Graham Ike, Nolan Hickman bounce back against Nicholls State

Gonzaga’s Nolan Hickman went from zero points against UConn to 11 points and one of his better all-around efforts of the season against Nicholls State on Wednesday.

Graham Ike, limited to three points by the Huskies, matching his lowest output in a Gonzaga uniform, responded with better than a point-per-minute pace.

“It felt good, but you have to know who you are,” Ike said. “One bad game is not the end of the world. You have to come back to work the next day and just keep sawing wood, as coach (Mark Few) says. Listen to the game plan and just understand who we are as a squad and who I am as an individual, and what I bring to this team.”

On the flip side, Khalif Battle, who nailed four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 21 points against UConn, was in early foul trouble and finished with one point in roughly 13 minutes . Michael Ajayi missed 4 of 5 shots, four nights after hitting all six of his field-goal attempts.

Nicholls State won’t be confused with UConn, but GU’s 112-72 victory Wednesday offered another example of the team’s balanced roster.

“That’s what you have,” Few said. “And if it’s not that guy’s night, the positive thing is somebody’s waiting to come in like (Braden) Huff or Ike and usually one of the two it is their night. Those 4s (Ajayi and Ben Gregg) kind of balance each other out.

“When you look at the total production at each spot, when you combine Braden and Graham, Mike and Ben and ‘KB’ (Battle) and whether it’s Dusty (Stromer) or Nolan, it’s pretty solid. That’s where the depth helps. Hopefully, we can get Emmanuel (Innocenti) in there, too. We’re trying to get him a little more comfortable on the offensive side of things because he’s so good defensively.”

Ike made 6 of 9 shots and all seven of his free throws en route to 20 points. Hickman hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.

“It’s just the squad we got,” Ike said. “Heavy hitters, one through 10 or however many guys we’ve got, as long as we continue to do our jobs, good things will come. Not getting outside ourselves, not doing too much, as long as we stick to our roles we’ll be all right.”

GU got 14 points and 13 rebounds out of its two 4s, led by Gregg’s 10 points and 10 boards. Stromer scored all 10 of his points in the second half on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, including 2 of 2 on 3s.

Senior point guard Ryan Nembhard seems nearly immune to off nights. He posted 18 points and 10 assists against Nicholls State, but did have an uncharacteristic five turnovers.

“This wasn’t one of his better games,” Few said. “He was a little loose with the ball, but he sets such an incredibly high standard. He is human. Up to this point, he’s been pretty super human. Obviously, we lean into him pretty hard.”