Difference makers: Graham Ike’s scoring, Ryan Nembhard’s 3-pointers help Gonzaga pull away from Pacific

Ryan Nembhard

It hadn’t been Nembhard’s finest night, but the junior point guard came through with three big 3-pointers in a 4-minute stretch in the second half. The first gave Gonzaga a 56-54 lead. The second, which featured a friendly bounce on the rim, followed a Ben Gregg 3-pointer and pushed Gonzaga’s lead to 62-56. The third answered a 3-pointer by Pacific’s Judson Martindale and restored GU’s nine-point lead with 4 minutes remaining. Nembhard finished with 12 points and four rebounds.

Graham Ike

Ike, much the way he did against San Francisco on Thursday in Spokane, went to work in the second half after being limited to 4 minutes in the first half with two fouls. The 6-foot-10 center scored 12 points in the first 7:30 as the Zags quickly erased a 35-34 halftime deficit. Ike made 8 of 11 field-goal attempts and nailed his only 3-point attempt en route to 20 points, 18 in the closing half.

Turning point

Gonzaga couldn’t shake the Tigers until going on a 20-7 run to move on top 76-63 with 2:10 remaining. It was even at 56 when Gregg started the spurt with a 3-pointer with 7:10 left. Nembhard added two 3s and Ike added a three-point play on a putback basket. Baskets by Hickman and Ike extended Gonzaga’s lead to 13.