Gonzaga wins ‘knockdown, drag-out’ battle with Pacific to move within one game of No. 1 WCC seed | Analysis

For one reason or another, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Gonzaga against Pacific despite the considerable gulf that usually exists between the teams in the West Coast Conference standings.

Both of Gonzaga’s national runner-up teams, in 2016-17 and 2020-21, trailed at halftime against the Tigers, as did the 2023-24 team that advanced to the Sweet 16.

Gonzaga hasn’t faltered in 23 games against Pacific, but a handful of the matchups have been significantly tighter than a pregame point spread would suggest.

Add Saturday’s 71-62 victory at McCarthey Athletic Center to the list.

The Zags trailed early in the first half and for a large chunk of the second, took rare losses in statistical columns they normally win – namely rebounding and points in the paint – and overcame a spotty shooting night from leading scorer Graham Ike to prevail against the Tigers and move within one game of the No. 1 seed at the West Coast Conference Tournament.

“After watching them on tape, I kind of knew it was going to be a game close to this,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “They’re a really, really tough, hard-nosed team, incredibly physical. Their numbers show that, they have really good size inside.

“Their coach was incredibly successful in Canada, and he’s done a nice job of flipping that thing at Pacific. You watch their games against some of the other teams in the league and they were knockdown, drag-outs.”

Gonzaga (27-2, 15-1) will wrap up its home slate on Wednesday with a 6 p.m. (KHQ/ESPN+) matchup against Portland (12-17, 5-11) that won’t be lacking storylines.

The Senior Night matchup also doubles as a chance to secure the top seed at the WCC Tournament, as well as a share of the regular-season league title. The Pilots have dropped six of their last eight games, but pulled off a shocking upset of the Zags in the last meeting between the teams, riding Joel Foxwell’s 28 points to an 87-80 victory at the Chiles Center.

Gonzaga couldn’t afford to look ahead to Wednesday’s all-encompassing home finale until the final buzzer sounded Saturday.

The Zags spent most of the game searching for the offensive rhythm Pacific essentially found out of the gate. The Tigers converted their first four shots from the field and led for 11 minutes, 39 seconds in the first half, limiting Ike to four points and containing Gonzaga’s offense to 11 of 30 from the field, 2 of 9 from the 3-point line and 5 of 11 from the free throw line.

If not for Mario Saint-Supery’s game-tying runner inside the final 30 seconds, Gonzaga would’ve entered the halftime break trailing Pacific for the fourth time since 2017.

Aesthetically speaking, the Zags didn’t look much better in the second half, but they got to the free throw line 18 times, shot 50% from the field and managed to establish Ike after the senior forward picked up his fourth technical foul.

Ike finished with 20 points, becoming the first GU player in the last 20 years to reach that total in nine straight games, and finished 8 of 21 from the field, 0 of 6 from the 3-point line and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. Ike had 16 of his 20 points in the second half, as well as four of his five rebounds.

“Law of averages, man. Nothing changes,” Ike said of his mentality in the second half. “Ball’s going to keep going up. It didn’t fall in the first and it didn’t fall in the second as well, but the ball’s going to keep going up.”

Pacific led for a total of 15 minutes, but not after Ike’s turnaround jumper with 11 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the second half. The Tigers managed to tie the game at 47-47, but the Zags went in front for good on a three-point play by Ike and made 13 of 18 from the free throw line in the second half to keep their distance from Pacific.

Davis Fogle supplied another 18 points off the bench, making 4 of 5 shots from the field and 9 of 12 from the free throw line. Emmanuel Innocenti added 13 points and four rebounds while Tyon Grant-Foster had 10 points and five rebounds.

The Zags only manufactured 20 points in the paint after piling up 112 in recent road games against San Francisco and Santa Clara. The Tigers also edged them on the glass, with a 36-32 advantage, but committed 15 turnovers compared to just four from the Zags.

Pacific was led by wing Elias Ralph and guard Justin Rochelin, who had 12 points apiece. Rochelin finished with a game-high 14 rebounds for the Tigers.