PHOENIX — Tarleton State was unable to maintain its hot first half start and dropped the second game of its west coast trip to Grand Canyon, 74-48 on Saturday night at GCU Arena.
 
With the win, the Lopes (16-1 overall, 6-0 WAC)  improve its NCAA-division I leading winning percentage to .941. The Texans (10-6, 3-2) are now tied for third place in the WAC with Utah Tech each touting the same record in the league.
 
Devon Barnes led the Texans in scoring for the second consecutive game as the only player in double-figures with 11. He also led the Texans with two steals, three made triples and co-led with two assists.
 
KiAndre Gaddy pulled down a team-best five boards and two blocks in addition to his six points. Jakorie Smith and Emmanuel Innocenti each added seven to the Texans' scoring effort.
 
The Texans started out with a punch that was needed to deflate the havoc crowd. Trailing 4-2, Tarleton broke out on a run to change the narrative of the game early on. The Purple and White then broke out on a 16-0 run to take a commanding 18-4 lead at the 13:51 mark and force GCU to call a timeout. The Texans downed a pair of triples by Innocenti and Barnes who each contributed five points during the run.
 
Innocenti's triple to cap the 16-0 run initiated a flurry of three-pointers with the next five made baskets coming from deep. Both Texans' next triples came from Barnes with GCU's Tyon Grant-Foster responsible for two of his own. Leading 24-10, Tarleton's biggest lead of the night, the Lopes took control and showed they are at the top of the WAC for a reason.
 
GCU broke out on a 7-0 run before a shot clock buzzer beating three from Smith fell for the Texans. Gaddy converted on a layup in the paint with 6:41 to go which wound up being the Texans final point of the half. GCU closed the half on a 16-0 run to drastically switch the momentum and get the crowd back on their side heading into the break. The Lopes owned a 36-29 advantage at the half.
 
Coming out of the half, it was all GCU. The Lopes picked up right where they left off, extending their 16-0 run to close the first half to 21-0, scoring the first five points of the second. Made baskets were few and far between for the Texans in the second half as the Lopes pulled away and took the game out of reach early in the second half.
 
The Lopes outscored the Texans by 40 in the final thirty minutes of play. GCU shot 50.9 percent from the floor and 53.5 percent from three-point range (8-for-15). The Lopes won the battle of the boards, 47-28. Once again, the Texans won the turnover battle forcing 12 GCU turnovers compared to only committing eight.
 
Tarleton did not make a three-pointer in the second half and shot 5-for-18 from deep (27.8 percent). The Texans attempted 10 more shots than the Lopes with them falling at a 37.1 percent rate (20-for-63).
 
The Purple and White will play a pair of games next week back in Texas, first with a home matchup in Wisdom against rival Abilene Christian. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. and will feature a special halftime performance by K9s in flight. The Texans will then hit the road south to take on the UTRGV Vaqueros on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.