Cancun Challenge | 11/25/2025 10:57:37 PM
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MX – Samford and Georgia State kicked off the 2025 Men's Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya on the opening day of the event, with Samford registering 5 players in double-digit points, with a 78-63 win over the Panthers. In the second game of the day, Utah Valley rolled past South Dakota State to move to 2-0 at the Cancun Challenge. New Mexico State holds on against UC Irvine in a defensive slugfest to improve to 2-0 at the Cancun Challenge.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH RECAPS
Samford 78, Georgia State 63
The Samford men's basketball team opened up the Cancun Challenge this afternoon with a game against Georgia State. Despite being down two starters, the Bulldogs pulled off a 78-63 win where they controlled the game for the majority of the night. Samford moves their record to 4-4 on the season with the victory. The Bulldogs are set to square off against Utah Valley at 6 p.m. ET in a matchup between two teams looking to go 2-0 in Mexico, and Georgia State looks to get themselves in the win column on their trip, in Wednesday's opening game against New Mexico State at 3 p.m. ET.
Utah Valley 75, South Dakota State 52
Utah Valley used a dominant second half and a balanced offensive attack to roll past South Dakota State, 75-52, on Tuesday night at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in its second game of the Cancún Challenge. Utah Valley improves to 4-2 overall and moves to 2-0 in the Cancún Challenge. The Wolverines opened the event with a 79-72 win over UC Irvine on Saturday at the campus site in Orem. The Jackrabbits turn their focus to UC Irvine on Wednesday for the late night game (8:30 p.m ET), while UVU is set to face off against Samford at 6 p.m. ET.
New Mexico State 57, UC Irvine 45
New Mexico State Aggies leaned on their defense, depth and late-game poise to earn a 57-45 win over UC Irvine (3-4) on Tuesday night in Cancun in the two team's first game in Mexico. The victory pushes the Aggies to a 5–0 start for the first time since the 1990–91 season, marking one of the strongest season openings in program history. The Aggies will face Georgia State at 3 p.m. ET and UC Irvine looks to bounce back against South Dakota State at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Looking Ahead to Day #2
The men's field returns to action on Wednesday, November 26 as all the teams return to the court for their final day of action from Mexico. Be sure to follow cancunchallenge.net and catch all the games being streamed LIVE on FloHoops.