{"id":598966,"date":"2026-02-18T15:57:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T15:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/598966\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T15:57:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T15:57:19","slug":"grand-canyon-stuns-san-diego-state-at-viejas-shakes-up-mountain-west-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/598966\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Canyon Stuns San Diego State at Viejas, Shakes Up Mountain West Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy of Photo by: David Kadlubowski<\/strong> GCU Athletics<\/p>\n

The Mountain West race shifted dramatically Tuesday night when the Grand Canyon Lopes visited Viejas Arena and pulled off one of the season\u2019s most impressive road wins, beating the San Diego State Aztecs 73-63.<\/p>\n

With this win, GCU completed a season sweep of San Diego State and improved their all-time record against the Aztecs to 6-1. More importantly, the Lopes became the first Mountain West team in almost ten years to beat SDSU by double digits \u2014 a result that resonated across the conference standings and NCAA Tournament talks.<\/p>\n

A closely fought first half gave way to a dominant second-half performance.<\/p>\n

Grand Canyon (17-9, 10-5 MW)<\/strong><\/p>\n

GCU was down 35-29 at halftime but turned things around right after the break. The Lopes scored on their first six possessions in the second half, sparking a 19-8 run in the first nine minutes. After that, they controlled both the momentum and the crowd.<\/p>\n

Grand Canyon outscored San Diego State 44-30 in the last 20 minutes and finished the game with a 7-2 run to secure the win.<\/p>\n

This win moves the Lopes up to fourth place in the Mountain West standings, placing them solidly in the league\u2019s upper tier and giving them strong momentum heading into the conference tournament.<\/p>\n

San Diego State (18-7, 12-3 MW)<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the Aztecs, it was a rare off night at home. SDSU shot just 35.5% from the field, their lowest home shooting since a January 2022 loss to Boise State. Only Michigan and Arizona have held San Diego State to a lower percentage this season.<\/p>\n

The loss tightens the race at the top of the standings and weakens what had been a strong home-court advantage story. While SDSU is still in great shape for the NCAA Tournament, this defeat could affect their conference title chances and seeding in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Efe Demirel, Grand Canyon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freshman center Efe Demirel had a breakout game on a big stage. The 7-foot-1 player notched his second double-double in three weeks, finishing with 14 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, and two blocks in 28 minutes.<\/p>\n

Demirel shot 6-of-9 from the field and scored early in both halves, helping GCU find their rhythm each time. His physical presence set the tone and anchored the second-half surge.<\/p>\n

His recent form, including a 15-point game at San Jos\u00e9 State, suggests the Lopes are building a dependable inside presence at just the right time.<\/p>\n

The first few minutes after halftime decided the game. GCU\u2019s precise offense combined with SDSU\u2019s struggles \u2014 just 3-of-14 shooting and three turnovers in that stretch \u2014 flipped the entire contest.<\/p>\n

The Lopes didn\u2019t just win \u2014 they controlled the last 20 minutes in one of the league\u2019s toughest venues.<\/p>\n

2. Defensive Impact on NET<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holding San Diego State to 35.5% shooting is more than just a stat \u2014 it\u2019s a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 builder. Road Quad 1 wins carry a lot of weight in NET rankings, and this result should give GCU\u2019s postseason profile a solid boost.<\/p>\n

For SDSU, the loss won\u2019t be disastrous in the rankings, but protecting home court in February often plays a big role in seeding talks.<\/p>\n

3. Mountain West Seeding Picture<\/strong><\/p>\n

With GCU now in fourth place, the middle of the league is even tighter. The gap between finishing second and fifth could greatly change the Mountain West Tournament path.<\/p>\n

Momentum matters in March, and right now, the Lopes have it.<\/p>\n

After the game, head coach Bryce Drew stressed how important the early part of the second half was, saying those early points built belief and momentum. He praised Demirel\u2019s rim protection and highlighted how composed his forwards were under pressure, noting their patience and smart decisions when facing tough defense.<\/p>\n

That composure was clear in the final minutes as GCU calmly finished the game.<\/p>\n

From a metrics standpoint, this result carries real weight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the Grand Canyon Lopes, a double-digit road win at San Diego State Aztecs qualifies as a high-value Quad 1 victory and should provide a noticeable bump in the NET rankings.<\/p>\n

Road efficiency margins matter in the formula, and winning by 10 in one of the toughest environments in the Mountain West strengthens GCU\u2019s at-large r\u00e9sum\u00e9 while improving its conference perception nationally.<\/p>\n

For San Diego State, the loss won\u2019t cripple its tournament profile, but it could result in a slight NET dip \u2014 particularly because it came at home.<\/p>\n

Protecting home court is critical in the evaluation process, and missed opportunities there can subtly affect seeding lines.<\/p>\n

More broadly, the Mountain West benefits when teams earn quality wins over one another without damaging overall league metrics. If GCU\u2019s NET rises while SDSU remains safely inside the tournament field, the conference strengthens its case for multiple NCAA bids \u2014 and possibly improved seed positioning across the board.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In February, these aren\u2019t just wins and losses \u2014 they\u2019re r\u00e9sum\u00e9-shaping moments.<\/p>\n

Grand Canyon returns to PhWhat\u2019s Nextst Wyoming at Global Credit Union Arena, where the Lopes are 11-3 this season. Continuing to defend home court will be essential if they hope to climb even higher in the standings.<\/p>\n

For San Diego State, the margin for error in the conference race just got smaller. The Aztecs are still contenders for the regular-season title, but Tuesday night showed the Mountain West rankings are far from decided.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo Courtesy of Photo by: David Kadlubowski GCU Athletics The Mountain West race shifted dramatically Tuesday night when…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":598967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,256587,1582,276,77242,258167,258168,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-598966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-america","tag-bracketology","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-college-basketball-rankings","tag-grand-canyon-basketball","tag-mountain-west-basketball","tag-san-diego","tag-sandiego","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116092459287139196","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}