Gonzaga’s Graham Ike hits all kind of highs while scoring 35 points in 81-61 win at Oregon State | Analysis

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Graham Ike hadn’t played 39 minutes since transferring to Gonzaga in 2023-24. Ike hadn’t scored 35 points in a game since his 2021-22 season at Wyoming. Before Gonzaga’s trip to Oregon State, the forward had made 13 shots just one other time in his career.

Ike claimed he wasn’t fatigued after playing all but one minute of Saturday’s game and matching his career-high in the scoring column, but Oregon State players were probably tired of guarding the All-American candidate after he scored 35 points while leading the sixth-ranked Zags to an 81-61 victory at Gill Coliseum.

“I didn’t know I played 39 (minutes), I felt great honestly,” Ike said. “I feel great right now. I can’t wait to get to some ice honestly and some heat.”

As a collective, the Zags felt much better Saturday evening than they did three days earlier after a humiliating 87-80 upset loss to Portland, sinking them in the NET rankings and possibly costing them a seed line in the NCAA Tournament.

Ike, the only player to speak with reporters after Wednesday’s setback, guaranteed a better version of Gonzaga against Oregon State and took on that challenge single-handedly during certain stretches of Saturday’s game.

One week after returning from a three-game absence, Ike, who’d been nursing a right ankle sprain, didn’t come off the floor for the first 39 minutes against the Beavers and made 13 of 18 shots from the field, 8 of 9 from the free throw line and 1 of 1 from the 3-point line. Ike also had seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and drew nine of the 17 fouls Oregon State committed in the game.

It was the third time in five games Ike scored at least 30 points for Gonzaga and marked his fifth straight game scoring at least 23. Ike’s previous career high came with Wyoming, during a Dec. 2, 2021, game against Denver. The all-conference made his career-high 14th 3-pointer of the season, surpassing the 13 he made last season, but in 16 fewer games.

“I liked every single matchup that was on me, on the guards, on the wings,” Ike said. “I thought we could exploit the mismatches in a lot of different areas and we did. … Shout out to the guys honestly for their relentless effort all 40 minutes, every single guy, we couldn’t do it without 1-15 and the coaching staff, included. Great plan, great execution.”

Ike drew two fouls on one possession in the first half and successfully navigated every defensive approach used by Oregon State, which deployed double teams and had individual defenders bumping and raking at the senior forward much of the game.

“Who shies away from the contact? If you do, you’ll be eaten,” Ike said. “It’s like sharks smelling blood in the water, you can sniff that out. You’ve just got to battle back, iron sharpens iron.”

Tyon Grant-Foster chipped in with 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Gonzaga, playing long stretches of Saturday’s game with starting wing Jalen Warley in foul trouble. Warley sustained what Few described as a “severe thigh bruise” in the first two minutes of the Portland game and struggled to walk on Thursday, according to Gonzaga’s coach.

The senior was questionable on Saturday, but played through lower body pain and scored eight points on 4 of 6 shooting. Freshman Davis Fogle added eight more for the Zags to go with his five rebounds and two assists.

Gonzaga’s 3-point shooting issues returned, but the Zags overcame a 3 of 10 performance from behind the arc by finishing with a 50-10 advantage in paint points. They also committed only two turnovers, matching the fewest in a single game in school history.

Ike lamented a late second-half turnover that would’ve given Gonzaga the program record.

“I wish I could’ve taken my one turnover away,” he said. “We took great care of the ball.”

The Zags allowed the Beavers to score 34 points on 54.5% shooting in the first half, but tightened up defensively in the second half, holding OSU to 27 points on 33.3% from the field.

The Beavers shot better from the 3-point line (10 of 18) than they did on 2-pointers (9 of 25). OSU’s leading scorer on the season, guard Josiah Lake II, was limited to eight points on 3 of 8 shooting. Wing Isaiah Sy led the Beavers with 13 points on 3 of 5 from the 3-point line and 4 of 6 from the free throw line.

Gonzaga (23-2, 11-1) will encounter another future Pac-12 opponent Tuesday when it hosts Washington State (11-15, 6-7) for an 8 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) tipoff at McCarthey Athletic Center. The Zags won the first meeting between the Inland Northwest teams, cruising past the Cougars 86-65 on Jan. 15 at Beasley Coliseum.