No. 12 Gonzaga dominates Washington State from start to finish 83-53 | Recap and highlights
Gonzaga’s starters had established an eight-point lead Tuesday night against Washington State by the time Mark Few made personnel changes at the second media timeout.
Five substitutes replaced five starters - not that anyone would’ve been able to tell looking up at the scoreboard a handful of minutes later.
When play resumed, backup point guard Mario Saint-Supery scored on consecutive possessions, nailing a midrange jumper before converting a driving layup on the next trip down. Davis Fogle knocked down a smooth jump shot and Tyon Grant-Foster followed with a transition layup, capping an eight-point run orchestrated exclusively by bench players.
Gonzaga grabbed a 16-point advantage and never looked back, leading by as many as 39 points in an eventual 83-53 win over rival Washington State at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Just about everyone who played was a viable scoring option for the 12th-ranked Zags, who had eight players score and four finish in double figures.
Gonzaga was predictably paced by Graham Ike, who finished with a game-high 20 points on 8 of 10 shooting and 4 of 4 from the free throw line. Ike, who’s had at least 20 points in six straight games, also added seven rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.
With a large cushion most of the game, the Zags were able to keep Ike’s minutes down and subbed the All-American candidate out with 8 minutes, 18 seconds to play. The senior forward registered just 23 minutes against WSU, playing his lowest total since a Dec. 30 game at San Diego.
Tuesday’s game provided a blueprint for how the Zags could approach the rest of the regular season, with West Coast Conference opponents likely to load up in an effort to stop Ike, who was averaging 29.2 points in five games prior to playing Washington State.
Ike had four points at the first media timeout but he was one of three Gonzaga players with that many, joining Adam Miller and Braeden Smith.
Fogle scored 17 points off the bench for the Zags while Miller and Saint-Supery added 11 apiece for a team that finished with a 50-20 advantage in points in the paint and made 63% of its looks from 2-point range.
The Cougars often made life easy on the Zags, turning the ball over 21 times. Gonzaga capitalized with a 31-8 advantage in points off turnovers and committed eight turnovers itself.
The Zags controlled a number of other statistical categories including rebounding (37-21), bench points (33-7) and fastbreak points (19-8).
The Cougars had three players finish in double figures, but made just 18 of 46 (39%) from the field and 5 of 24 (20%) from the 3-point line.
Jerone Morton had a team-high 15 pints for WSU, Ri Vavers had 14 and Ace Glas added 12 for David Riley’s team, which absorbed its fourth straight loss to Gonzaga since joining the WCC as an affiliate member last season.
Gonzaga’s next game should go a long way in shaping the WCC regular-season race. The Zags (24-2, 12-1) visit Santa Clara (12-1, 21-5) Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) tipoff at the Leavey Center. The Broncos play one more game Wednesday against Santa Clara before Saturday’s matchup between the top two teams in the WCC standings.
With Braden Huff on the floor, the Zags won the first meeting between the teams, edging Santa Clara 89-77 on Jan. 8 at the Kennel. Ike and Huff combined to score 46 points for Gonzaga.
Huff returned home to the Chicago area shortly after injuring his left knee, but was back with the team Tuesday for the first time since the last WSU-Gonzaga game on Jan. 15.
First half
19:33 – GU 2, WSU 0: Miller makes a jumper to open the scoring on the first attempt from the field, after WSU’s Morton was called for an early foul. We’re underway at the Kennel.
15:47 – GU 12, WSU 6: Cougars briefly tie the score at 6, but the Zags surge ahead, capitalizing on WSU turnovers for a 6-0 run at the first media timeout.
Vavers hit a 3-pointer and Morton made three free throws for WSU’s points. The Cougars open 1 of 3 from the field with three turnovers.
Gonzaga is 5 of 7 from the field. Smith, Ike and Miller have four points apiece.
11:57 – GU 21, WSU 13: Rodriguez called for a foul at the U12 media timeout as the Zags built their lead.
Gonzaga has been well-balanced in the early going, having all five starters score. Miller leads with seven points, as the Zags shoot 64% from the field.
Morton leads WSU with six points.
7:52 – GU 29, WSU 13: Gonzaga’s second unit starts a little slower than the starters, but turns up the pressure forcing five WSU turnovers to key an 8-0 run. Cougars call timeout.
Four of the five subs got a steal for GU. Saint-Supery scored four points and Grant-Foster and Fogle added two apiece.
The Cougars are up to eight turnovers in the game, leading to 12 points. Gonzaga also has a 20-2 margin in paint points.
3:54 – GU 40, WSU 19: Zags running away at the U4 media timeout.
Fogle provides some big minutes off the bench with seven points, two blocks and two steals.
Zags outshooting the Cougs 60 to 35% and have forced 10 turnovers.
Halftime
Gonzaga dominated every aspect of the first half to lead Washington State 48-21 at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Adam Miller leads the Zags with 11 points, while Graham Ike adds 10. Eight Gonzaga players have scored.
Here’s a statistical overview:
• FG%: GU 62, WSU 27
• REB: GU 18, WSU 12
• Assists: GU 12, WSU 1
• TO: GU 3, WSU 11
• PtsOffTO: GU 15, WSU 0
• PaintPts: GU 32, WSU 6
Second half
14:34 – GU 54, WSU 30: Sloppy start to the half for the Zags, who have three turnovers and made 3 of 8 attempts from the field at the first media timeout. Still, the Cougs have made up just three points since halftime.
12:00 – GU 56, WSU 33: Grant-Foster will head to the line for two free throws after the U12 media timeout. Shooting has dried up for the Zags in the second half, without a field goal the last 3:36, but Gonzaga still comfortably leads.
9:55 – GU 64, WSU 33: Innocenti punctuates a 10-0 run with a breakaway dunk and WSU calls timeout. Fogle got the Zags out of a slump with four points, he has 11 for the game.
7:17 – GU 74, WSU 37: Okafor gets a 20-2 Gonzaga run with a layup at the U8 media timeout.
Start to finish rout for the Zags tonight. Ike leads with 20 points, Fogle, Miller and Saint-Supery add 11 apiece.
3:10 – GU 82, WSU 44: Fogle takes over down the stretch to raise his total to 17 points, making 8 of 11 attempts from the field. One of his best games of the season.
Zags on the way to big blowout. We’ll have a full recap at the buzzer.
Starting Fives
Gonzaga: Braeden Smith (5.9 ppg), Jalen Warley (7.4), Adam Miller (7), Emmanuel Innocenti (4.9), Graham Ike (19.7)
Washington State: Jerone Morton (7.3 ppg), Ace Glass III (16.5), Eemeli Yalaho (10.6), Rihards Vavers (11.1), ND Okafor (11).
Pregame
The home stretch of the West Coast Conference regular season is upon us.
The No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs (23-2, 11-1 WCC) begin their final six-game push against the Washington State Cougars (11-15, 6-7) tonight. Tipoff from McCarthey Atheltic Center is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Zags, after a surprise upset loss to Portland last week, find themselves in second place behind Santa Clara. The Broncos (21-5, 12-1) are trying to become the first team other than GU or Saint Mary’s to win the league since San Diego in 2008.
Gonzaga rebounded with a 81-61 win over Oregon State on Saturday and face an important week with tonight’s game against WSU, followed by a road game at Santa Clara on Saturday.
WSU has had an up-and-down second season under coach David Riley. The Cougars had a three-game winning streak snapped last week with losses to the Beavers and Broncos, by score of 74-64 and 96-92, respectively.
Expect the Cougars to give the Zags their best shot. WSU has lost three straight since the in-state rivalry was renewed last season and seven straight overall to GU. The Cougs’ last win at the Kennel was in 2007.
Gonzaga is favored by 21½ points according to vegasinsider.com.
Follow along with this thread for updates throughout the night.
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