Graham Ike returns, scores 30 to lead Gonzaga past Saint Mary’s | 3 takeaways

Three observations at the buzzer of No. 6 Gonzaga’s 73-65 win over Saint Mary’s on Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Ike returns in big way

Graham Ike, sidelined the last three games with a right ankle injury, carried GU’s offense for long stretches against the Gaels.

The 6-foot-9 senior post delivered 14 first-half points, including the team’s only made 3-pointer, in 17 minutes. He missed his first five shots of the second half before finding his shooting stroke.

Ike had one of the more memorable plays of the season, using a pump-fake to leave SMC 7-1 center Harry Wessels stumbling to the court in the lane. Ike then drove for a dunk to give Gonzaga six-point lead.

He added his second 3-pointer and two more buckets to extend GU’s lead to 64-57. He hit the dagger with another 3 from the wing with the shot clock running down, putting GU up 71-61 with 1:27 left.

Ike finished with 30 points and four rebounds in 37 minutes.

Innocenti catches fire

Gonzaga’s offense was out of sorts in the closing minutes of the first half and the opening minutes of the second half as Saint Mary’s pulled in front 44-38.

Emmanuel Innocenti, known more for his defense than his offense, put together 10 consecutive points for the Zags that helped GU pull even at 46.

The junior wing made a pair of 3-pointers in his scoring streak, a much-needed development after Gonzaga started just 1 of 8 from distance, which allowed the Gaels to clog the paint.

Gonzaga’s offense heated up right after Innocenti’s spurt, from inside and outside the arc and built a 56-48 lead after a Jalen Warley layup.

First-half stumble

Gonzaga led for 17-plus minutes, including a 23-13 margin after an Ike dunk with 8:15 remaining. The Zags were still up 32-26 after Tyon Grant-Foster converted on a baseline drive with 1:49 left.

Saint Mary’s closed the half on a 12-2 run to take a 38-34 advantage at the break.

GU helped out by failing to secure the rebound on a missed free throw – the Gaels, who lead the nation at 81%, were 15 of 16 at the stripe in the first 20 minutes – and Dillan Shaw made the Zags pay with a 3-pointer.

Ismaila Diagne, inserted for Ike, immediately committed a foul 25 feet from the hoop on Josh Dent, who made all three free throws.