Graham Ike scores 26 points to lead No. 23 Gonzaga past San Francisco, 86-68
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Graham Ike scored 26 points and No. 23 Gonzaga clinched a bye into the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament by beating San Francisco 86-68 on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs (23-6, 13-2) won their 29th straight game against the Dons (22-8, 11-4) to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament behind regular-season champion No. 17 Saint Mary's.
The top two teams get byes to the semifinals meaning Gonzaga will need to win only two games in Las Vegas to win the conference tournament and earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
But a win for the Bulldogs in the regular-season finale Saturday at Saint Mary's could help solidify an at-large tournament berth,
“It’s big for us to get that double bye,” Ike said. “But we still got to take care of business on Saturday. That’s what we’re looking forward to. Glad we got it done tonight. Enjoy it for a couple hours and then get on to tomorrow and get ready for Saint Mary’s.”
Gonzaga pulled away early in the second half, scoring the first 13 points to build a 14-point lead. Ike capped the run with back-to-back baskets from in close to make it 48-34 and the Bulldogs were never threatened the rest of the way.
“It was just a great response to what was a really hard fought game,” coach Mark Few said “It started with our stops. I don’t know how many consecutive stops we had with our defense. It was just absolutely fantastic in that first 10 minutes of the second half and that led to us getting out our break. That’s when we’re always at our best.”
Nolan Hickman scored 22 points and Ryan Nembhard added 15 to help Gonzaga win its seventh straight game.
Malik Thomas scored 23 points and Jonathan Mogbo added 14 for San Francisco.
The Dons moved their home game from campus to the Chase Center, where the NBA's Golden State Warriors play, to get a bigger crowd even if it lacked the same home-court edge.
They started strong on the big stage and led almost the entire first half before Anton Watson gave Gonzaga its first lead with a basket with four seconds left in the half to make it 35-34.
The Dons then missed 15 of their first 16 shots in the second half.
“They have a tendency to really come out of the gates strong in the second half. They sure did that,” coach Chris Gerlufsen said. “They staggered us and we didn’t respond the way that we need to in that moment. Credit to them. They got away from us.”
BIG PICTURE
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs earned their second Quad 1 win of the season after winning at Kentucky earlier in February to bolster their NCAA Tournament hopes. Gonzaga's 25 straight tournament bids are the third longest active streak but they are firmly on the bubble this season.
San Francisco: The Dons have had a strong season and clinched third place in the WCC but there is still a gap between them and the top two teams. San Francisco lost all four meetings to Gonzaga and Saint Mary's but is undefeated against the rest of the conference.
UP NEXT
Gonzaga: Visit No. 17 Saint Mary's on Saturday night.
San Francisco: Visit Santa Clara on Saturday.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 |  | Graham Ike vs. Jonathan Mogbo (Bulldogs gains possession) | ||
| 19:43 |  | Anton Watson misses two point hook shot | ||
| 19:41 | | Ndewedo Newbury defensive rebound | ||
| 19:16 | | +2 | Marcus Williams makes two point layup | 0-2 |
| 18:52 | | Graham Ike misses two point jump shot | ||
| 18:50 | | Ryan Nembhard offensive rebound | ||
| 18:46 | | Ryan Nembhard turnover (bad pass) (Mike Sharavjamts steals) | ||
| 18:34 | | Marcus Williams turnover (bad pass) (Nolan Hickman steals) | ||
| 18:26 | | Nolan Hickman turnover (lost ball) (Marcus Williams steals) | ||
| 18:15 | | Ben Gregg personal foul (Jonathan Mogbo draws the foul) | ||
| 18:05 | | Malik Thomas misses two point layup | ||
| 18:03 | | Jonathan Mogbo offensive rebound | ||
| 17:59 | | Ndewedo Newbury misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:57 | | Nolan Hickman defensive rebound | ||
| 17:53 | | Jonathan Mogbo shooting foul (Graham Ike draws the foul) | ||
| 17:53 | | +1 | Graham Ike makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 1-2 |
| 17:53 | | +1 | Graham Ike makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 2-2 |
| 17:40 | | +3 | Malik Thomas makes three point jump shot (Marcus Williams assists) | 2-5 |
| 17:23 | | Nolan Hickman misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:21 | | Marcus Williams defensive rebound | ||
| 17:11 | | Graham Ike blocks Ndewedo Newbury's two point layup | ||
| 16:59 | | Anton Watson personal foul (Malik Thomas draws the foul) | ||
| 16:54 | | +2 | Jonathan Mogbo makes two point layup | 2-7 |
| 16:42 | | Ndewedo Newbury personal foul (Graham Ike draws the foul) | ||
| 16:36 | | Ben Gregg misses three point jump shot | ||
| 16:34 | | Marcus Williams defensive rebound | ||
| 16:08 | | Marcus Williams misses three point jump shot | ||
| 16:06 | | Volodymyr Markovetskyy offensive rebound | ||
| 16:02 | | Malik Thomas misses two point jump shot | ||
| 16:00 | | Graham Ike defensive rebound | ||
| 16:00 | | Volodymyr Markovetskyy personal foul (Graham Ike draws the foul) | ||
| 15:59 | | TV timeout | ||
| 15:41 | | +2 | Ryan Nembhard makes two point layup | 4-7 |
| 15:25 | | +2 | Marcus Williams makes two point jump shot | 4-9 |
| 15:15 | | +2 | Graham Ike makes two point hook shot (Ryan Nembhard assists) | 6-9 |
| 14:51 | | Jonathan Mogbo misses two point jump shot | ||
| 14:49 | | Ben Gregg defensive rebound | ||
| 14:44 | | Graham Ike turnover (bad pass) | ||
| 14:26 | | +2 | Marcus Williams makes two point layup (Jonathan Mogbo assists) | 6-11 |
| 14:18 | | Marcus Williams shooting foul (Graham Ike draws the foul) | ||
| 14:18 | | +1 | Graham Ike makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 7-11 |
| 14:18 | | +1 | Graham Ike makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 8-11 |
| 14:03 | | Marcus Williams turnover (lost ball) (Ryan Nembhard steals) | ||
| 13:51 | | +2 | Graham Ike makes two point layup | 10-11 |
| 13:22 | | Jonathan Mogbo misses two point layup | ||
| 13:20 | | Anton Watson defensive rebound | ||
| 13:15 | | Nolan Hickman misses two point layup | ||
| 13:13 | | Ryan Beasley defensive rebound | ||
| 12:58 | | +3 | Marcus Williams makes three point jump shot (Jonathan Mogbo assists) | 10-14 |
| 12:38 | | +2 | Anton Watson makes two point dunk (Ryan Nembhard assists) | 12-14 |
| 12:08 | | +2 | Ryan Beasley makes two point jump shot (Marcus Williams assists) | 12-16 |
| 11:42 | | +2 | Ryan Nembhard makes two point jump shot | 14-16 |
| 11:18 | | Marcus Williams turnover (bad pass) (Nolan Hickman steals) | ||
| 11:12 | | Ryan Nembhard turnover (bad pass) (Marcus Williams steals) | ||
| 10:56 | | +2 | Jonathan Mogbo makes two point layup (Marcus Williams assists) | 14-18 |
| 10:32 | | +2 | Graham Ike makes two point layup (Ryan Nembhard assists) | 16-18 |
| 10:00 | | Marcus Williams misses two point jump shot | ||
| 9:58 | | Dusty Stromer defensive rebound | ||
| 9:54 | | Marcus Williams blocks Ryan Nembhard's two point layup | ||
| 9:53 | | TV timeout | ||
| 9:41 | | +2 | Braden Huff makes two point hook shot | 18-18 |
| 9:25 | | Ndewedo Newbury misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:23 | | Dusty Stromer defensive rebound | ||
| 9:14 | | Anton Watson misses two point jump shot | ||
| 9:12 | | Mike Sharavjamts defensive rebound | ||
| 9:06 | | Ryan Beasley misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:04 | | Braden Huff personal foul (Ndewedo Newbury draws the foul) | ||
| 9:04 | | Ndewedo Newbury offensive rebound | ||
| 8:47 | | Malik Thomas misses two point jump shot | ||
| 8:45 | | Ryan Nembhard defensive rebound | ||
| 8:36 | | Anton Watson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:34 | | Mike Sharavjamts defensive rebound | ||
| 8:26 | | Junjie Wang misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:24 | | Ryan Nembhard defensive rebound | ||
| 8:18 | | Junjie Wang personal foul (Anton Watson draws the foul) | ||
| 8:15 | | Nolan Hickman misses two point layup | ||
| 7:58 | | +3 | Malik Thomas makes three point jump shot (Marcus Williams assists) | 18-21 |
| 7:44 | | Dusty Stromer turnover (traveling) | ||
| 7:44 | | TV timeout | ||
| 7:33 | | +2 | Jonathan Mogbo makes two point dunk (Marcus Williams assists) | 18-23 |
| 7:09 | | Braden Huff misses two point hook shot | ||
| 7:06 | | Ndewedo Newbury defensive rebound | ||
| 6:41 | | Mike Sharavjamts misses two point jump shot | ||
| 6:39 | | Jonathan Mogbo offensive rebound | ||
| 6:37 | | Braden Huff personal foul (Jonathan Mogbo draws the foul) | ||
| 6:29 | | Ndewedo Newbury turnover (bad pass) | ||
| 6:13 | | +2 | Graham Ike makes two point hook shot | 20-23 |
| 5:45 | | Nolan Hickman blocks Marcus Williams's two point jump shot | ||
| 5:43 | | Graham Ike defensive rebound | ||
| 5:37 | | Mike Sharavjamts blocks Nolan Hickman's three point jump shot | ||
| 5:35 | | Nolan Hickman offensive rebound | ||
| 5:23 | | Volodymyr Markovetskyy shooting foul (Graham Ike draws the foul) | ||
| 5:23 | | +1 | Graham Ike makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 21-23 |
| 5:23 | | +1 | Graham Ike makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-23 |
| 5:13 | | Ben Gregg shooting foul (Jonathan Mogbo draws the foul) | ||
| 5:13 | | Jonathan Mogbo misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 5:13 | | +1 | Jonathan Mogbo makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-24 |
| 4:57 | | Graham Ike turnover (traveling) | ||
| 4:43 | | Mike Sharavjamts misses two point jump shot | ||
| 4:41 | | Ryan Nembhard defensive rebound | ||
| 4:30 | | Malik Thomas personal foul (Anton Watson draws the foul) | ||
| 4:30 | | Anton Watson misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | ||
| 4:30 | | Ryan Beasley defensive rebound | ||
| 4:12 | | +2 | Ryan Beasley makes two point jump shot | 22-26 |
| 3:55 | | Ryan Beasley shooting foul (Ryan Nembhard draws the foul) | ||
| 3:55 | | TV timeout | ||
| 3:55 | | +1 | Ryan Nembhard makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 23-26 |
| 3:55 | | +1 | Ryan Nembhard makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 24-26 |
| 3:41 | | +3 | Malik Thomas makes three point jump shot (Ryan Beasley assists) | 24-29 |
| 3:26 | | +2 | Nolan Hickman makes two point layup (Anton Watson assists) | 26-29 |
| 3:26 | | Ndewedo Newbury shooting foul (Nolan Hickman draws the foul) | ||
| 3:26 | | +1 | Nolan Hickman makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 27-29 |
| 3:01 | | Jonathan Mogbo turnover (lost ball) (Graham Ike steals) | ||
| 2:49 | | +2 | Graham Ike makes two point hook shot (Anton Watson assists) | 29-29 |
| 2:29 | | +2 | Malik Thomas makes two point jump shot | 29-31 |
| 2:13 | | Graham Ike misses two point layup | ||
| 2:11 | | Jonathan Mogbo defensive rebound | ||
| 2:08 | | Ryan Beasley misses two point layup | ||
| 2:06 | | Dusty Stromer defensive rebound | ||
| 2:06 | | Volodymyr Markovetskyy personal foul (Dusty Stromer draws the foul) | ||
| 2:06 | | +1 | Dusty Stromer makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 30-31 |
| 2:06 | | +1 | Dusty Stromer makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-31 |
| 1:54 | | Graham Ike shooting foul (Jonathan Mogbo draws the foul) | ||
| 1:54 | | +1 | Jonathan Mogbo makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 31-32 |
| 1:54 | | Jonathan Mogbo misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 1:54 | | Dusty Stromer defensive rebound | ||
| 1:34 | | Ryan Nembhard turnover (bad pass) (Marcus Williams steals) | ||
| 1:14 | | +2 | Malik Thomas makes two point jump shot | 31-34 |
| 1:00 | | +2 | Dusty Stromer makes two point layup | 33-34 |
| 0:40 | | Marcus Williams misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:38 | | Jonathan Mogbo offensive rebound | ||
| 0:34 | | Jonathan Mogbo turnover (bad pass) | ||
| 0:06 | | +2 | Anton Watson makes two point jump shot | 35-34 |
| 0:01 | | Malik Thomas turnover (lost ball) (Anton Watson steals) | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |