Championship next week in Las Vegas.
The Lopes shot 56.4% from the field for their fourth-best clip of the season, marking the third time that GCU has shot at least 56% in a road game. .
GCU junior guard Makaih Williams made 4 of 6 shots from 3-point range on his way to 14 points in 25 minutes. He added four assists without making a turnover.
The Long Beach, California, native was a plus-29, meaning the Lopes were outscored by the Falcons in the 15 minutes that he did not play ope.
That defensive stretch turned into a 14-0 Lopes run with scores coming from six GCU players. On his way to a career-high 10 points, Evans entered the game and scored three times over two minutes wtih two post-up hook shots and a slam off senior guard Jaden Henley's no look pass. The Lopes led 23-6 midway through the first half..
Lopes junior guard Dusty Stromer led the bench with 12 points in addition to Evans' career-high 10 points. Junior power forward Kaleb Smith, playing 18 minutes with Wilhelm Breidenbach out hurt, scored six points and freshman walk-on Cole Pepe scored his first career points with a 3-pointer in the final minute..
Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game story with quotes from Drew and Dennis Evans.
GCU (19-11, 12-7 Mountain West) moved into fourth place alone with Nevada lostng 83-73 at Wyoming on Tuesday night. If the Lopes also win Saturday at home against Fresno State, that No. 4 seed would give GCU a first-round bye in the Mountain West Championship next week in Las Vegas.
The Lopes shot 56.4% from the field for their fourth-best clip of the season, marking the third time that GCU has shot at least 56% in a road game. .
Key player
GCU junior guard Makaih Williams made 4 of 6 shots from 3-point range on his way to 14 points in 25 minutes. He added four assists without making a turnover.The Long Beach, California, native was a plus-29, meaning the Lopes were outscored by the Falcons in the 15 minutes that he did not play ope.
Key moment
The Lopes opened the game with a 23-6 lead over the game's first 10 minutes. Air Force scored on its first possession of the game, but GCU shut out the Falcons for the next 5 1/2 minutes.That defensive stretch turned into a 14-0 Lopes run with scores coming from six GCU players. On his way to a career-high 10 points, Evans entered the game and scored three times over two minutes wtih two post-up hook shots and a slam off senior guard Jaden Henley's no look pass. The Lopes led 23-6 midway through the first half..
Key statistic
GCU outscored Air Force 31-13 in bench scoring for the most Lopes points from substitutes since Jan. 10 against San José State.Lopes junior guard Dusty Stromer led the bench with 12 points in addition to Evans' career-high 10 points. Junior power forward Kaleb Smith, playing 18 minutes with Wilhelm Breidenbach out hurt, scored six points and freshman walk-on Cole Pepe scored his first career points with a 3-pointer in the final minute..
Quotable
GCU head coach Bryce Drew on his offense against Air Force's matchup zone defense: "In the second half against Utah State, I thought our guys did a really good job in that game. Today, I thought our ball movement against it was really good. Guys were really willing passes. That's the 17 assists. The gusy were willing to find some gaps and move the ball."What's next?
The Lopes return to Phoenix to close the regular season Saturday with a 6 p.m. game against Fresno State at Global Credit Union Arena Wyoming at 6 p.m. Saturday in Global Credit Union Arena.Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game story with quotes from Drew and Dennis Evans.
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