Gonzaga retakes first place in WCC with gutsy road win over Santa Clara

The Zags secured a hard fought 94-86 win over the Broncos on Saturday night

Feb 14, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (center) gestures after scoring against the Santa Clara Broncos during the first half at Leavey Center. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs retook their rightful place atop the West Coast Conference standings, holding on to defeat the Santa Clara Broncos, 94-86, in front of a packed house at the Leavey Center on Saturday evening.

Both Adam Miller (21 points) and Emmanuel Innocenti (16) set their Gonzaga career-highs, while Graham Ike once again put on a show with 17 first-half points - and plenty of interacting with a pumped-up student section for the Broncos.

Santa Clara gave the crowd plenty to love early, jumping out to a 17-9 lead across eight minutes of game play, scoring 14 of those points in the paint and outrebounding the Zags early.

Gonzaga took their first lead with just under six minutes to go into halftime, and went into the break up five - a lead that was erased nearly immediately by the Broncos, who came out of the locker room firing. Santa Clara drilled three of their first four three-pointers in the final 20 minutes, and the game went back and forth for most of the half.

However, the Zags were finally able to put the game away down the stretch, thanks to Miller. The 6'3 senior guard had just five points through the first 33 minutes of game time, but scored 16 in the final 6:52, including a momentum-swinging three, a 7-8 showing from the free throw line, a one-handed flush, and an alley-oop to Tyon Grant-Foster for good measure.

Gonzaga (25-2, 13-1) sits one game up on Santa Clara and 1.5 up on Saint Mary's, and now holds a crucial tiebreaker over the Broncos.

Below are three key takeaways from Gonzaga's win over Santa Clara on Saturday:

1. Graham Ike is Hercules

Ike scored 34 points with 11 rebounds back on Jan. 8 when these teams met in Spokane, and that was with running mate Braden Huff still in the picture.

With Huff on the shelf, Ike had to take on an even bigger role offensively - and he showed he was more than ready for the responsibility.

Feb 14, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Santa Clara Broncos guard Christian Hammond (1) shoots against Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (15) during the first half at Leavey Center. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The 6'9 big man dropped 17 points with nine rebounds and two assists...in the first half. He shot 8-12 from the field, blocked a shot off the backboard - complete with a finger wag a la Dikembe Mutombo - and blew a kiss to the Santa Clara student section after drilling a three to tie the game up.

While he wasn't nearly as impactful in the second half, in part due to foul trouble, he still finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds - his seventh straight game of 20 or more points dating back to the previous matchup against the Broncos on Jan. 8.

Ike's emotions have gotten the best of him at times, but when he's fired up and completely dialed in, there aren't many teams in college basketball who can shut him down.

2. Emmanuel Innocenti loves playing Santa Clara

Arguably, the best game Innocenti played this year was against the Broncos in Spokane back in January, when he scored 13 points on 4-4 shooting, but he managed to top that on Saturday.

The junior guard scored a season-high 16 points on 6-11 shooting, while grabbing five offensive rebounds and dishing out two assists. He played almost the entire game for Gonzaga, but only had one turnover while once again showcasing his relentless on-ball defense - a skill that has endeared him to coach Few and the Gonzaga faithful.

Innocenti's steal on a skip pass with just under 90 seconds to go and a six-point lead was perhaps the most important play of the entire game, serving as a brutal death blow to Santa Clara and helping Gonzaga return to first place in the WCC.

It's fair to wonder if Gonzaga would have won either game against the Broncos without the work Innocenti did on both ends of the floor, and he'll remain a crucial piece for this team down the stretch.

3. Three point (and free throw) shooting woes continue

If it's not right at the rim, Gonzaga's offense just flat out isn't delivering.

The three-point shooting has been a major issue since Braden Huff's injury over a month ago, and that trend continued on Saturday night.

The Zags shot a pitiful 3-18 from beyond the arc, which included a 0-4 performance from Saint-Supery, 0-3 from Innocenti, and 0-2 from Grant-Foster.

Gonzaga came into the game shooting 34.9% from three on the year, but sat just 29.6% over their last eight games - and they sure didn't help that percentage on Saturday.

Feb 14, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few yells during the first half against the Santa Clara Broncos at Leavey Center. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Similarly, the Zags could not convert from the charity stripe, shooting an abysmal 19-29. Ike, who came into the game a 79% shooter, went 0-3, while Grant-Foster once again did a great job of getting to the line but a less-than-stellar job actually putting them into the hoop, finishing 6-11.

The only player who made both a three-pointer and a free throw in this game was Adam Miller, who shot 2-4 from three and 7-8 from the free throw line en route to a Gonzaga career-high 21-point performance.

Gonzaga will have to show more offensive firepower from distance if they want to make a deep run in March, and of course, need to knock down free throws in late-game situations to avoid ugly losses - which they were able to do on Saturday.

Next up for Gonzaga is another trip to the Bay Area to take on the Dons of San Francisco at the Chase Center on Wednesday, February 18. The game will tip at 8:00 PM PT on ESPN2.