Utah Tech gave homestanding Grand Canyon all it could handle and more, but the WAC-leading Lopes used a late-game run to hand the Trailblazers a 73-61 road loss on Thursday night inside the GCU Arena.  
 
The Trailblazers (10-15/6-8 WAC) shook off a slow start offensively, thanks in part to a 20-7 run, to bolt out to a 20-12 lead following an Angelo Kambala 3-pointer just nine minutes into play.
 
Noa Gonsalves knocked down a pair of clutch perimeter jumpers to kick-start the rally, while Tanner Christensen tallied seven of his game-high 18 points in the early going.  
 
GCU (23-2/13-1 WAC) quickly countered with seven-straight points to pare the Blazer lead to one, but Caleb Stearman and Gonsalves answered with buckets on consecutive trips down the court. Unisa Turay would later drain a three-ball of his own to extend the Utah Tech lead to six at 27-21 with 7:25 to play in the first half. 
 
The Lopes then flipped the switch, outscoring Utah Tech 19-4 over a six-plus minute span to open up a nine-point advantage at 40-31 with one minute to play in the half. 
 
Gonsalves would finally snap GCU's run with his third 3-pointer of the stanza as the Blazers retreated to the locker room down 40-34 at the intermission.
 
Utah Tech stayed within two possessions of GCU for most of the second half. However the Lopes would slowly pull away, eventually extending to a 65-55 lead following a Josh Baker 3-pointer with four minutes remaining. 
 
Utah Tech could only manage to score six points the rest of the way and were held scoreless over the final 2:16 as the Blazers dropped their 11^th road game of the season.
 
Christensen wound up posting his team-leading sixth double-double of the season as he pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go with his 18 points. Christensen went 8-of-12 from the floor and finished with a team-high five assists.
 
Meanwhile Turay, who was making his third start of the season, poured in a career-high 14 points, while Gonsalves finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 from the floor. 
 
Utah Tech shot 38.7 percent from the floor (24-of-62), and was held to 8-of-23 (.348) from the perimeter. In addition, the Trailblazers were just 5-of-13 (.385) from the foul line and were outrebounded by a 47-33 count. 
 
Tyon Grant-Foster led three Lopes in double figures with 16 points. GCU shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) for the game, though the Lopes did hit on 12-of-26 (.462) from beyond the arc. 
 
Utah Tech returns home for a crucial WAC showdown vs. Seattle U on Saturday night. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 7 p.m. (MT).