Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Mount Royal on August 4, 2026 ,
M Basketball
at Mount Royal
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Bonding bears out in trip-ending rout
8/6/2026 11:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Zimerman's 24 points, Behrend's double-double lead 107-78 win in Canada
LANGLEY, British Columbia – Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew likely will never again keep his team away from a court and a basketball for more than 48 hours between games, but the combination of off-court bonding and basketball longing was trip-capping catalyst for the Lopes.
Unlike Tuesday's first win in West Vancouver, GCU's dominance was not delayed Thursday night in Langley to declare a blowout win for customs Friday. The Lopes ended its Canadian tour with a 107-78 rout at Trinity Western, its second Canadian
university team of the week.
In the same stretch as their 22-2 run Tuesday, the Lopes put Trinity Western in a Canadian kerfuffle Thursday by going on a 24-5 tear from mid-second quarter to early third quarter. Even with only nine available players, GCU made the most of who was available with six scoring in double figures in a ball-sharing offense that made 57.6% of its shots from the field.
"I'm happy and pleased that the players made such big strides in 48 hours, and we didn't even touch a basketball for almost 48 hours literally," Drew said. "It was a really good defensive effort. I thought our energy was way better, and just the guys were more familiar playing with each other."
After the mountain chair lifts, mountainside roller coaster rides, paragliding, tandem walks on a suspension bridge and treetops and a harbor boat cruise, the Lopes looked more connected on the court.
Some basketball messaging from the coaches also resonated after GCU needed to climb out of an eight-point, second-quarter deficit Tuesday before winning by 18 against Mount Royal.
"We played down a little bit," said GCU senior center Tyler Behrend, the Tulsa transfer who posted a double-double (12 points and 13 rebounds with four assists). "We had a little team meeting and said we can't be doing that. If we're going to reach the goals that we set out to reach, we can't be playing down. We've got to just go at anyone we play. We showed that today."
With little of their offense installed and playing with a 24-second shot clock, the Lopes assisted on 25 of 38 made field goals Thursday against Trinity Western's changing defensive looks with zone and hard shows in screen coverage. The Spartans had played previous games against Purdue (lost 82-66) and Marquette (lost 89-59).
GCU held Trinity Western to 34.3% shooting, following an 8 1/2-minute stretch of now allowing a made field goal Tuesday by doing the same for a six-minute stretch Thursday.
"We knew we had to be better from last game because we should've done the same thing we did to this thing by a lot," GCU junior guard Jaden Zimmerman said. "I felt like this game everybody was going to click and everybody was going to play more together because we discussed what we had to do after the game. And we came out and did it."
Zimmerman, a 6-foot-5 Quinnipiac transfer, led all scorers with 24 points by changing up his offensive formula from Tuesday. He made the most spectacular score in Tuesday's game, when he turned a left-handed drive into a right-handed reverse finish. But he was 0 for 6 on 3-pointers and 3 for 3 inside the arc.
On Thursday, Zimmerman went 7 for 8 from the field in the first half without attempting a 3-pointer. Drew noted that he looked more "comfortable" when his roll began midway through the second quarter with scores on three consecutive trips. Behrend found him for a backdoor slam before a pair of mid-range jumpers.
"I've just got to play hard, do the right things and let the game come to me," said Zimmerman, whose 11-for-19 shooting included two made 3s and was complemented by a team-high six assists. "I felt like last game I was probably trying to force it a little bit. This game, I was going to let the game come to me, and it went well.
"When I drive, that's most of my game, getting to the basket. Me driving to the basket is going to open up open shots, which it did."
Barkley sparked the Lopes by sinking three early 3-pointers that shot GCU out to a 24-10 advantage in the first 7:18 of the game. Because of absences, Barkley played more small forward this week than expected and thrived Thursday for a 21-point, seven-rebound game.
"Just seeing them go in was a confidence boost, having a different role from where I've been," said Barkley, who averaged 14.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as an East Tennessee State power forward last season. "I'm usually an interior scorer, being around the basket and making plays out of there. Being able to show that I can stretch the floor, it's been awesome. Whatever the team needs and whatever Coach needs, I feel like I can do multiple things. We all want to win the Mountain West and go to the tournament."
GCU senior point guard Dylan Darling was restricted to 17 minutes because he recently returned from an injury that sidelined him for much of the Lopes' June and July workouts. He showed how high his potential to run GCU's offense will be with more time around his teammates and in Drew's system. He scored nearly a point per minute with 15 points and three assists.
Seven players delivered a multi-assist game with the Lopes willingly making extra passes when shots were available. Sophomore Micah Tucker continued to pair with Daniels for intense ball perimeter pressure, picking Trinity Western players' dribbles twice while also handing out five assists.
"It was fun to watch," Drew said. "We had a couple passes that went to like hockey assists to then the assist. We made some, we missed some. But it was pretty basketball to watch when the ball was flying around like that."
GCU leave Vancouver on Friday feeling the value of the tour, which gave them 10 extra practices in Phoenix this summer and an immeasurable amount of bonding this week.
"It's been a great trip so far with the games and the camaraderie with the guys," Drew said. "Some of it out here could be from just the last two days with them hanging out with each other, having meals together and doing excursions together. You see a bond. It's a lot more talkative now than what we arrived. That's a good sign from the camaraderie standpoint."
The Lopes will take a two-week break and have senior guard Makiah Williams back for practice at that point with senior guard Caleb Shaw's return not far behind him. Without that pair, Demirel was the only rotation player from last season to be available for the exhibition games in Canada.
Barkley noted the method in Drew's roster assembly, seeing how many players with previous winning experience are blending easily for common team goals.
"We built a connection, more than we already had over the summer," said Behrend, who paraglided with Darling off Grouse Mountain on Wednesday. "I've done things with these guys that maybe I'll never do again. It's just building the experience for all of us and getting us all together."
Unlike Tuesday's first win in West Vancouver, GCU's dominance was not delayed Thursday night in Langley to declare a blowout win for customs Friday. The Lopes ended its Canadian tour with a 107-78 rout at Trinity Western, its second Canadian
university team of the week.
In the same stretch as their 22-2 run Tuesday, the Lopes put Trinity Western in a Canadian kerfuffle Thursday by going on a 24-5 tear from mid-second quarter to early third quarter. Even with only nine available players, GCU made the most of who was available with six scoring in double figures in a ball-sharing offense that made 57.6% of its shots from the field.
"I'm happy and pleased that the players made such big strides in 48 hours, and we didn't even touch a basketball for almost 48 hours literally," Drew said. "It was a really good defensive effort. I thought our energy was way better, and just the guys were more familiar playing with each other."
After the mountain chair lifts, mountainside roller coaster rides, paragliding, tandem walks on a suspension bridge and treetops and a harbor boat cruise, the Lopes looked more connected on the court.
Some basketball messaging from the coaches also resonated after GCU needed to climb out of an eight-point, second-quarter deficit Tuesday before winning by 18 against Mount Royal.
"We played down a little bit," said GCU senior center Tyler Behrend, the Tulsa transfer who posted a double-double (12 points and 13 rebounds with four assists). "We had a little team meeting and said we can't be doing that. If we're going to reach the goals that we set out to reach, we can't be playing down. We've got to just go at anyone we play. We showed that today."
With little of their offense installed and playing with a 24-second shot clock, the Lopes assisted on 25 of 38 made field goals Thursday against Trinity Western's changing defensive looks with zone and hard shows in screen coverage. The Spartans had played previous games against Purdue (lost 82-66) and Marquette (lost 89-59).
GCU held Trinity Western to 34.3% shooting, following an 8 1/2-minute stretch of now allowing a made field goal Tuesday by doing the same for a six-minute stretch Thursday.
"We knew we had to be better from last game because we should've done the same thing we did to this thing by a lot," GCU junior guard Jaden Zimmerman said. "I felt like this game everybody was going to click and everybody was going to play more together because we discussed what we had to do after the game. And we came out and did it."
Zimmerman, a 6-foot-5 Quinnipiac transfer, led all scorers with 24 points by changing up his offensive formula from Tuesday. He made the most spectacular score in Tuesday's game, when he turned a left-handed drive into a right-handed reverse finish. But he was 0 for 6 on 3-pointers and 3 for 3 inside the arc.
On Thursday, Zimmerman went 7 for 8 from the field in the first half without attempting a 3-pointer. Drew noted that he looked more "comfortable" when his roll began midway through the second quarter with scores on three consecutive trips. Behrend found him for a backdoor slam before a pair of mid-range jumpers.
"I've just got to play hard, do the right things and let the game come to me," said Zimmerman, whose 11-for-19 shooting included two made 3s and was complemented by a team-high six assists. "I felt like last game I was probably trying to force it a little bit. This game, I was going to let the game come to me, and it went well.
"When I drive, that's most of my game, getting to the basket. Me driving to the basket is going to open up open shots, which it did."
Barkley sparked the Lopes by sinking three early 3-pointers that shot GCU out to a 24-10 advantage in the first 7:18 of the game. Because of absences, Barkley played more small forward this week than expected and thrived Thursday for a 21-point, seven-rebound game.
"Just seeing them go in was a confidence boost, having a different role from where I've been," said Barkley, who averaged 14.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as an East Tennessee State power forward last season. "I'm usually an interior scorer, being around the basket and making plays out of there. Being able to show that I can stretch the floor, it's been awesome. Whatever the team needs and whatever Coach needs, I feel like I can do multiple things. We all want to win the Mountain West and go to the tournament."
GCU senior point guard Dylan Darling was restricted to 17 minutes because he recently returned from an injury that sidelined him for much of the Lopes' June and July workouts. He showed how high his potential to run GCU's offense will be with more time around his teammates and in Drew's system. He scored nearly a point per minute with 15 points and three assists.
Seven players delivered a multi-assist game with the Lopes willingly making extra passes when shots were available. Sophomore Micah Tucker continued to pair with Daniels for intense ball perimeter pressure, picking Trinity Western players' dribbles twice while also handing out five assists.
"It was fun to watch," Drew said. "We had a couple passes that went to like hockey assists to then the assist. We made some, we missed some. But it was pretty basketball to watch when the ball was flying around like that."
GCU leave Vancouver on Friday feeling the value of the tour, which gave them 10 extra practices in Phoenix this summer and an immeasurable amount of bonding this week.
"It's been a great trip so far with the games and the camaraderie with the guys," Drew said. "Some of it out here could be from just the last two days with them hanging out with each other, having meals together and doing excursions together. You see a bond. It's a lot more talkative now than what we arrived. That's a good sign from the camaraderie standpoint."
The Lopes will take a two-week break and have senior guard Makiah Williams back for practice at that point with senior guard Caleb Shaw's return not far behind him. Without that pair, Demirel was the only rotation player from last season to be available for the exhibition games in Canada.
Barkley noted the method in Drew's roster assembly, seeing how many players with previous winning experience are blending easily for common team goals.
"We built a connection, more than we already had over the summer," said Behrend, who paraglided with Darling off Grouse Mountain on Wednesday. "I've done things with these guys that maybe I'll never do again. It's just building the experience for all of us and getting us all together."
Players Mentioned
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