Graham Ike, second-half defense drive Gonzaga’s win over Oregon State | 3 takeaways

Three takeaways at the buzzer of Gonzaga’s 81-61 win over Oregon State on Saturday at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.

GU’s defense improves

For a long stretch in the first half, Gonzaga’s defense picked up right where it left off against Portland. That wasn’t a good thing as the Pilots poured in 48 points on nearly 70% shooting from the field in the second half.

Oregon State was humming along at 68.8%, including 5 of 6 from the field at the outset, through the first 16-plus minutes. The Zags put together a nice stretch to close the half as OSU made just 1 of its last 6 attempts, helping GU erase a one-point deficit and take a 38-34 advantage at the break.

The Beavers repeatedly stung GU behind the 3-point line. They hit their first four 3s and three more triples in a 2-minute, 10-second span near the midpoint of the second half kept Gonzaga from generating a double-digit lead.

GU’s defense seemed to return to its pre-Portland form as the game progressed. The Zags didn’t force a ton of turnovers (nine), but they were able to convert those OSU giveaways at a high rate. At one point, GU had a 13-0 edge in points off turnovers, a key reason why it led 61-51.

The defense was big as Gonzaga seized control with an 18-6 burst to take command 73-54. OSU made just 1 of 8 shots during that stretch.

The Beavers slumped to 33.3% in the second half, though they did connect on five more 3-pointers.

Gonzaga, in part due to a bounce-back effort by Emmanuel Innocenti, shut down Josiah Lake II, who appeared to be limping at times. Lake, who leads the Beavers at 13.5 points and 3.8 assists, had just five points and one assist before draining a 3 that trimmed GU’s lead to 65-54 with 7:37 left.

Lake finished with just eight points and two assists, three days after Portland point guard Joel Foxwell torched GU for 27 points and eight assists.

Ike again drives offense

Graham Ike’s broad shoulders carried the Zags’ offense again.

The 6-foot-9 senior forward scored at all three levels operating against a wave of OSU big men – 6-11 Johan Munch, 7-2 Noah Amenhauser, 6-11 Jorge Diaz Graham and 6-11 Yaak Yaak – as well as several zone defenses.

None of it bothered Ike, who accounted for half of GU’s 38 first-half points with 19 on 7-of-10 shooting. He stayed hot in the second half, including six quick points and an assist out of a double-team to Davis Fogle for a dunk that pushed Gonzaga’s lead to 61-51.

Ike matched his career high with 35 points with a layup with 1:12 remaining. He tallied 35 against Denver in Dec. 2021 when he was a sophomore at Wyoming.

Ike added another 3-pointer – his fifth since returning from an ankle injury three games ago. He made 13 of 18 shots and 8 of 9 at the foul line.

Ike scored 30 versus Saint Mary’s in his first game back from an ankle injury and 24 in Wednesday’s upset loss to Portland. His last five games: 34, 23, 30, 24 and 35.

Passing point guards

Gonzaga point guards Braeden Smith and Mario Saint-Supery didn’t put up a lot of points, but that doesn’t mean they were ineffective.

Smith rang up six assists in just 14 minutes, including a couple of lob passes that Tyon Grant-Foster and Ike sent through the basket. Saint-Supery added five assists in 26 minutes.

Saint-Supery finished with five points on 2-of-9 shooting, but he didn’t commit a turnover. Smith had one turnover and finished 1 of 2 from the field. The pair also played well defensively when it was their turn guarding Lake.

Gonzaga had 20 assists on 32 field goals.