Graham Ike erupts early, Zags shut down Creighton in second half to win 90-63

Graham Ike’s back-down game was a central part of the scouting report No. 23 Creighton put together before traveling to Spokane for Tuesday’s game at No. 19 Gonzaga.

The Bluejays had cut-ups highlighting Ike’s post moves, duck-ins, face-ups and short floaters. It’s safe to assume they covered every base when it came to how to best contain Gonzaga’s All-American candidate within a few feet of the basket.

It’s unlikely the Bluejays were prepared for a scenario where the fifth-year senior would put them behind the eight ball with three consecutive 3-pointers inside the first three minutes and a fourth midway through the second half as the Zags continued to pull even further away.

Ike, who’d never made more than two 3s in his career – that’s 117 games before Tuesday’s – set the tone with four 3s against Creighton and registered his third double-double of the year with 20 points and 10 rebounds in a 90-63 blowout of the Bluejays at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

A fragile six-point halftime lead ballooned into a 32-point advantage late in the second half, as the Zags sped off on a 24-5 run to pull away from the Bluejays for good.

It all started with Ike’s early 3-point barrage. Creighton dared Gonzaga’s veteran forward to shoot, probably the result of his 3-point numbers through two games. Ike opened 0 of 4 against Texas Southern and Oklahoma, but drilled his first 3 of the season less on Gonzaga’s fourth offensive possession to make it 3-0.

Ike didn’t need much encouragement to shoot by the time his third 3-pointer dropped through the net less than two minutes later, giving him his ninth point of the evening and 2,000th of his career.

The forward’s unexpected 3-point flurry wasn’t enough to give the Zags a comfortable halftime advantage and GU led by just six points, often losing Creighton’s 3-point shooters and sending the Bluejays to the charity stripe for 16 free -throw attempts.

Gonzaga made the proper defensive adjustments after the halftime break and the foul discrepancy evened in a hurry.

The Zags went on a 19-0 run at one point, holding Creighton’s hot-shooting offense without a field goal for 6 minutes, 40 seconds. GU’s offense didn’t stall during that period, with the Zags mainly relying on contributions from freshman point guard Mario Saint-Supery, who had 10 of the team’s 12 points over one four-minute stretch.

Saint-Supery wasn’t timid in just his third college game, making 5 of 6 shots from the field and both of his 3-pointers to finish with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jalen Warley contributed another solid scoring and rebounding effort with nine points and nine rebounds, while junior forward Braden Huff overcame a rough start to finish with 14 points on 7 of 12 from the field. Adam Miller was the fourth GU player to score in double figures, reaching 11 points on 5 of 8 from the field.

Creighton, which scored 92 points in its season opener against South Dakota, followed a 38-point first half with just 25 in the second. The Bluejays were just 7 of 25 from the field and 2 of 12 from distance after halftime, committing 18 total turnovers.

The Zags (3-0) resume nonconference play on the road Friday night against Big 12 opponent Arizona State (2-0). Gonzaga clipped the Sun Devils 88-80 at the Kennel last season when Miller was wearing an ASU uniform.