Jalen Warley’s season-high 22 points, 14 boards lift Gonzaga past San Diego
Three takeaways at the buzzer from Gonzaga’s 99-93 road win over San Diego on Tuesday at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Warley’s world
Jalen Warley did what he does best – a little of everything. The senior forward posted season highs in points (22), rebounds (14), assists (5) and minutes (34).
He made 9 of 14 shots and all four of his free-throw attempts. Seven of his 14 boards came at the offensive end.
The 6-foot-7 Warley joined Tyon Grant-Foster in triggering key runs in each half. Warley had six points, five boards and three assists as Gonzaga took a 48-37 halftime lead.
Warley contributed five points and two assists as Gonzaga’s 60-50 lead grew to 83-62 before San Diego made things interesting, trimming the deficit to eight with 3:12 left.
Warley hit an and-one putback basket with 1:54 left to bump GU’s lead to 94-80.
Warley’s previous career high was 23 points when he played for Florida State. His previous career high in rebounds was nine (vs. Creighton earlier this season and once when he was with the Seminoles).
Grant-Foster stays hot
It’s a small sample size, but Grant-Foster seems right at home on the road.
The 6-7 wing tallied 18 points against the Toreros to go with 18 points in a rout over Pepperdine on Sunday and a 14-point, 12-rebound contribution in a road victory over Arizona State in mid -November.
He leads GU in scoring in three road victories at 16.7 points.
Grant-Foster essentially replicated his first-half impact two nights earlier against the Waves with a 13-point opening half against USD.
That included a 3-pointer – his third in two games after making just four treys in the first 11 – a steal and layup and a dunk just before the buzzer on a nice lob pass from Mario Saint-Supery.
Grant-Foster finished with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He added five rebounds and two assists.
Grant-Foster has strung together his best three-game stretch in a Zag uniform with three consecutive double-digit scoring totals.
Ike takes a seat
Senior center Graham Ike got off to a nice start with three early assists to go with four points and five rebounds. Things started to go south when Ike and USD’s Vuk Boskovic had a few run-ins later in the first half.
Boskovic, a 6-7, 265-pound forward, enticed a foul on Ike in the paint but said something that caused officials to call a technical foul. At the other end of the floor, Boskovic drew a charging foul on Ike.
Ike subbed out of the game and was called for a technical foul for apparently slamming a water bottle on the sideline that caused water to spill onto the court.
Ike didn’t start the second half. He entered with 14:15 left after Braden Huff’s third foul. Ike was on the floor for just 33 seconds before picking up his fourth foul chasing an offensive rebound.
Ike’s final stat line: 11 points, 5 of 5 from the field, 1 of 5 at the foul line, nine rebounds and three assists.