Recap and highlights: Graham Ike’s career night powers No. 8 Gonzaga past Santa Clara 89-77
Graham Ike and Gonzaga took control midway through the second half and continued to separate from visiting Santa Clara late in Thursday’s matchup of unbeaten West Coast Conference teams at McCarthey Athletic Center.
After being tied at halftime, the Ike-led Zags flipped the switch after the break and ultimately won 89-77 after outscoring the Broncos by 12 points in the second half and leading by as many as 23 points.
Ike set the tone for Gonzaga both early and late.
The senior forward was the only GU player in double figures midway through the second half and had 34 points – his first 30-point game in a Zags uniform – making 13 of 17 shots from the field and 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Ike, who finished one point shy of the career-high 35 he scored against Denver while at Wyoming, also secured his 10th double-double of the season, adding 11 rebounds for Gonzaga.
Frontcourt mate Braden Huff scored four points in the first half but became the second Zag to reach double digits and scored 12 on 6 of 9 shooting with six rebounds.
Emmanuel Innocenti finished in double figures for the second time all season and first time since a Nov. 25 game against Maryland at the Players Era Festival, scoring 13 points on perfect shooting (4 of 4).
The decisive run for Gonzaga came roughly five minutes into the second half and was not surprisingly sparked by Ike. Santa Clara’s Elijah Mahi connected on a jumper to close the deficit to one point with 15 minutes, 14 seconds remaining, but Ike knocked down a pull-up, stepback 3-pointer on the next possession to push GU’s lead back out to four.
Allen Graves cut it back to two , but Ike completed a three-point play on the ensuing GU possession and Innocenti knocked in an uncontested corner 3-pointer to give the Zags a six-point advantage.
The Zags continued to roll, extending the lead to eight a few possessions when Mario Saint-Supery picked the ball away from Graves and pushed ahead to Jalen Warley, who flushed a one-handed dunk in transition.
Gonzaga flirted with danger in the first half, committing 10 turnovers in the opening frame and giving up nine offensive rebounds. Three Zag players had two fouls by halftime and Gonzaga had 11 as a team. Not far behind, Santa Clara had 10 team fouls in the first half, with starters Jake Ensminger and Elijah Mahi benched for long stretches due to foul trouble.
Both teams led by as many eight points in the first half, but Gonzaga needed a late 8-0 run to tie the game 37-37 at the halftime break. Ike converted most of his looks near the basket, knocked down multiple mid-range shots and also buried a 3-pointer, scoring 13 points inside the first eight minutes and 16 by halftime.
A Santa Clara team that ranks near the top of the country in 3-point attempts put up 26 shots against Gonzaga, but only made seven. Graves paced the Broncos 18 points while guard Christian Hammond added 14.
The Zags (17-1, 5-0) face a weeklong layoff before returning to the court next week for their only road games in the month of January. Gonzaga opens the week Thursday (7 p.m., CBSSN) at Washington State (8-9, 3-1) before playing Seattle U (12-6, 1-4) at Climate Pledge on Saturday (KHQ/ESPN+).
First half
19:22 – GU 0, SCU 0: Broncos win the tip and miss and alley-oop dunk on the first possession. Smith turns it over on GU’s first possession. We’re underway in the Kennel.
15:49 – GU 11, SCU 7: Zags leading all the way early, thanks to Ike who has nine points at the first media timeout.
Broncos called for an offensive foul to signal the stoppage. They have four fouls already, two on Ensminger.
Ike is 3 of 4 from the field and has made all three free throw attempts.
11:56 – GU 17, SCU 12: Graham Ike is cooking.
Gonzaga big heads to the bench at the U12 media timeout with 13 points, hitting 5 of 6 attempts from the field. The rest of the Zags are 2 of 5.
7:37 – GU 27, SCU 23: Broncos cut the lead to two points before Braden Huff hit his first attempt in the game to get in the score column. SCU ball at the U8 media timeout.
Zags not as sharp without Graham Ike on the floor. GU is 10 of 15 from the field, but has eight fouls and seven turnovers.
3:39 – SCU 32, GU 29: Broncos take their first lead with a 6-0 run at the U4 media timeout and the Zags on a 3:20 scoring drought.
Grant-Foster was called for an offensive four at the break, giving GU 10 turnovers in the half. Zags shooting at a higher clip (52-38%), but have eight less shot attempts.
1:34 – SCU 37, GU 34: Ike makes a layup and Grant-Foster hits a 3-poitner to slow the Broncos momentum, leading to a SCU timeout after a turnover. Good opportunity to tie it back up before the half.
Halftime
Gonzaga closed the first half on an 8-0 run to tie the score at 37-all against Santa Clara at McCarthey Athletic Center.
The Zags controlled the early minutes behind big contributions from Graham Ike, but slipped and trailed by eight points before the late spurt.
Ike leads with 16 points, while Tyon Grant-Foster adds seven and Steele Venters has six with two 3-pointers.
The Zags have bee plagued by 11 fouls and 10 turnovers. GU has outshot SCU by 15% from the field, but has attempted eight fewer shots.
Second half
15: 36 – GU 48, SCU 47: Huff is blocked inside, but the Zags retain possession with two to shoot at the U16 media timeout.
Gonzaga with a slight edge to start the period. Ike and Huff has four points apiece raising their totals to 20 and eight, respectively, for the game.
11:24 – GU 59, SCU 53: Warley called for a foul at the U12 media timeout. That will put a pause on the Graham Ike show, as the GU big matches a season-high with 28 points.
Ike has made 10 of 14 attempts from the field, including a step-back 3-pointer late in the shot clock. He adds seven rebounds to help the Zags outpace the Broncos in the second half.
9:57 – GU 63, SCU 55: Saint-Supery steals and passes to Warley for a dunk to give the Zags their largest lead of the game. SCU calls timeout.
Nice play on an otherwise forgettable night for Saint-Supery, who is 0 of 4 from the field.
7:58 – GU 70, SCU 55: Ike hits a layup to give him a season-high 30 points ahead of the U8 media timeout. Zags on a killer 11-0 run and have taken control of the game in the second half.
Ike is 11 of 15 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
4:17 – GU 82, SCU 64: Gonzaga’s run finally ends at 17 straight points.
SCU’s Graves hits a 3-pointer and the Broncos call timeout, but this one might as well be over. Dominant second half for the Zags after being tied at halftime.
Ike leads the way with 32 points and nine rebounds.
We’ll be back at the horn (barring a large comeback) with a full recap.
Starting 5s
Gonzaga: Braeden Smith, Adam Miller, Emmanuel Innocenti, Braden Huff, Graham Ike.
Not a new lineup for Zags, but first time we’ve seen this one since Nov. 14.
Pregame
The Gonzaga men’s basketball team, which has been tested early in West Coast Conference play, is set for another tough game at McCarthey Athletic Center.
At least on paper.
The No. 8 Bulldogs (16-1, 4-0 WCC) host the Santa Clara Broncos (13-4, 4-0) at 8:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2.
The Zags persevered last week for an overtime win over Seattle U and finally shook out of a slump midway through the first half of an eventual rout of Loyola Marymount on Sunday. GU will need to start quicker against Santa Clara, which is one of three unbeaten teams in WCC play along with Saint Mary’s (15-2, 4-0).
The Zags won’t be taking the game lightly after losing to the Broncos on their home floor last season. In fact, Santa Clara has scored wins over GU in each of the past two seasons.
Follow along with this thread for updates throughout the night.
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