RIVERSIDE, Calif. – California Baptist started things off with a bang in front of a sellout crowd at the CBU Events Center, but Grand Canyon used an offensive explosion in the second half to earn a 90-73 conference road win on Saturday night. GCU (13-7; 6-1) is tied for first in the Western Athletic Conference standings.
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The Lancers, much like Thursday night against CSU Bakersfield, started the game on fire by jumping out to a 13-5 lead in the first four minutes. CBU sophomore
Mike Henn led the charge, scoring the first five points of the game with a dunk and three-pointer on the opening two possessions. Â Sophomore
Milan Acquaah and junior
De'jon Davis hit back-to-back treys to extend the Lancer lead to 11-5. The opening run was finished off by an Acquaah layup, giving CBU a game-high eight point lead and putting the crowd into a frenzy.
 Grand Canyon responded, outpacing the Lancers 29-12 over the next 12:21 to take a 34-25 lead with four minutes remaining in the first half.  With the Lancers on the ropes, CBU went on a 13-4 run that included five points each from Henn and senior
Jordan Heading along with a trey by sophomore
Ty Rowell to tie the game with under a minute remaining in the half. GCU held a 39-38 lead at intermission.
 Junior
Jeremy Smith quickly put the Lancers ahead 41-39 with a trey in the opening possession of the second half. The Lopes, from there, went on a 33-13 run over the next 11 minutes to build an 18-point lead that proved too much to overcome. GCU outscored CBU 51-35 in the second half to take the victory.
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CBU had five players score in double-figures for the second consecutive game. Davis posted his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Henn finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Acquaah, the WAC's leading scorer at 21.9 ppg, scored 10 points in the first half, but was limited to 12 points total. Heading added 11 points, three boards and three assists.
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Carlos Johnson led the way for the Lopes with 26 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Alessandro Lever scored 13 points. Damari Mistead and Trey Drechsel added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
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The Lancers (10-9; 2-4 WAC) will hit the road for a pair of league games next week. CBU will be at Utah Valley on Wednesday and Seattle U on Saturday. The Lancers have found success away from home with five true road wins this season. As of games played through Jan. 24, CBU is only one of 48 teams in the country with five or more this season.
