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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, August 6
Langley, British Columbia
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
at
Trinity Western
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Vancouver Tour fun caps with final game
8/6/2026 8:31:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
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Lopes end trip with streamed exhibition at Trinity Western
By: Paul Coro
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Basketball is not work when Grand Canyon is having fun.
The Lopes are making the most of their Vancouver basketball-bonding tour, sandwiching a boat tour and trips to Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge between exhibition games.
But as exhilarating as it was for GCU teammates Dylan Darling and Tyler Behrend to paraglide from the Grouse mountaintop to North Vancouver or for the Lopes to cross a bridge's swinging planks 450 feet over the Caplilano River, the team wants to cap the trip Thursday night with the ultimate enjoyment – a second win.
After defeating Mount Royal 83-65 on Tuesday, the Lopes travel for a 7 p.m. game against Trinity Western in Langley, British Columbia, for their second matchup with a Canadian university team. This exhibition game will be streamed by CanadaWest.tv for less than $10.
"I can't wait to play the next game," said GCU junior guard Jaden Zimmerman, who scored eight points in Tuesday's win. "We'll talk as a team. We'll learn about it. We'll watch film. Next game, we'll come out and dominate. We'll probably look like a whole new team just off one game."
GCU will continue to have nine available players, with sophomore center Efe Demirel being the only one who was in the regular rotation last season. That prompted Lopes head coach Bryce Drew to use unique lineup combinations Tuesday, including starting 7-foot-1 Demirel and 6-10 Behrend together with 6-8 junior Blake Barkley at small forward.
Frontcourt players accounted for most of the scoring, led by Demirel (14 points), senior power forward Omaha Biliew (13), Barkley (10), Behrend (nine) and sophomore Jack Sawyer (five). The backcourt play, highlighted by the pressure defense of Darling and sophomore Micah Tucker, also saw the point guards push pace and also score – Darling (10), Tucker (nine), Zimmerman (eight) and junior Daqari Miles (five).
Demirel and Behrend capitalized on the size advantage, going 5 for 6 and 4 for 5 from the field, respectively. The only Lopes with multiple made 3-pointers were Biliew (2 for 3), Darling (2 for 4) and Barkley (2 for 6).
"We played lineups out here that we never thought we'd be playing in April, when we built the roster," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "They did a good job of adapting as the game went on. We are getting to learn our players. It gave us many things that we can go back and work on. In practice, when you play against each other in the same schemes, you might miss those types of things.
"I don't know how much we can build on in 48 hours (for the Trinity Western game). There were definitely some really good things to help know exactly what we're talking about when we show game film."
