No. 8 Gonzaga beats Santa Clara 89-77 behind 34 points and 11 rebounds from Graham Ike

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Graham Ike had 34 points and 11 rebounds to power No. 8 Gonzaga to an 89-77 victory over Santa Clara on Thursday night.

Ike made 13 of 17 field goal attempts and went 7 for 8 on free throws as the Bulldogs (17-1, 5-0 West Coast Conference) shook off a sluggish first half and won their 10th straight game since getting blown out by No. 2 Michigan in late November.

Emmanuel Innocenti added 13 points and Braden Huff scored 12 for the Zags, who shot 58% from the floor to 43% for Santa Clara. Ike finished one point short of his career high.

Allen Graves led the Broncos (13-5, 4-1) with 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Santa Clara upset Gonzaga in Spokane last year, but the Zags have a 73-32 lead in the series.

Santa Clara came in leading the WCC in scoring during league play at 93.5 points per game.

Ike scored 13 points as Gonzaga jumped out to a 17-9 lead, but Santa Clara closed the gap to 23-21 on Bukky Oboye’s steal and layup.

Brenton Knapper’s basket gave Santa Clara a 30-29 edge late in the first half, and the Broncos completed an 11-0 run for a 37-29 lead. But the Bulldogs scored the next eight points, and Ike’s free throw tied it 37-all at halftime.

Santa Clara led 45-44 before Ike scored Gonzaga’s next 12 points to lift the Zags to a 56-51 lead. Gonzaga then scored 17 straight points to help build a 76-55 advantage with nine minutes left.

Up next

Santa Clara hosts Loyola Marymount on Saturday.

Gonzaga plays at Washington State next Thursday.

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