Graham Ike recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 23 Gonzaga to a convincing 70-57 victory over No. 17 Saint Mary’s on Saturday night in Moraga, Calif.
Ryan Nembhard added 20 points and 10 assists as the Bulldogs (24-6, 14-2 West Coast Conference) ended the Gaels’ national-best 16-game winning streak. Ben Gregg had 12 points for Gonzaga, which won its eighth straight game.
Aidan Mahaney scored 16 points for Saint Mary’s (24-7, 15-1), which had clinched the outright WCC title with Thursday’s victory over Pepperdine. The Gaels will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament and Gonzaga will be the No. 2 seed.
Mitchell Saxen added 13 points for Saint Mary’s and Augustas Marciulionis had 10 points.
Gonzaga shot 51.7 percent from the floor, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs had a 15-3 edge in fastbreak points.
The Gaels connected on 37.3 percent of their shots and were 8-of-18 from behind the arc.
Mahaney scored five points during a 10-0 surge as Saint Mary’s cut an 18-point deficit to 46-38 with 17:17 left in the game.
However, Gonzaga answered with a 7-0 run to elevate the lead to 15 with 14:42 remaining.
Ike later made a layup to make it 64-46 with 7:20 left. The Gaels scored the next six to move with 12 before Ike scored back-to-back hoops to make it 68-52 with 3:05 to play.
Mahaney drilled a 3-pointer to bring Saint Mary’s within 70-57 with 1:32 left but there wouldn’t be a late flurry as the Bulldogs closed it out.
Ike scored 14 points and Nembhard added 13 points and six assists in the first half as the Bulldogs took a 44-28 advantage. Gonzaga shot 64.3 percent from the floor in the half.
Saxen scored nine in the half for the Gaels, who shot 36.7 percent over the first 20 minutes.
Gonzaga trailed by two before rattling off 12 straight points to take a 24-12 advantage with 9:29 left. Dusty Stromer drained a trey to cap the spurt.
The lead reached 42-23 when Ike made a jumper with two minutes left.
–Field Level Media