Gonzaga's Nolan Hickman on Graham Ike's big night vs. USF Dons: 'He just impacts the game on so many levels'
Few opponents have been able to slow down Graham Ike in the post as of late.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs' 6-foot-9 bruiser recorded his sixth-straight 20-point game to lead his team to an 86-68 win over the San Francisco Dons at the Chase Center on Thursday. Ike had 26 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the floor and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line in 26 minutes before fouling out with the outcome already decided. Attempts from San Francisco to send double-teams were mostly futile, while single coverage was not enough against Ike's efficient left-handed hooks and turnaround jumpers along the baseline.
In transition, Ike caught the Dons out of position on a few occasions which led to multiple trips to the charity stripe early on. He held his own against Mogbo on the defensive end, as the Dons' 6-foot-8 forward was held to 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field.
"Graham was important the entire game," said Nolan Hickman after the game. "We need G on the floor at all times I feel like. He just impacts the game on so many levels, so he’s essential every game."
Here's more of what Hickman and Ike had to say:
Hickman on the message to the team at halftime:
“Just keep chopping wood, man, that’s honestly what it was. [San Francisco] was making some tough shots in the first half, honestly. We knew they weren’t really going to keep up with that momentum and that speed and pace of play that we were at, so, honestly just keep chopping wood. We knew eventually it was going to go our way.”
Hickman on his 19-point second-half performance and what changed from the first half:
“Honestly man it was my teammates. They were just letting me know that the ball’s going to go in the hoop this half, so I just had that in the back of my head, I knew I had to just trust in my work, just let it fly and be aggressive.”
Ike on clinching the No. 2 seed in the WCC Tournament:
“It’s still big for us to get that double-bye but we still have to take care of business on Saturday. That’s what we’re looking forward to, glad we got it done tonight, enjoy it for a couple hours then get onto tomorrow, get ready for Saint Mary’s."
Hickman on what Gonzaga needs to do differently against the Gaels:
“Yeah, we got to come out with a win. That’s the only difference I would say, but honestly if you want to get into specifics, we just, down the stretch of the game we just got to finish the game better and, you know, get stops toward the end of the game.”
