Gonzaga’s Graham Ike reaches career scoring milestone with early 3-point flurry

Here are three takeaways from Gonzaga’s 90-63 rout over Creighton on Tuesday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Ike from deep

Graham Ike had never made three 3-pointers in a college game. It took him 3 minutes, 6 seconds to change that.

The 6-foot-9 senior forward, known for his presence in the lane, opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and quickly followed with his second 3. When dared by a Creighton defender to take another barely a minute later, the big man deposited his third triple.

Those nine points pushed Ike’s career scoring total to 2,000 in 118 games. He entered the game with 1,213 points as a Zag and 778 in 46 games at Wyoming.

Ike finished with 20 points – 4 of 4 on 3s and 8 of 10 overall – and 10 rebounds. He’s posted double-doubles in all three games.

Ike missed his first four 3-pointers this season before turning it around Tuesday with 12 NBA scouts in attendance. He made just three 3s in his first two years at Wyoming. He now has 23 triples as a Zag on 38.9% accuracy.

Ike ranks second among career active scorers behind Tucker DeVries, who has scored 2,031 points in stops at Drake, West Virginia and Indiana.

Rotating standouts

Ike and Braden Huff are Gonzaga’s headliners, but, as coach Mark Few has pointed out several times, GU’s top performers could change on a game-by-game basis.

It was Mario Saint-Supery’s and Adam Miller’s turn to shine along with GU’s two bigs against the Bluejays. Saint-Supery, a freshman point guard from Spain, produced 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, hit both of his 3-point attempts and added four rebounds and three assists.

Miller, a transfer from Arizona State, couldn’t get his 3-point shot to fall (0 of 3), but he made all five of his 2-point attempts, connecting on mid-range jumpers and from close range. He finished with 11 points, one assist and one rebound.

Huff had 14 points.

Pulling rank

No. 19 Gonzaga’s victory over No. 23 Creighton extended its home winning streak over ranked opponents to six.

Tuesday was just the fourth nonconference clash between two AP-ranked teams at the McCarthey Athletic Center. One of those was when No. 15 Gonzaga handled No. 25 Creighton 91-74 behind Killian Tillie’s 22 points on Dec. 1, 2017.

The Zags improved to 13-10 vs. ranked foes at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Gonzaga is 54-57 against ranked teams in coach Mark Few’s tenure. GU is 72-97 all-time vs. ranked opponents.