Graham Ike leads No. 18 Gonzaga into tilt vs. San Diego

Graham Ike is on the proverbial heater for No. 18 Gonzaga.His 27-point performance in Saturday’s 96-68 West Coast Conference romp at Loyola Marymount marked the fourth time in six games that he’s scored at least 20. It was his second-best output of the season.Ike and the Bulldogs (12-4, 3-0) will try to keep things going in a positive direction Wednesday night when they host WCC foe San Diego in Spokane, Wash.Ike’s 16.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game top Gonzaga in both categories. Coach Mark Few said the 6-foot-9, 250-pound senior not only delivered offense against Loyola Marymount but got the job done on defense, too.”He was forceful … he was just being Graham,” Few said. “He was just really solid. That’s such an advantage for us to get that out of that 5-spot and defensively, he was terrific, too. He was active and rebounding and contesting shots. I was really happy for him.”It was the third straight win for the Bulldogs, all in conference play. It was their most complete effort in WCC action, according to Few, who saw his team marry its usual efficient offense with a good defensive performance and earn a plus-7 advantage on the boards.Arkansas transfer Khalif Battle, who’s averaging 13.2 points, pumped in a season-high 26 on just 12 shot attempts against the Lions. His explosiveness has helped Gonzaga construct another top-10 offense in scoring as it ranks eighth in the nation at 87.4 points per game.”I think he’s in a good place,” Few said of Battle. “We’ve got to keep him there.”Point guard Ryan Nembhard has been a big part of Gonzaga’s attack, scoring 11.6 points per game and leading Division I in assists with 9.6 per game.

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