No. 11 Gonzaga pulls away in second half to beat Pacific | Recap and highlights
Ugly but effective.
It’s been a fitting way to describe many of Gonzaga’s recent victories over Pacific and certainly applied Saturday night in the first and only regular-season meeting between the West Coast Conference opponents.
The Zags trailed early and late, overcame a shaky start from top scorer Graham Ike and made enough plays down the stretch to pull through for a 71-62 victory at McCarthey Athletic Center.
With Saturday’s result, Gonzaga is now one victory from claiming the No. 1 seed at the West Coast Conference Tournament and a share of the outright regular-season league title.
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The Zags lost the rebounding battle (36-32) and were outmatched in the paint (34-20), but got to the free throw line 29 times and limited Pacific’s scoring opportunities by forcing 15 turnovers.
Ike opened 3 of 12 from the field and went to the bench after receiving a technical foul in the second foul, but responded to score 21 points on 8 of 21 from the field, 0 of 6 from the 3-point line and 4 of 4 from the free throw line.
The senior has scored at least 20 points in nine straight games – the most consecutive 20-point games by any Gonzaga player in the last 20 years.
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 visitors controlled much of the first half and Gonzaga didn’t take its first lead until Emmanuel Innocenti’s putback with 8 minutes, 54 seconds remaining. The Zags and Tigers traded the lead three more times before Mario Saint-Supery tied the game on a runner just before the halftime break.
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 secure the victory.
Gonzaga (27-2, 15-1) wraps up its home slate on Wednesday with a 6 p.m. (KHQ/ESPN+) Senior Night matchup against Portland (12-16, 5-10). The Pilots have dropped five of their last seven 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.
NoneFirst half
15:33 - PAC 7, GU 6: Graham Ike makes a step-back jumper to cut the Tigers’ lead to one point.
9:25 - PAC 16, GU 15: Davis Fogle makes a corner 3-pointer to draw Gonzaga within one point.
Fogle has seven points so far.
6:49 - GU 20, PAC 19: Gonzaga takes the lead after a 3-pointer from Tyon Grant-Foster.
The Zags lead despite shooting 37% from the field.
4:00 - GU 22, PAC 20: Zags nursing a 2-point lead despite a scoring drought of 2:37.
2:14 - PAC 27, GU 24: Jaden Clayton makes a 3-pointer to help the Tigers regain the lead.
Halftime
Gonzaga enters halftime tied with Pacific 29-29.
The Zags are shooting 37% from the field and 22% from 3-point range. Pacific is shooting 55% from the field but has turned the ball over 11 times.
Fogle has a team-high nine points.
Second half
15:46 - GU 36, PAC 35: Zags hold a narrow lead to start the second half.
11:50 - PAC 45, GU 43: Elias Ralph follows up a missed 3-pointer by Ike with a dunk to give Pacific the lead.
7:28 - GU 56, PAC 51: Zags have built some breathing room after making four of their last five shots.
Fogle has scored a game-high 14 points.
3:12 - GU 64, PAC 59: Ike heading to the free throw line with Gonzaga up by five points.
The senior forward has 16 points and five rebounds.
Starting 5s
Gonzaga: Mario Saint-Supery, Adam Miller, Emmanuel Innocenti, Jalen Warley, Graham Ike.
Pacific: Jaden Clayton, Elias Ralph, Isaac Jack, Justin Rochelin, TJ Wainwright.
Pregame
Gonzaga will try and maintain its course toward a top four seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament and a West Coast Conference regular-season championship against Pacific.
The Tigers sit in fourth place in the West Coast Conference, a year removed from finishing second to last. Pacific (17-12, 8-8) have doubled its amount of conference wins from last season.
Senior wing Elias Ralph has led Pacific’s resurgence, the only starter and lone rotation player to return to the team from the 2024-25 season. Currently, Ralph is averaging 16.6 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game.
The Zags (26-2, 14-1) will look to take care of business at home today against Pacific and Wednesday in a rematch with Portland before a showdown with Saint Mary’s in Moraga, Calif., on Feb. 28.
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