March Madness: Grand Canyon comes up short vs. Gonzaga

The No. 14 seed Grand Canyon Antelopes faced the No. 3 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs in an NCAA Tournament March Madness first-round game on Friday. Look back at how the game unfolded.

On a day of upsets, Grand Canyon was hoping to leave its mark in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

It wasn't meant to be as Gonzaga pulled away for a 82-70 win Friday night in Denver.

The Lopes led by as many as seven points in the first half, but faltered in the second.

Rayshon Harris led GCU with 20 points. Chance McMillian added 16 and Gabe McGlothan rounded out the Lopes in double figures with 11.

Julian Strawther led Gonzaga with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

GCU student section singled out

The Grand Canyon student section, which has remained on its feet throughout the game, drew the attention of the broadcast team late in the game.

Chants of "G-C-U" could be heard on air, even with the Lopes trailing by 20

Gonzaga has a comfortable lead over Grand Canyon during the second half of their first round NCAA tournament game.

Gonzaga pulls away

GCU, a No. 14 seed, led No. 3 Gonzaga by as many of seven points in the first half before going cold in the second.

The Bulldogs have used their size advantage inside on both ends of the floor. They have 26 defensive rebounds to GCU's seven on the offensive boards. Gonzaga has blocked eight shots.

Gonzaga has three players in double-figures, led by Julian Strawther with 26. He is one rebound shy of a double-double.

Chance McMillian has 16 points for GCU.

Gonzaga 71, GCU 55 (5:24 second half)

Bulldogs taking over

Gonzaga pushed its lead to 60-42 with 11:47 left.

Defensive rebounds and 3-pointers have both key for the Bulldogs, who once trailed GCU by seven during the first half.

The Lopes' Chance McMillian has been held scoreless in the second half after tallying 11 in the first.

The jump shots that were falling so easily for GCU have been harder to come by.

Gonzaga starts second half strong

The Bulldogs have a 10-point lead, their largest of the game, early in the second half.

Shots haven't been falling for GCU, while Julian Strawther and Drew Timme have stepped up for the Bulldogs.

The Lopes have struggled inside because of the size advantage of Gonzaga. The Bulldogs have blocked six shots and contested many more.

During the first half, GCU led by as many as seven points.

Gonzaga 52 GCU 42 (14:48 second half)

Back-and-forth first half

Gonzaga and Grand Canyon have traded the lead throughout the first half.

The Bulldogs lead 40-36 at the half after score on each of their last nine possessions.

GCU is shooting 45.5% from the floor to Gonzaga's 51.6%. Both teams have turned the ball over six times.

Chance McMillian leads GCU with 11 points, while Noah Baumann has eight. Six different players have scored for the Lopes.

Gonzaga is led by Julian Strather (16 points, 5 rebounds) and Anton Watson (11 points, 5 rebounds). Six players have also scored for the Bulldogs.

GCU is 2-for-2 from the three-throw line, while Gonzaga is 5-for-8.

Gonzaga 40, GCU 36 (halftime)

GCU makes a run

The Lopes went on a run to take a 23-17 lead over Gonzaga. GCU outscored Gonzaga 7-0 during the stretch, that included a 3-pointer as the shot clock buzzer went off.

The Lopes have run the clock down numerous times only to score. Twice it was Noah Baumann hitting a corner 3. A third time it was Walter Ellis with a pullup jumper.

GCU led by as many as 7 points with 5:57 left in the half.

GCU down early, but finds spark vs. Gonzaga

Gonzaga scored the first seven points of the game. The Bulldogs used a high-pressure defense that covers three-quarters of the court to push their lead to 10-2 after forcing four GCU turnovers.

The Lopes then got a spark off a steal by Rayshon Harrison that helped close the gap to 10-6 headed into a TV timeout with 15:54 left in the first half.

Less than a minute later, the Lopes were on top 12-10.

Both teams then fell into a drought as neither was able to score more more than 4 minutes

GCU 12, Gonzaga 10 (11:55 first half)

Starting lineups

Grand Canyon: G Ray Harrison, G Chance McMillan, G Kobe Knox, F Yvan Oueedraogo, F Gabe McGlothan.

Gonzaga: G Julian Strawther, F Drew Timme, G Nolan Hickman, G Rasir Bolton, F  Anton Watson

About the GCU vs. Gonzaga

Lisa Byington is scheduled to do play-by-play for the game, with the announcing crew also including Steve Smith and Avery Johnson as analysts and Andy Katz as a reporter.

Gonzaga is a 15.5-point favorite over Grand Canyon in the game.

It is -1500 on the moneyline and Grand Canyon is +725.

The over/under for the game is 156.5 points.

Grand Canyon (24-11) qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning the WAC Tournament.

Gonzaga (28-5) won the West Coast Conference regular season and tournament titles.

Grand Canyon vs. Gonzaga pregame reading

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NCAA Tournament game picks, predictions

Friday's NCAA Tournament game picks: USC vs. Michigan State | Kennesaw State vs. Xavier | UC Santa Barbara vs. Baylor | VCU vs. Saint Mary's | Vermont vs. Marquette | North Carolina State vs. Creighton | Iona vs. UConn |  Providence vs. Kentucky | Drake vs. Miami | Grand Canyon vs. Gonzaga | Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis | Montana State vs. Kansas State | Kent State vs. IndianaSaturday's March Madness game picks: Furman vs. San Diego State | Duke vs. Tennessee | Arkansas vs. Kansas | Princeton vs. Missouri | Auburn vs. Houston | Penn State vs. Texas | Northwestern vs. UCLA | Maryland vs. Alabama

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Grand Canyon vs. Gonzaga March Madness NCAA Tournament updates, score