PHOENIX, Ariz. ? The UC San Diego men's basketball team fell behind early but rallied to within two points in the second half before eventually falling to Grand Canyon University by a 72-60 score on Friday night in Antelope Gymnasium. With the loss the Tritons fall to 1-2 on the season while the ?Lopes improved to 3-1.

GCU got out of the blocks early, building a 19-0 lead before freshman A.J. Maulhardt netted two free throw at the 12:46 mark of the first half for UCSD's first points of the contest. The Tritons clawed back into the game and were down by only 10 at the break, 34-24.

The ?Lopes built their lead back up to 19 again at the 13:45 mark of the second stanza, leading 50-31 before the Tritons went on a 25-9 run over the next nine minutes to close within three points. Freshman Henry Patterson, who ended the night with a game-high 19 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the floor, scored a layup at the 4:37 mark to make the score 59-56 in favor of GCU.

UCSD would get no closer however as the Antelopes would make 11-of-12 free throws down the stretch to finish with the 12 point margin of victory. For the game, GCU made 22-of-25 foul shots while the Tritons would take only nine in the contest, making eight from the charity stripe.

All five GCU starters scored in double digits and played at least 30 of the 40 minutes in the game. Jason Stromvall scored a team-high 16 points and had eight rebounds while Noe Alonzo added 15. Ryan Nelson scored 12 points and dished out eight assists while pulling down six rebounds.

No other player for the Tritons scored in double figures other than Patterson. Robby Peters scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds but went 2-for-11 from the 3-point line. Andrew Hatch had five points, six rebounds and five assists in his 32 minutes of action.

UCSD returns to action next Friday, opening up California Collegiate Athletic Association play with a 7:30 p.m. against Cal State Bakersfield in Rabobank Arena. The following night, head coach Bill Carr's squad will play at Cal State L.A. That game is also scheduled for 7:30 p.m.