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Gonzaga Basketball

Buzzer breakdown: Graham Ike stays hot in Gonzaga’s blowout win over LMU

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (13) wrestles a rebound away from Loyola Marymount Lions forward Aaron McBride (16) during the first half of a college basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

LOS ANGELES – Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 96-68 win over Loyola Marymount on Saturday night at Gersten Pavilion.

Ike hot streak

Graham Ike cracked the 20-point mark for the fourth time in six games. The 6-foot-9 senior forward scored 14 points in the opening half and warmed up again later in the second half after LMU had cut into GU’s 27-point lead.

Ike hit a 5-footer, a dunk off Nolan Hickman’s feed and powered inside for a layup while getting fouled. He missed the free throw but nailed a 3-pointer on the next possession to extend Gonzaga’s lead to 77-55.

Ike finished with 27 points, his second-highest scoring game of the season, on 12-of-16 shooting from the field and grabbed nine rebounds. He’s made one 3-pointer in six of the past eight games.

Size disadvantage advantage

LMU had a 3- to 5-inch height edge at four of the five starting positions, but Gonzaga still dominated inside. Forward Alex Merkviladze scored the first points of the game on a post-up on 6-5 Khalif Battle, but LMU couldn’t exploit its advantage for most of the game.

Ike and forward Michael Ajayi helped Gonzaga to a 26-10 edge in paint points in the first half, corresponding with GU’s 46-28 lead. Ike had 14 points and six boards in the opening half and dominated against taller and shorter opponents.

GU won the glass 24-14 in the first half and Ike accounted for the only second-chance points (four) by either team. Gonzaga held a 39-32 rebounding edge overall and a 56-18 advantage in the paint.

Defensive turnaround

The Zags were torched for 50 points in the second half by Pepperdine on Monday and hung on for an 89-82 victory. Gonzaga’s defense has been much more connected in the past two games.

Portland managed just 50 points, 17 in the first half, on Thursday at the Arena. The Pilots made just 33.3% from the field. LMU had similar first-half struggles before heating up in the final 2 minutes to reach 28 points on 32.3% shooting.

GU’s defense slipped in the second half, but most of the damage came with the Zags leading by 20-plus points.