Gonzaga’s Graham Ike Finished With Career-High 19 Rebounds in 93-80 Win Over San Diego

To go along with that, Ike was damn near perfect from the free throw line at 13-15 in front of a quiet McCarthey Athletic Center crowd.

It wasn’t a strong effort at all on the defensive end seeing as how the San Diego Toreros came into the Kennel and dropped 80 points on the Zags (the fifth time they have allowed an opponent to score 80+ points this season). The McCarthey Athletic Center crowd was lacking energy in general as well but still a lot of positives to take away from the Gonzaga victory.

Five Zags scored in double figures through their balanced offensive attack (Gregg – 23 points, Battle – 20 points, Ike – 15 points, Nembhard – 11 points, Huff – 11 points off the bench). Gonzaga had one of their best games at the free throw line this season, going 27-33 (81.8%) in the win.

There was no Michael Ajayi and Jun Seok Yeo tonight against San Diego as both were dealing with the flu which has been going around the team. Ajayi has strung together back-to-back more than solid efforts against Portland and at Loyola Marymount. Let’s hope this sickness doesn’t set him back as the tougher stretch of West Coast Conference opponents approach.

Ben Gregg (game-high 23 points on 9-12 shooting from the field) continues to bring this team to its highest potential when he’s in the starting lineup. His confidence is at an all-time high this season and is feeling his most confident now when stretching out the floor, going 3-3 from deep against the Toreros.

For the first all season, coach Mark Few had Graham Ike and Braden Huff on the court at the same time. Khalif Battle, Ryan Nembhard, and Dusty Stromer were also on the floor. Not a typical Gonzaga lineup to have both big men out there together which is most curious going forward against bigger, taller opponents like Saint Mary’s and Oregon State.

The most unbelievable stat line comes from Ike tonight. He made just a single field goal (1-5 FG) but still ended up with a double-double on 15 points (13-15 from the line) and a career-high 19 rebounds plus 2 blocks. One of his more aggressive showings this season with his continuous ability to get to the charity stripe.

Despite Nembhard throwing up at halftime, he too made some history for the Zags after finishing with 11 points and 11 assists/2 turnovers. Nembhard now has the most double-doubles with points and assists in a single season in Gonzaga history at 7. He had six of those double-doubles all of last season.

Did anyone recognize that one forward for the Toreros? It was the first career start for Colby Brooks, the former Gonzaga walk-on from 2022-24. The San Diego senior made his former home proud with his 4 points and 3 rebounds for the Toreros. It’s great to see former Zags who may have not gotten much playing time during their stay in Spokane find any sort of success elsewhere, even if it’s small.

San Diego’s Kjay Bradley Jr. has got some sauce to his game as the biggest offensive threat for coach Steve Lavin. Off the bench, he contributed a team-high 21 points on 8-18 field goals and 3-10 three-pointers to go along with 4 assists and 2 steals.

Something worth noting despite him not playing any minutes for the Zags: Ismaila Diagne suited up the Zags for the first time since 11/20. He was dealing with a sprained MCL but now looks ready to go going forward in case his name is ever needed to be called upon.

Classes start on Monday so expect the Kennel to be back to packed with students for the Eastern Washington showdown and fight for the top of the WCC standings. Gonzaga hosts Washington State on Saturday, January 11th at 6 PM PT on ESPN+/KHQ. A high-scoring affair for both teams is in order.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho