Gonzaga coach Mark Few isn’t known for uttering superlatives.
So his response when looking at the stat sheet from Wednesday night’s 80-59 victory at San Francisco came as a bit of a surprise.
“It was good — it was very, very good and spread out,” Few said.
High acclaim, indeed.
Graham Ike scored 22 points to lead the No. 11 Bulldogs. It was his eighth consecutive game with 20 or more points, tying the school record set by Adam Morrison and Derek Raivio in 2006.
The Bulldogs (26-2, 14-1 West Coast Conference), who are in the driver’s seat for another conference regular-season title, will return home Saturday night to face Pacific (17-12, 8-8) in Spokane, Wash.
It wasn’t Ike alone against the Dons, although he leads the WCC in scoring (19.9 points per game) and field-goal percentage (58.0) and is second in rebounding (8.6). He was named as one of 30 players still in the running for the Naismith Trophy men’s college player of the year late-season team, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced.
Freshman Mario Saint-Supery moved back into the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 21 and had 14 points and six assists. Emmanuel Innocenti added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Jalen Warley scored 11.
Adam Miller contributed nine points, and freshman Davis Fogle added eight points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Meanwhile, Pacific trimmed a double-digit deficit in the second half to one point Wednesday at Washington State before losing 87-70.
The Tigers were led by Elias Ralph’s 16 points. Jaden Clayton added 14 points and four assists, TJ Wainwright totaled 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Isaac Jack had 10 points and five rebounds.
Ralph, a senior from Okotoks, Alberta, leads Pacific with averages of 16.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
“He’s turned out to be better than I thought,” said Tigers coach Dave Smart, who was hired in March 2024 after being an assistant at Texas Tech following a legendary career in the Canadian collegiate ranks. “I recruited him to come in and be our eighth man last year and was disappointed and excited that he was our best player.”
Pacific’s loss to Washington State followed a 72-61 home setback Saturday to Saint Mary’s.
However, the Tigers, picked to finish 10th of 12 teams in the WCC’s preseason coaches’ poll, already have surpassed their overall win total by eight games and conference total by four games from last season under Smart.
But Gonzaga is 24-1 all-time against the Tigers, with 22 straight victories. Pacific’s lone win in the series was a 70-60 decision in 1976.
“Gonzaga is not just a Power 4, they’re an elite program, a Top-10 program,” Smart said. “And Saint Mary’s … I don’t know why anyone would want to play those guys in non-conference. It’s crazy. They’re just so methodical. I don’t think people realize how good those two teams are.”
–Field Level Media
