Second half surge powers Gonzaga over Santa Clara on Graham Ike's career night

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs were once again locked in a tight battle with the Santa Clara Broncos on a quiet Thursday night in Spokane, heading into the locker room at halftime tied 37-37.

It looked like it would be another back-and-forth affair, and fans were starting to get shades of last year's heartbreaking 103-99 loss at the Kennel - even if the Broncos started 3-15 from the three-point line.

However, a ridiculous 17-0 run - spearheaded by aggressive defense and easy points in transition - turned a small 59-55 lead into a 76-55 blowout, and from there the Zags coasted to a 89-77 victory to move to 17-1 overall and 5-0 in WCC play.

Sloppy turnovers by Gonzaga's guards were a glaring issue in the first half, while the Zags also got outmatched on the glass, which allowed Santa Clara to go on an 11-0 run late in the first half. The Zags did manage to stop the bleeding with an 8-0 run of their own to go into halftime knotted up at 37.

After trading buckets early in the second half, the excellent floor spacing and disciplined offensive sets Santa Clara displayed early on suddenly vanished, while Gonzaga took advantage by generating steals and easy looks at the rim in what ended up being a lopsided victory over a team that came into the game 13-4 and 4-0 in league play, ranking inside the top 60 in the NET.

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

1. Graham Ike would not be denied

It was clear as soon as the ball was tipped on Thursday that Ike held a grudge about what happened in Spokane last year - and that he had no intention of letting it happen again. At the first media timeout, just 4 minutes and 11 seconds into the contest, Ike already had nine points and a pair of rebounds, having shot 3-4 from the field and knocking down three free throws to boot.

Ike finished the first half with 16 points and he went to work early in the second, throwing this Gonzaga team over his shoulder and carrying them through until GU's defense came alive and helped them pull away.

The Colorado native finished with a season-high 34 points on a ridiculous 13-17 shooting, while tacking on 11 boards for his tenth double-double of the year.

The 6'9 big man - who earlier in the day was named to the Wooden Award midseason list - did his damage every which way. He hit mid-range jumpers with hands right in his face, scored effortlessly at the rim, over his shoulder, and even hit a stepback three as the shot clock wound down - just for good measure. Ike also did a great job of drawing contact and getting to the free-throw line, where he was a very effective 7-8.

Gonzaga's star big man was not about to let last year's agonizing loss to Santa Clara happen again, and he did a tremendous job of taking matters into his own hands on Thursday.

2. Fouls galore

Santa Clara came into this game among the most foul-prone teams in college basketball, and Gonzaga did a good job of drawing whistles and getting to the free throw line. Santa Clara's second leading scorer, Elijah Mahi, picked up three fouls in the first half (with just four points), while veteran wing Jake Ensminger and 7'1 center Bukky Oboye had two each.

Ensminger then picked up his fourth when Adam Miller drew a charge midway through the second half, while forward Allen Graves picked up his fourth a few minutes later at the 9:30 mark, with Miller knocking down two free throws to give the Zags their first double-digit lead of the game at 65-55.

The fouls were called extensively in the first half on both teams, but Gonzaga did a much better job of staying disciplined defensively in the final 20 minutes, which made a huge difference as the team finally pulled away and buried the Broncos.

3. Ball security issues

A big key coming into this game was how Gonzaga would respond to Santa Clara's intense ball pressure. The Broncos average over nine steals per game and force turnovers on over 20% of possessions, and despite the comfortable win, Gonzaga did their best to help Santa Clara pad those numbers.

The Zags - who average 10.4 turnovers per game - had ten in the first half alone, thanks to sloppy ball-handling from Grant-Foster and Braeden Smith and two lazy passes from Steele Venters. Pretty much all CBB teams make you pay for making careless mistakes, but doing it against a team that is already well above average at generating takeaways is a recipe for disaster.

Fortunately, Gonzaga tightened the reins in the second half and only turned it over three times, a big part of their huge 17-0 run and ultimate 12-point victory.

Gonzaga has a week off before taking on Washington State in Pullman on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7:00 PM PT.

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