Fifteen minutes after they were jointly named the most valuable players by a PA announcer, Tyon Grant-Foster, Graham Ike and Braden Huff arrived together at a postgame press conference together and lowered their bodies into folding chairs.
Senior forward Caden Bateman had a career game and Whitworth opened Northwest Conference play with an 80-67 win over Willamette on Friday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
PULLMAN – Somewhere outside the Washington State locker room, as the team entered the tunnel for halftime against LMU, David Riley pulled Ace Glass aside.
PORTLAND – Washington State’s women’s basketball team faded in the second half and absorbed a 62-49 loss to Portland on Friday in a West Coast Conference game at the Chiles Center.
Tyon Grant-Foster and Graham Ike didn’t start for seventh-ranked Gonzaga on Friday, but they were happy to play the role of finisher in a tense 80-72 overtime victory over Seattle U at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
The special bond started in the offseason. Efton Chism III showed up to Gillette Stadium early at 5 a.m., looking to gain an edge. That’s when the undrafted free agent noticed his veteran teammate Mack Hollins doing the same thing.
The Zags’ defense, three days after yielding 93 points to San Diego, wasn’t perfect against the Redhawks, but it kept GU within striking distance until the offense found its stride in the second half and overtime.
During WCC media day interviews last October, Junseok Yeo’s new teammates at Seattle U provided a description of the forward that lined up almost exactly with the one Mark Few gave of his former player Tuesday night anticipating Friday’s matchup against the Redhawks at McCarthey Athletic Center.
It’s the start of a new year, but Seattle U and Chris Victor have already spent two months carrying out many of the resolutions they set for themselves before the college basketball season started.
