Grand Canyon basketball sees big lead vanish, but holds on to beat New Mexico State

Grand Canyon was devastating to start Wednesday's game, out of sorts for the first 6 minutes of the second half, but in control in the end.

It was another nerve-wracking WAC win for the Antelopes, who held off struggling New Mexico State 78-67 before a sellout crowd at GCU Arena.

After building a 16-point lead at halftime, the Antelopes went without a field goal in the first six minutes of the second half, saw their lead dwindle to one, before reasserting with big 3-pointers by Noah Baumann and Josh Baker.

This isn't the same NMSU team that would come into GCU Arena on a yearly basis and dominate GCU on the glass, smother it on defense, and blow the doors open on the way to routs.

The Aggies (9-15, 2-10) came into the game in last place in the Western Athletic Conference in a season filled with adversity and a roster turned upside down, after beating GCU three times last season, including in the WAC Tournament semfinals and reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Chris Jans' last season as the Aggies' coach.

Here are three takeways as the Lopes (16-8, 7-4) get ready to hit the road to play Seattle on Saturday:

1. 'Typical rivalry game'

After NMSU went on a 12-2 run in the first six minutes of the second half to cut it to 43-41, GCU managed its first field goal of the half on a Ray Harrison drive for two of his team-high 18 points. Twice, NMSU cut it to one over the next couple of minutes, before Baumann and Baker hit back-to-back 3s and make it a 53-46 game with 11:34 to play.

"It was a typical rivalry game," GCU coach Bryce Drew said. "We love the maturity, especially of our young guards. Kobe (Knox), a freshman out there, made a sensational pass to Gabe (McGlothan for a dunk) that really helped allevaite some of the pressure."

2. McGlothan's strong start sets tone

GCU jumped on New Mexico State early with an 11-4 lead, as McGlothan, a power forward from Chandler Basha High, scored nine of those points. He finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. His defense down the stretch was key, because the Aggies were able to get into the paint for baskets that nearly wiped out that 16-point deficit. Doctor Bradly scored eight of his 11 points in the second half, and guard Xavier Pinson (22 points) was NMSU's only 3-point shooting threat, making 3 of 10 from the arc. The Aggies made only 4 of 21 3-pointers.

"I think it was just trying to find that groove again, coming out of halftime (with a 41-25 lead)," McGlothan said. "Being able to continue to fight through. They went on a run, but we were able to keep our composure. That speaks volumes. We'll figure out the halftime situation."

This was GCU's most comfortable halftime lead in WAC playh this season. Its biggest halftime lead before this was four points, done four times.

3. Clutch shooting down the stretch

This was the 18th consecutive game that Harrison scored in double figures. Ten of his 18 points came in the second half. Baumman had 15 points, making 3 of 6 3-pointers, and Chance McMillian had 12 points.

NMSU shot 54% in the second half, after making 28% of its shots in the first half.

"Coming down to winning time, just to be able to make clutch baskets, that's something to help us grow," McGlothan said. "It's slowly growing."

Drew said he liked the shots his team took early in the second half. They just weren't falling. Free throws were falling, though, as the Lopes made 17 of 19 free throws.

"Thankfully, we didn't relinquish the lead," Drew said. "I feel like our team is getting better. Having two guys (center Yvan Ouedraogo and Baker) back healthy, it's helping us get better."

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Grand Canyon builds early lead en route to win over New Mexico State