‘Control what you can control’: Graham Ike sits through most of first half, returns to lift Gonzaga over Pacific 82-73

STOCKTON, Calif. – Graham Ike and Anton Watson have been indispensable pieces for Gonzaga’s frontcourt this season. More than once, the Bulldogs have learned how fast things can snowball when the veteran forwards aren’t on the floor.

Gonzaga weathered a frightening first-half stretch with Ike and Watson on the bench at the same time, entered halftime trailing Pacific by one point, then leaned heavily on its starting frontcourt to claw out an 82-73 win over Pacific at the Alex G. Spanos Center.

After picking up two quick fouls within the first 4 minutes of the first half, Ike sat for nearly 14 minutes to close the half. The junior forward used that time to regain composure, rest his body and dissect Pacific’s defense from a different viewpoint.

The game plan Ike devised on the bench helped Gonzaga build a lead once the big man was back on the floor. Ike went straight to work, giving Gonzaga’s offense an instant boost with a layup on the first possession coming out of halftime before turning away a Pacific shot at the other end of the floor.

Ike kept coming, one possession after another, and the transfer forward scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to help the Zags overcome a halftime deficit for the second time in three days and improve to 15-5 on the season and 6-1 in West Coast Conference play.

“Just can’t get upset with it, just got to control what you control,” Ike said. “Just stay locked in, see what the defense is doing, how they’re guarding us. For instance, they were going under (point guard) Ryan (Nembhard), got to set the angles right when you get back into the game and that’s ultimately how you stay locked in while off the floor.”

Pacific, which entered Saturday’s game still searching for its first WCC win, led for stretches in the first half and went in front 35-34 when sophomore point guard Moe Odum drilled a pull-up 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.

Gonzaga faced a multitude of issues in the first half – the Bulldogs made just 2 of 11 from the 3-point line – but two of the biggest occurred when Ike was whistled for his second foul at the 16:09 and when Watson picked up No. 2 with 5:56 remaining in the half.

Ben Gregg and Braden Huff did a fine job of buoying Gonzaga’s frontcourt for the time being, but the Bulldogs still went into halftime with just 34 points, matching their second-worst output in the first half of a game this season, and struggled to string together consistent stops against a Pacific team that scored 28 points two days earlier in a blowout loss at Saint Mary’s.

“Obviously, we were cycling through a good little chunk of foul trouble trying to protect some guys, just trying to get to the half,” GU head coach Mark Few said.

“Just the way some things are officiated and stuff, it’s hard to trust they’re not going to pick up their third foul just the way the game was going.”

Ike had seven early points to open the second half, and Watson made his usual scoring and rebounding contributions, scoring on a putback to give the Zags a two-point lead. Watson picked up his third and fourth fouls later in the half but was largely able to stay on the floor while registering 12 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double.

Gonzaga waited out an ice-cold stretch shooting from the 3-point line and followed with one of its better halves of the season. Nembhard, who surpassed 1,000 career points on Saturday, made a critical 3-pointer that gave the Zags a 56-54 lead.

After Pacific tied it on free throws from Cam Denson, Gregg buried another GU 3-pointer to extend the lead to 59-56.

Nembhard and fellow guard Nolan Hickman each connected three times from behind the arc and Ike made his first 3-pointer in WCC play, and first since Gonzaga’s opening game at the Maui Invitational against Purdue.

Hickman had 19 points, falling one short of his career high, while Gregg scored 13 points and Nembhard added 12.

“Any time you make shots, the offense looks better,” Few said. “If you don’t make shots, the offense doesn’t look good.”