A Mountain West men’s basketball preview between Hawaii and Grand Canyon went from a runaway for the Antelopes to a drag-out battle in a matter of moments.

UH made its first road game of the season a memorable one, rallying from an 18-point deficit to within a point before falling 78-72 in the first meeting between the programs at Global Credit Union Arena in Phoenix on Tuesday night.

Forward Gytis Nemeiksa came off the bench to score a career-high 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting while guard Marcus Greene added 17 in a losing effort in the first road game of the season for UH (5-2).

After UH committed 13 of its 20 turnovers in the first half, leading to a 16-point deficit at intermission, the Rainbow Warriors seemingly could not miss for the last 20 minutes. They shot 18-for-31 (58.1%) from the field in the second half after going 8-for-25 (32%) in the first.

UH coach Eran Ganot told Spectrum News in a postgame phone interview that he was displeased with the way his team opened by allowing GCU to score the first eight points, but said "that was some of our best stretch of basketball (of the season) in the second half. Proud of our guys’ fight."

The Rainbow Warriors essentially made it a brand-new game with six minutes left after trailing by double figures just a handful of possessions earlier.

Guard Tyon Grant-Foster scored a team-high 23 points and helped the Lopes (5-2) secure the victory by going 3-for-4 from the line in the final minute.

“We locked in, played together, made the right play,” Grant-Foster told GCU’s ESPN-Plus broadcast. “They started hitting a couple shots, but we responded well.”

UH now heads to Long Beach State (1-8) in a rare pre-Christmas Big West opener on Saturday. The 'Bows will fly for Southern California on Wednesday afternoon.

Tuesday was a meeting between two programs — UH of the Big West and GCU of the WAC — that are scheduled to become Mountain West members starting in the 2026-27 season.

UH was attempting to become the second Big West team to win at GCU’s energetic arena this season after UC Davis did it on Nov. 20. Grand Canyon’s packed student section, the Havocs, performed coordinated chants and cheers while dressed in holiday attire.

Ganot compared the environment to notoriously tough places to play like Gonzaga, BYU and Utah State.

"You feel it (when) you give them a couple baskets to start the game. But that’s a competitor’s dream," he said. "I think as a player that’s what you want … and I loved coaching in it. I think our staff did. You couldn’t hear yourself at times but if we’re going to do what we want to do, we’re going to be playing in tough atmospheres. I’m pleased with the way our guys responded."

Season leading scorer Tanner Christensen was held to a season-low six points, but behind Nemeiksa and Greene, UH had a 49-14 advantage in bench points.

UH cut into an 18-point second-half deficit by swinging the ball effectively and hitting open jumpers. It connected on 13 of its first 20 shots of the period — at one point hitting on 10 straight attempts, including four 3-pointers. Nemeiksa hit five of the shots during the 20-8 spurt.

"It was awesome," Ganot said of the salvo. "I think the defense ignited us. Second half we held them to 33% (from the field, including) 0% from 3."

GCU’s active defense collected eight steals among UH’s 13 turnovers in the first half, leading to a 43-27 Lopes lead at intermission. GCU, a 30-win team under Bryce Drew a season ago, finished with a 22-7 advantage in points off turnovers, but most of that came in the first 20 minutes.

Kody Williams hit back-to-back 3s in the first two minutes of the second half to get his team within 14 and Christensen’s first field goal, a three-point play, brought UH within 51-38 with 14:06 to play.

Greene’s baseline jumper made it a 12-point game with 11 minutes left and Nemeiksa followed with a 3-pointer to get within single digits at the 10-minute mark.

Nemeiksa hit two more baskets and Greene followed with a top-arc 3 to make it 58-54. Nemeiksa’s corner 3 made it a one-point game. He hit another to keep UH within two.

Nemeiksa was fouled on a 3 from the right wing and he connected on two of three at the line. Ryan Rapp hit a leaner and UH was within 67-66 with 2:25 to go.

An important counter from GCU came when man Lok Wur dunked it from the baseline on an assist from Grant-Foster to push the lead back to three with two minutes left.

After a UH timeout, Nemeiksa missed a quick-trigger 3 and guard Ray Harrison (15 points, seven rebounds) answered with a turnaround jumper in the lane.

Greene scored again and UH forced a jump ball — it nearly had a steal — and GCU retained it. UH had to take fouls and the Lopes went 7-for-8 at the line in the final 45 seconds to seal the win.

Note: The story has been updated with quotes from UH coach Eran Ganot.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.