Graham Ike puts up 20 as No. 12 Gonzaga wallops Washington State
Graham Ike scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and added a game-high seven rebounds in just 23 minutes as No. 12 Gonzaga cruised to a 83-53 victory against Washington State on Tuesday in Spokane, Wash.
Freshman Davis Fogle came off the bench to score 17 points and Adam Miller and Mario Saint-Supery added 11 apiece for the Bulldogs (24-2, 12-1 West Coast Conference), who will play Saturday at Santa Clara in a first-place showdown.
Jerone Morton led Washington State (11-16, 6-8) with 15 points. Rihards Vavers added 14 and Ace Glass scored 12.
Gonzaga shot 54.8% from the field (34 of 62) while limiting the Cougars to 39.1% (18 of 46).
The Bulldogs had a 33-7 edge in bench scoring, 50-22 on points in the paint and 31-8 on points off turnovers.
After trailing by 27 at the half, the Cougars pulled within 54-33 on a 3-pointer by Morton with 13:33 remaining.
Gonzaga then went on a 15-0 run, with Emmanuel Innocenti making a dunk followed by a 3-pointer, to leave no doubt. That streak came to an end when Ike was called for a technical for hanging on the rim after a dunk, with Glass making both free throws.
The Bulldogs made almost as many field goals in the first half (21) as Washington State attempted (23) in building a 48-21 lead.
That's because Gonzaga forced 11 turnovers while committing just three, leading to a 17-0 scoring advantage off miscues.
Miller scored all 11 of his points before the intermission and Ike added 10.
The Cougars tied the score at 6-all on a three foul shots by Morton before Gonzaga went on an 8-0 run, with Braeden Smith making two free throws and a pull-up jumper in the lane.
Another 8-0 run, which included a jumper and a driving layup by Saint-Supery, gave the Bulldogs a 29-13 edge.
And a 9-0 run late in the half, sparked by an Ike dunk, made it 44-19. Fogle completed a three-point play and Miller capped that stretch with a driving layup and two free throws.
The Bulldogs played their eighth straight game without injured forward/center Braden Huff (knee).
Gonzaga swept the regular-season series against the Cougars, also winning 86-65 on Jan. 15 in Pullman, Wash.