Graham Ike puts Gonzaga on his back in major rivalry win over Saint Mary's

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs remain undefeated in WCC play after dispatching rival Saint Mary's, 73-65, on Saturday evening in Spokane.

Graham Ike returned after a three-game absence and dropped 30 points in his final game against the Gaels at The Kennel, while excellent defensive pressure and clutch shooting from Emmanuel Innocenti and Mario Saint-Supery helped Gonzaga pick up their 15th straight win.

Early in Saturday's game, Gonzaga managed to do something they've often struggled to do against Saint Mary's - they got out and ran. Both Braeden Smith and Saint-Supery were pushing the pace as often as possible, leading to transition buckets for both Davis Fogle and Tyon Grant-Foster, with Gonzaga pushing the lead out to 19-9 after about ten minutes.

The Gaels eventually tightend up defensively and went on a 9-0 run thanks to a couple turnovers from Smith, cutting the lead down to one, 23-22, with 6:00 minutes to go.

Gonzaga slumped badly late in the first half, not only with careless turnovers but undisciplined defense which led to Saint Mary's going on a 12-2 run to close the half, which included five points in the final 45 seconds...all at the free throw line. After Fogle went under on a screen, Ismaila Diagne was forced to step out and fouled Joshua Dent on a three point attempt. Dent - who shoots 94.6% from the free throw line - calmly drilled all three to extend SMC's lead to 36-34.

After Gonzaga failed to score on offense, Fogle fouled Liam Campbell at half court with 0.1 seconds on the clock, giving the Gaels two more points at the stripe on what would have been a desperation half court heave.

The Zags didn't crumble after a poor end to the half, however, making major adjustments in the second half to limit turnovers, win on the boards, and get better looks for Ike around the rim.

While the two teams ultimately played fairly close for most of the half, the Zags took the lead for good on a three from Mario Saint-Supery at the 11:58 mark, avenging the last two seasons where Gonzaga lost at home to these Gaels.

Below is a look at three key takeaways from Gonzaga's massive win over rival Saint Mary's:

1. Graham Ike is back

Ike was on the floor for both of Gonzaga's losses to Saint Mary's in Spokane the past two seasons - and he was not about to let that happen again. The 6'9 big man - who missed the past three games with ankle soreness - came out of the gate firing, scoring five points in the first four minutes which helped the Zags out to an early 11-7 lead.

The big man did struggle at times with the size and length of 7'1 Harry Wessels and 7'3 Andrew McKeever, often settling for contested mid range jumpers, but when the team needed a bucket it felt like he was always there.

Case in point, with just under 90 seconds to go and a seven point lead, Ike had the ball on the perimeter and - after an uncharacteristic defensive mistake by the Gaels - hit a wide open three to give Gonzaga an insurmountable ten point lead. And, for good measure, he blocked a shot at the rim on the ensuing possession - sending the Kennel crowd into a frenzy.

Ultimately the senior finished with a game-high 30 points on 11-20 shooting, including 3-5 from 3, 5-5 from the line, as well as four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block.

The emotions ran high, as they always do, but Ike stepped up to the task and put the team on his back - even on a bum ankle - just like superstar players do.

2. Emmanuel Innocenti stepped up

One of the best parts of rivalry games is that - inevitably - an unexpected hero arrives for the winning team. Role players that few other fanbases would ever remember become icons, and villians, because of performances in games like this.

Ike may have been the star, but Emmanuel Innocenti will be a name uttered by Saint Mary's fans for a while after the 6'5 junior carried the Zags in the second half with a defining performance on Saturday night.

Innocenti did not score in the first half but immediately got going offensively in the second, scoring 10 points in the first six minutes - which included a pair of made threes. Not only was the junior a much needed spark offensively, he provided his trademark outstanding on-ball defense - taking turns on Joshua Dent, Liam Campbell, and Mikey Lewis - and was huge on the offensive glass as well.

All told Innocenti finished with 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, as well as one steal and one block. Even with his strong overall statline, Innocenti's defensive impact doesn't always show up in the box score - although a look at how the Gaels shot the rock gives a pretty good picture:

3. Lock down Defense

Gonzaga made mistakes in this game defensively - notably putting the Gaels on the line a whopping 25 times - but tha twas about the only offense Randy Bennett's team was able to muster.

23 of SMC's 65 points were at the stripe, with the Gaels shooting a pitiful 12-32 (37.5%) on two pointers and just 6-21 (29%) from three.

Innocenti was a big part of that but so too were Tyon Grant-Foster, Jalen Warley, Mario Saint-Supery, and freshman Davis Fogle who recorded two blocks and a steal.

Even without a real rim protector, Gonzaga managed to force the Gaels into tough, heavily contested shots all game long. SMC's leading scorer and the previous WCC Player of the Year favorite - Paulius Murauskas - had just 15 points on 5-14 shooting, while double-digit scorer Mikey Lewis had just 4 points on 1-5 shooting in 19 minutes.

Gonzaga moves to 10-0 in conference play, with a road trip to Oregon to take on the Portland Pilots and Oregon State Beavers next week. Their next tip will be Wednesday, Feb. 4 at the Chiles Center against UP at 7:00 PM on ESPN+.