ARLINGTON – Facing a Grand Canyon team boasting the nation's best record at now 19-2, the UT Arlington men's basketball team led the majority of the contest, but in a game accentuated by runs, it was the Lopes making the final, vital surge to send the Mavericks to a tough 67-61 setback Saturday inside the College Park Center.
 
In a rematch that played out eerily similar to the first meeting between UTA and GCU in Phoenix last month, the Mavs held a 14-point lead in the 2nd half, and a nine-point edge with four minutes remaining. However, in a tilt which featured a 19-0 UTA scoring run and a pair of 13-0 GCU runs, the Lopes closed the game on a 17-2 stretch to turn a 59-50 Mav advantage into the final margin.
 
DaJuan Gordon delivered his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-best 10 rebounds to lead UTA. He was joined in double-figure scoring by Makaih Williams (13), Shemar Wilson (10) and Phillip Russell (10).
 
UTA held a GCU squad which averages 80 points per game to just 29.6% (16-54) shooting, but 25 Mav turnovers led to 27 Lopes' points which played a pivotal role in the outcome. For GCU, it is now just the sixth team in the nation this year to win a game when shooting under 30%, and for the Mavs the 25 giveaways are tied for the 6th most in the last 14 seasons and five more than their previous high this year.
 
Despite the miscues, UTA used a 19-0 run bridging both halves to turn a 30-20 deficit into a 39-30 lead which blossomed to its largest at 14, 50-36, with 12 minutes remaining. On Dec. 2 against GCU, UTA held a 56-44 lead with 14 minutes remaining.
 
A second 13-0 run of the game by GCU on Saturday trimmed that margin all the way down to one, 50-49, with a little over six minutes left. On Dec. 2, the Lopes eventually trimmed that 12-point deficit down to one, 62-61, with just over seven minutes left.
 
Facing the WAC's top team, a squad ranked #3 in the mid-major poll and receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25, UTA responded to the 13-0 surge and re-built the aforementioned 59-50 scoreline with four minutes showing before GCU closed things out with a massive 17-2 push. On Dec. 2, UTA also rebutted the GCU efforts and extended back to a five-point lead, 67-62, with four minutes showing before the Lopes closed things out with a massive 14-2 push.
 

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• The loss dropped the Mavs to 9-11 overall and 4-5 in the WAC, while the win improved GCU to 19-2 and 9-1, respectively.
• After missing the prior two games due to concussion protocol, Aaron Cash returned to the UTA lineup in a starting role on Saturday and notched eight points to go along with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
• Wilson corralled six rebounds, added to his league-leading block total with four and recorded two steals.
• With his sixth double-double, Gordon moved within one of Wilson for the most in the WAC this season. The grad transfer also posted three assists and three steals.
• Williams has now reached double-figure points in seven of the last eight games, with lone exception being a nine-point game.
• UTA went 18-20 (90%) from the free throw line compared with 31-36 (86%) by GCU. In the matchup in Phoenix, the Lopes also had a massive free throw disparity: 28-36 for GCU compared with 15-18 for UTA.
• Tyon Grant-Foster led the Lopes with 18 points, and took over during the closing four minutes with his own personal 8-0 run en route to scoring 10 of GCU's final 17 points.
• WAC Preseason Player of the Year Ray Harrison added 16 points for GCU, and fellow WAC Preseason Team member Gabe McGlothan netted 14 and grabbed nine rebounds as UTA out-rebounded the Lopes, 35-32.
• UTA entered the game leading the WAC in conference games in points (78.1), assists (15.4), 3-point percentage (37.5) and 3-pointers made (9.4), but fell short of all of those averages on Saturday: 61 points, 11 assists, 22.7 3-point % and five makes.
• UTA utilized the following starting lineup: Vining, Williams, Gordon, Cash and Wilson; Wilson is the only Mav to start all 19 games this year.

QUOTABLE
"We did a lot of good things and a lot of bad things. I'm pleased with our effort and how hard we played, but at the end of the day it's hard to beat a team as good as Grand Canyon when you have 25 turnovers. Despite that we had our chances late in the game with some open shots and just didn't knock them down."
– UTA Head Coach KT Turner
 

GAME FLOW
A 7-0 run by the Mavs in 70 seconds during the early stages of the game pushed them to a 13-10 lead and prompted a GCU timeout with just over 12 minutes to play. The Lopes responded out of that stoppage with the first of their previously mentioned 13-0 stretches, and ultimately built a lead as large as 11 on multiple occasions.
 
GCU held a 30-20 advantage with 4:17 remaining in the half after a pair of Gabe McGlothan free throws, and those would be the last points the Lopes would score for a long time.
 
The 19-0 UTA run started innocently enough off a one-handed putback dunk by Gordon with 3:41 remaining in the 1st half, and the 15-0 portion of it was capped by a steal and thunderous dunk courtesy of Cash just before the halftime buzzer.
 
All told, that 15-0 run gave UTA a 35-30 lead at the half, and the Mavs scored the first four points out of halftime to complete the 19-0 stretch before GCU finally put an end to it at the 17:05 juncture – a total of 6:36 of game action the Mavs held the Lopes scoreless.
 
However, that 19-0 run for UTA was countered with the second 13-0 stretch for GCU which cut the 50-36 deficit all the way down to 50-49 before Gordon finally stopped the bleeding with a pair of pair free throws at the 6:16 mark.
 
Russell followed with a 3-pointer, and UTA eventually re-built a nine-point cushion, 59-50, with exactly four minutes to play. Out of the media timeout, Tyon Grant-Foster put GCU on his back, scoring those eight-straight points, and the Lopes went in front, 61-59, with a minute remaining after a Duke Brennan traditional three-point play – their first lead since a minute remaining in the 1st half.
 
On the ensuing UTA possession, Williams drove baseline and converted a reverse layup to tie the contest at 61-all with 45 seconds to play. GCU answered with a pair of free throws by Collin Moore, but Russell got a great look at a potential go-ahead 3-pointer from the wing in front of the UTA bench on the next trip – a triple which curved inside the rim but fell out with 25 seconds remaining, and the Lopes iced the contest from the free throw line.
 
THIS AND THAT

• The loss was just the second of the season at home for UTA (8-2).
• Scouts from four different NBA franchises were in attendance: Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, New Orleans Pelicans and the Portland Trail Blazers.
• Since the NET Rankings replaced the RPI in advance of the 2018-19 season, Grand Canyon was the 3rd-highest NET-ranked opponent to play at the College Park Center: Oklahoma State (28, Quad 1) on Nov. 25, 2020, North Texas (30, Quad 1) on Dec. 6, 2022, and GCU (48, Quad 2).
• In conjunction with Coaches vs. Cancer week, UTA coaches and staff wore lapel pins.

NEXT UP
UTA will begin its only three-game road swing of the conference season next week in Utah. The Mavs will first take on Southern Utah on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. CT before facing Utah Tech on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 4 p.m. CT. The stretch concludes on Thursday, Feb. 8, at California Baptist with a 9 p.m. CT start.
   
PURCHASE TICKETS
Secure your seat to see the re-energized UTA men's basketball program in action at the College Park Center. Purchase tickets at UTATickets.com, call 817-272-9595 or email boxoffice@uta.edu.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, follow the men's basketball program on X (formerly Twitter) (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).