No. 4-seed Grand Canyon blew an 11-point lead and fell to No. 5 Nevada, 84-80, on Thursday, March 12, in the Mountain West Conference quarterfinals at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The loss eliminated the Lopes from the tournament and ended their season. The team likely needed to win the conference tournament to have a shot at being selected for the NCAA tournament.
GCU (20-12, 13-7 conference) looked in control in the first half when they made only three turnovers and led by as much as 11. But the Wolf Pack got hot late and cut it to 40-34 at the break. Nevada (22-11) advances to the March 13 semifinals against top-seed Utah State.
It was the first time GCU lost a game in its first season in the Mountain West after leading at halftime.
"We learned a lot in the league, the style of play, the physicality," coach Bryce Drew said in the postgame news conference. "I thought our seniors came in, and they were first-year guys, they really loved GCU. Retention is big.
"I think eyes on GCU was good. I think our exposure is going to kick-start us even better next year."
GCU had a large contingent of student Havocs in Las Vegas. But that extra boost from the crowd didn't help in the second half, when top scorer Jaden Henley was in foul trouble.
GCU (20-12) can blame this loss to eight second-half turnovers, and 12 missed free throws in the half. The Wolf Pack went on an 8-0 run to open the second half and took its first lead 42-40.
Guard Makaih Williams made two costly turnovers in the final minute, after GCU had cut it to one point with more than a minute left.
Williams had a chance to redeem himself late when he was fouled twice on 3-point attempts. But he made only 4 of 6 free throws. He made a 3 with three seconds left to make it a three-point game. But the Lopes were forced to foul and the Wolf Pack cashed in.
GCU made 15 of 27 free throws in the second half. Nevada made 28 of 34 free throws in the second half to seal it and made 36 of 45 free throws overall. GCU was 27 of 41 from the line. The combined free-throw attempts were the most ever in a Mountain West Conference tournament game.
Corey Camper Jr., led the Wolf Pack with 27 points, making 8 of 9 free throws. Vaughn Weems made 10 of 11 free throws and had 16 points for Nevada. Camper's 3 to open the second half sparked the run.
Grand Canyon was looking forward to this game since losing its only regular-season meeting to Nevada on Jan. 27, a 66-60 overtime loss.
The Lopes, in their first year in the Mountain West, relied on their defensive efficiency to gain a first-round bye in the tournament. But they gave up 50 points in the second half.
GCU shot 41% from the field in the first half, while Nevada shot 48% and made 8-of-11 free throws. GCU was 12-of-14 from the line in the half, as Jaden Henley made all six of his free throws en route to nine points.
Williams scored 25 points while Henley added 19. Henley fouled out late in the game. He was one of three GCU players who fouled out. The Lopes were called for a season-high 27 fouls.
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Grand Canyon basketball falls to Nevada in Mountain West quarterfinal