Led by Graham Ike’s 30 points, No. 6 Gonzaga prevails 73-65 against Saint Mary’s: ‘It was personal’ | Analysis

If tradition holds, Saturday’s game between No. 6 Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s will be the first of three meetings between the longtime West Coast Conference rivals this season.

That’s the expectation anymore, considering the Zags and Gaels have played more games against each other than anyone in the nation the last 10 years, with 15 meetings in the WCC Tournament title game since 2004.

“We’ll play them again,” said Zags coach Mark Few, asked if he harbored any emotions surrounding the last potential matchup against Saint Mary’s in Spokane, with GU departing for the Pac-12 next season. “We’ll probably play them two more times, so maybe I’ll be sentimental then.”

Round one went to the Zags, who were solid and shaky in the first half but strong enough in the second to prevail 73-65 over the rival Gaels at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Keyed by Graham Ike, who was exceptional playing in his first game for Gonzaga since Jan. 15, the Zags picked up a victory in the first of two guaranteed matchups between the WCC foes this season and established a two-game lead on Saint Mary’s in the league standings.

After missing the last three games with right ankle soreness, Ike returned to the court and gave Gonzaga an immediate jolt, hitting a short baseline jumper on the Zags’ very first possession. The senior forward connected on GU’s first 3-pointer and was responsible for a number of other momentum-changing plays during a 30-point, four-rebound effort. Ike finished 11 of 20 from the field, 3 of 5 from the 3-point line and 5 of 5 from the free throw line.

Ike was determined to give the Zags a lift after watching his teammates pick up three wins in his absence and it wasn’t lost on the All-American candidate that Saint Mary’s had each of the last two meetings at the Kennel, 74-67 last season and 64-62 during the forward’s first year in Spokane.

“It was extremely personal, we know how much this means to the university and also to us, everybody here in Spokane,” Ike said. “We definitely wanted to take care of business. Personally, I had never beat these guys before on our home floor before this and that was definitely something I wanted to do in my last year and I’m glad we could get that done.”

The Zags needed every last bit from Ike in a game where they led by double figures in the first half, went to the break trailing by two possessions but reestablished a lead with big shots and key defensive stands in the second half.

Emmanuel Innocenti guided Gonzaga back early in the second half, scoring 10 straight points to knot the game up at 46-46. The junior who took a recruiting visit to Saint Mary’s two years ago after entering the transfer portal scored a fast-break layup to make it a three-point game before Saint Mary’s guard Dillan Shaw responded with a 3-pointer at the other end.

Innocenti and the Gaels continued to trade baskets. After the forward knocked down the Zags’ second 3-pointer of the game – a shot that came after seven straight GU misses – Harry Wessels scored at the other end, once again extending the lead to two possessions. Innocenti followed with a putback layup and then tied the game with his second straight 3-pointer.

Ike and a number of other Zags took it over from there. The senior forward dropped Wessels to the ground on a pump-fake and hammered home a dunk to make it a six-point game.

“I was on the baseline, so I had the best view in the house of it,” Warley said of the highlight reel dunk. “Yeah no, (Ike) is a tough cover. Especially, he knocked down a couple 3’s early so as a big man you’re in kind of an awful position because what you can really do with him. He drove it down, I saw him take off and all I heard was the crowd roar after that.”

Less than two minutes later, Ike rose up for his second 3-pointer, then followed with his third with less than 90 seconds remaining to give Gonzaga a 10-point cushion.

“I don’t think we did a good job guarding him,” Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett said. “He was good, he hit shots too. He had a couple 3’s and face-ups and shot the ball pretty well. He was good as he always is, but we’ve got to do a better job than that.”

Innocenti and senior wing Jalen Warley were the two other Zags to finish in double digits, each scoring 10 points. Warley and Tyon Grant-Foster paced GU in the rebounding column, grabbing seven apiece.

The Gaels were led by sophomore point guard Joshua Dent, who had 16 points and six assists. Paulius Murauskas (15) and Shaw (13) also finished in double figures for a Saint Mary’s team that made just 18 of 53 (34%) shots from the field.

Gonzaga broke the game open early, taking a 10-point lead with less than nine minutes remaining in the first half, but a series of unforced errors allowed Saint Mary’s to claw back. The Zags committed nine turnovers during a nine-minute stretch and the Gaels pulled to within one point before taking their first lead on Dent’s 3-pointer.

The half culminated with another sequence of mental mistakes from Gonzaga and a 12-2 run for Saint Mary’s. Mario Saint-Supery committed the team’s ninth and turnover with five seconds remaining and Davis Fogle fouled Liam Campbell near halfcourt with one-tenth of a second on the game clock. That sent the freshman to the line for two final free throws, sending the Gaels to the locker room with a four-point cushion.

Gonzaga finished with a 39-34 edge in the rebounding column and outscored Saint Mary’s 36-20 in the paint. After a slew of turnovers in the first half, the Zags committed just one in the game’s final 20 minutes.

Saturday marked the end of a three-game homestand for Gonzaga (22-1, 10-0), which travels outside the state of Washington next week for the first time since Dec. 30. The Zags resume WCC play on Wednesday at Portland (10-14, 3-8) before visiting Oregon State (12-12, 5-6) on Saturday in Corvallis.