Graham Ike powers No. 12 Gonzaga past longtime rival Santa Clara
Graham Ike recorded 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds and No. 12 Gonzaga moved into first place in the West Coast Conference with a 94-86 victory over host Santa Clara on Saturday night.
Adam Miller scored 21 points and Tyon Grant-Foster had 20 points and seven rebounds off the bench as the Bulldogs (25-2, 13-1 WCC) won their third straight game and 18th in the past 19. Gonzaga also reached the 25-win mark for the 19th straight season.
Emmanuel Innocenti added 16 points and six rebounds as Gonzaga prevailed in the final regular-season contest between the teams before it departs for the rebuilt Pac-12. The squads were WCC rivals for 46 seasons.
Christian Hammond had 16 points and Elijah Mahi scored 15 for the Broncos (22-6, 13-2), who dropped to 13-1 at home this season. Allen Graves had 13 points before fouling out for Santa Clara, which lost to the Zags for the second time this season.
Gonzaga won for the 23rd time in the past 25 meetings at Santa Clara. The Broncos won in 2011 and 2024.
Gonzaga connected on 56.3% (36 of 64) of its field-goal attempts while making just 3 of 18 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs shot 63% (17 of 27) from the field in the second half.
The Broncos made 46.2% (30 of 65) of their attempts and were 9 of 24 from behind the arc. Sash Gavalyugov added 10 points for Santa Clara.
The Broncos led 60-55 with 12:32 remaining after consecutive 3-pointers by Thierry Darlan and Gavalyugov.
Gonzaga answered with eight straight points to lead by three. Davis Fogle had two baskets in eight seconds -- the latter one coming after he stole the ball -- during the surge.
The Bulldogs took a 73-66 advantage when Miller drained a 3-pointer with 6:52 left. Ike was called for his fourth foul -- an offensive infraction -- 29 seconds later but the Broncos were unable to take advantage and Ike returned with 3:25 left with Gonzaga holding a 79-72 lead.
Miller made two free throws to give the Zags an 83-74 lead with 2:31 remaining and Grant-Foster slammed home a thunderous dunk to make it 87-77 with 53 seconds remaining as Gonzaga closed it out.
Ike registered 17 points and nine rebounds in the first half to help the Bulldogs hold a 44-39 halftime lead.
Santa Clara led 19-11 after KJ Cochran's layup with 11:11 left in the half and never trailed in the first 13 minutes.
Gonzaga moved ahead for the first time on Ike's basket for a 31-30 edge with 6:25 to play.
Gonzaga finished the half with a 9-3 run. Mario Saint-Supery's putback with under a second left gave the Zags the five-point halftime lead.