What Gonzaga players said after pulling out gutsy win over Arizona State

Graham Ike and Tyon Grant-Foster broke down the Bulldogs' victory over the Sun Devils

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (15). | Photo by Myk Crawford

Graham Ike's been through enough battles in both Gonzaga threads and going back to his Wyoming days to know some good things require a bit of patience.

So, as Arizona State seized momentum early on in Friday's bout with the Zags at Desert Financial Arena, Ike wasn't hard-pressed to force unnecessary or heavily-contested shots over multiple defenders for the sake of trying to dig his team out of an early hole.

Like a veteran boxer looking for an opening, Ike withstood some punches out of the gate before seizing his opportunity to strike back. All of a sudden, his patented hook shot over the right shoulder was too much to defend, and his physicality around the rim created chances to tack on easy points at the charity stripe.

After hitting the bench at the 12:35 mark with nothing to show for in the scoring column, Ike rattled off Gonzaga's last seven points of the first half, including a ferocious one-hand slam over a couple of defenders before the buzzer sounded, to head into the locker room with a team-high 11 points.

Tyon Grant-Foster and the Bulldogs' second unit helped shift the flow of momentum with a tight defensive grip, preventing the Sun Devils from scoring over a 5-minute period while fueling a 19-2 scoring run on the other end of the floor with strong drives to the rim.

Ike, who dealt with foul trouble in the second half, went on to finish with 20 points and nine rebounds, leading the Zags to a 77-65 win over the Sun Devils in a sporadic contest featuring a combined 58 free throw attempts, 44 personal fouls and a couple of technicals assessed to the home team. Grant-Foster recorded his first double-double in a Gonzaga uniform, tallying 14 points and 12 rebounds in the team's first true road test of the season.

Here's what Ike and Grant-Foster said after the game.

Ike on Gonzaga's poise down the stretch

"I actually thought it was a great team effort from everybody trying to keep the team cool, calm and collected. Throughout those timeouts ... just trying to stay focused on the possession. That's the biggest thing."

Grant-Foster on learning from Gonzaga's win

"We got a lot to learn. Certain things that happened down the stretch that shouldn't happen, but, yeah, just a learning experience. We got to watch a lot of film and really get into detail on what's going on. Because we got a lot of big games coming up and we can't afford to make certain mistakes."

Ike on playing through foul trouble

"I adjusted to the game. We knew they were calling fouls — a lot in the first half — so just trying to still be physical but legal."

Grant-Foster on the emotions of coming back to the Phoenix area

"I have a lot of friends that came here, that I got while I was here, and most of them, were all out there. I think I had like 20-25, people here, so it was fun getting the win and getting to play in front of them again."

Ike on overcoming a slow first half offensively

"It's like a boxing match; you're not gonna get the knockout in the first, second or third round. You just got to stay with it, just keep making the right plays on both ends of the floor, and good will come. But I just want to give kudos to the team for sticking with it, fighting through adversity and coming out with the dub."