Davis Fogle, Emmanuel Innocenti help Gonzaga to hard-fought win over Pacific | 3 takeaways

Three takeaways at the buzzer from Gonzaga’s 71-62 West Coast Conference win over Pacific on Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Fogle, Innocenti step up

Freshman Davis Fogle and junior Emmanuel Innocenti provided a scoring boost with Graham Ike enduring an up-and-down evening offensively. Both have become important contributors with Braden Huff missing the last 11 games with a knee injury.

Fogle led GU in scoring in the opening half with nine points. He added nine more in the second half to finish with 18 points. He made 4 of 5 shots and 9 of 12 at the foul line.

Innocenti reached double figures for the third consecutive game after having three double-digit efforts in the season’s first 25 games. The 6-foot-5 junior hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second half, including one from the wing to give Gonzaga a 53-49 lead with 9:15 remaining.

Innocenti was just 1 of 12 on 3s in the previous five games before hitting 2 of 3 against the Tigers.

He made 4 of 6 shots en route to 13 points.

Rare off night for Ike

Ike heated up in the second half, scoring 16 of his 20 points to extend his streak of 20-point games to nine.

The 6-9 senior forward was just 2 of 9 from the field in the first half, most of his attempts coming on mid-range jumpers or 3-pointers (0 of 3).

Ike, the WCC’s leading scorer at 19.9 points, hit a tough 13-footer for Gonzaga’s first basket of the second half and a pull-up in the paint. He missed a contested shot against a double team on the next possession and was called for a technical foul after a brief exchange with an official.

Ike’s three-point play gave Gonzaga the lead for good at 50-47 with 10:22 remaining. He scored seven points in the final 4:41 to help GU hold off the Tigers.

Foul line struggles

Gonzaga didn’t help itself at the free-throw line in the first half. The Zags shot below 50% (5 of 11) in the opening 20 minutes.

The Zags were better in the final 20 minutes – and needed to be to get to the finish line. They hit 13 of 18 in the second half to finish the game 62.1%. Ike was 4 of 4 in the second half.

Gonzaga entered the game at 69.8%, 264th nationally.