PHOENIX (Interstat) — Blake Barkley scored 16 points and Grand Canyon used a decisive second-half run to pull away from Cal Poly for a 99-71 victory Wednesday at Grand Canyon University Arena. The Antelopes improved to 3-0 while the Mustangs fell to 1-2 before an announced attendance of 6,880. Grand Canyon led for the entire second half after taking control late in the first half.

Grand Canyon led 37-29 at halftime after a back-and-forth first half that featured seven ties and four lead changes. Cal Poly held its last lead at 23-21 on a Cayden Ward dunk with 6:41 remaining in the first half. The Antelopes closed the half on a 16-6 run, capped by Blake Barkley’s layup with 39.4 seconds left, to take an eight-point advantage into the break. The first half included early ties at 2-2, 4-4, 6-6, 11-11, 13-13, 19-19, 21-21, and 23-23. Cal Poly’s Jess Esso Essis made a layup to open the scoring, and Austin Goode added two early layups. Grand Canyon answered with layups from Barkley, Dylan Darling, and Makaih Williams, while Jaden Zimmerman hit an early 3-pointer. Hamad Mousa and Guzman Vasilic also connected from beyond the arc for the Mustangs in the first half. The Antelopes took control late in the first half with a Barkley 3-pointer and a Darling layup that pushed the lead to 32-23. Cal Poly’s Mousa made a layup to cut it to 32-25, but Barkley answered with a dunk. Cayden Ward made two free throws to make it 34-27, and after a Williams free throw, Essis made a layup to bring the Mustangs within 35-29. Barkley’s layup just before the buzzer gave Grand Canyon its eight-point halftime cushion.

The most important stretch came immediately after halftime. Grand Canyon opened the second half with a 12-1 run over the first 3 minutes, 15 seconds. Tyler Behrend started it with a layup, Jaden Henley followed with a layup and a dunk, Makaih Williams hit a 3-pointer, and Barkley added another 3-pointer to make it 49-30. Cal Poly never recovered. The Mustangs cut the deficit to 16 points on two occasions, the last at 63-47 after a Hamad Mousa 3-pointer with 13:02 remaining, but Grand Canyon answered with a 12-2 run to push the lead to 26 and coast to the finish. Tre Holloman hit two 3-pointers in the second half, and Amarion Dickerson added a dunk and a layup. Omaha Biliew contributed two late layups, and Jaden Zimmerman made a dunk and several free throws. Cal Poly got a late dunk from Troy Plumtree, a layup from Ali Assran, and a 3-pointer from Ali Assran, but the Mustangs never threatened. Jackson Mosley made a layup and a free throw, Braden Freeman made two free throws and a driving layup, and Aaron Price added a layup in the final minute for Cal Poly.

Grand Canyon shot 39 of 77 from the floor (50.6 percent), including 10 of 33 from three-point range, and made 11 of 20 free throws. Cal Poly shot 25 of 59 (42.4 percent), including 5 of 25 from beyond the arc, and hit 16 of 21 free throws. The Antelopes held a 12-8 edge in offensive rebounds, committed only seven turnovers to Cal Poly’s 19, and finished with 11 assists to the Mustangs’ two. Cal Poly had five blocks to Grand Canyon’s three. Grand Canyon scored 99 points from 82 possessions for an offensive rating of 121.5, while Cal Poly scored 71 points from 80 possessions for an offensive rating of 88.8. The Mustangs’ 19 turnovers and two assists underscored their offensive struggles, while the Antelopes’ balanced attack featured six players in double figures.

Blake Barkley, a 6-foot-7 forward from Morgantown, West Virginia, led the Antelopes with 16 points, five rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes. Troy Plumtree, a 6-foot-6 forward who previously attended Wellington College, paced Cal Poly with 13 points, six rebounds, one assist and one block in 19 minutes. Tre Holloman, a 6-foot-2 guard who previously attended Cretin-Derham, added 13 points, three rebounds, six assists and one block in 24 minutes for Grand Canyon. Hamad Mousa, a 6-foot-8 guard from the NBA Global Academy, scored 16 points for the Mustangs with five rebounds, one assist and one block in 26 minutes. Tyler Behrend, a 6-foot-10 forward who previously attended Valley Lutheran, contributed 12 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes for the Antelopes. Dylan Darling, a 6-foot-1 guard from Central Valley High School, had 10 points, three rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes. Makaih Williams, a 6-foot-1 guard who previously attended Capistrano Valley Christian, chipped in 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes. Jaden Zimmerman, a 6-foot-5 guard who previously attended Cushing Academy, scored 13 points with two rebounds in 17 minutes. Cayden Ward, a 6-foot-5 guard from St. Mary’s, added nine points, five rebounds, one assist and one block in 28 minutes for Cal Poly. Amarion Dickerson, a 6-foot-7 forward who previously attended Rhodes, finished with six points, three rebounds, five assists and one block in 16 minutes for Grand Canyon.

Cal Poly previously lost at Arizona and beat Cal St. San Marcos at home. Grand Canyon had beaten Bethune-Cookman and Texas Southern at home. Cal Poly next plays at Idaho on Friday. Grand Canyon hosts Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday. The Mustangs will look to regroup on the road after a tough shooting night.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cal Poly 81, Grand Canyon 78. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Grand Canyon with a 93.4 percent probability to win. Grand Canyon had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -18.5. The total score of 170 went over the over/under line of 181.5.