UH Vs. GCU: UH Loses to Grand Canyon, DON'T Count This Team Out!
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It was not meant to be.
The University of Hawaiʻi Men's Basketball team took on future Mountain West opponent, the Grand Canyon Antelopes, and came away the losers, 78-72, on Tuesday at the Global Credit Union Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
It was a career night for Gytis Nemeikša, as he led UH and all players with 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting and 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Marcus Greene was next with 17 on 7-for-14 shooting. Both Nemeikša and Greene combined for 41 of UH's 49 bench points to just 14 from Grand Canyon.
Tyon Grant-Foster was a real pain in the butt to the 'Bows, as he led a four-pack of Antelopes with 23 points on 6-for-17 shooting and was 11-for-15 from the free throw line. Ray Harrison was next with 15, followed by Collinn Moore's 11, and JaKobe Coles had 10.
The Antelopes raced out to score the first eight points of the contest while the 'Bows found themselves off to a sluggish start. By the 13:42 mark, GCU found themselves ahead by double-digits, 15-5 off a Duke Brennan layup.
UH took a long time to find a good rhythm, but they were ultimately plagued by 13 total turnovers in the first half. They were ultimately held to just 32% shooting (8-for-25) from the field while GCU shot 53% (16-for-30) and only missed two times from 3-point range.
At halftime, it was GCU up big on UH, 43-27. Nemeikša led UH with just seven points.
The Lopes got two early Brennan free throws to enjoy their biggest lead of 18, 45-27, just 21 seconds into the second half, but UH got hot early.
Two triples by Kody Williams put UH close by, but GCU pulled their lead back to 18 around four minutes in. It appeared that GCU would ultimately run away, but UH was not so sure.
Hawaiʻi would hit 10 straight field goals and spark a 12-2 run to make it a game. A Nemeikša triple put UH down, 58-57, with 7:20 to go.
The Lopes made gritty and timely field goals to pull away, but the 'Bows did not plan to walk away the losers. Ultimately, the Lopes would fail to score a triple in the second half and went 0-for-10 after going 4-for-6 in the first half.
A layup by Ryan Rapp with 2:29 remaining gave UH one last chance, but they could not pass GCU. UH would miss their shots on the next two possessions.
Despite shooting 58% (18-for-31) in the second half, and 43% (6-for-14) from 3-point range, UH ultimately saw a season-high 20 turnovers overall (seven in the second half) to GCU's eight.
Overall, for GCU, they were held to 33% shooting (9-for-27) and just 35 points in the second half to UH's 45.
UH will begin Big West Conference play this coming Saturday on Dec. 7 against Long Beach State at Walter Pyramid. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. HST, and you can listen to the game on ESPN Honolulu, or watch on Spectrum SportsNet.