Without Graham Ike, Gonzaga locks down on defense in road win over Seattle U

Mario Saint-Supery and relentless defensive pressure led the Zags to a 21-point road win on the road

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Davis Fogle (4). | Photo courtesy of Gonzaga University Athletics

Despite missing leading scorers Graham Ike and Braden Huff, the Gonzaga Bulldogs locked down on defense and secured a very comfortable 71-50 win over the Seattle University Redhawks.

Gonzaga moves to 19-1 overall and 7-0 in league play and is now in sole possession of first place in the WCC after Saint Mary's fell on the road at Santa Clara on Saturday.

The final score is a bit misleading as Gonzaga was only up seven, 49-42, at the 8:00 minute mark before closing the game on a 22-8 run.

A bit of uncertainty on what to do offensively resulted in a 6-2 deficit for Gonzaga at the first media timeout, but after bringing in Davis Fogle and Mario Saint-Supery the Zags went on a 14-5 run - at one point doing so with a lineup featuring a quartet of 6'7 wings in Tyon Grant-Foster, Jalen Warley, Steele Venters, and Fogle, along with Saint-Supery.

Both teams played tight defense throughout the first half, with an alley-oop from Saint-Supery to Grant-Foster giving Gonzaga an eight-point lead, 32-24, heading into halftime.

The offensive lull continued into the second half, combining to shoot 1-10 in the opening four minutes as they reacted to each other's halftime adjustments.

With no Ike or Huff, Gonzaga gave sophomore Ismaila Diagne his first career start, and he totaled three points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes - but sat most of the second half after picking up his fourth foul at the 13:46 mark.

From there, Gonzaga played small, and the team's relentless ball pressure and a monster scoring night from Saint-Supery gave the Zags a confidence-boosting win over a team that nearly took them down in Spokane two weeks ago.

Below is a look at three takeaways from Gonzaga's 19th win of the season, and second straight 20+ point victory on the road.

1. Gonzaga's new look offense

As one would expect, Gonzaga had to make some significant changes to their offense without Ike and Huff. Instead of consistently dumping the ball down onto the block and going from there, Gonzaga played smaller, faster lineups that led to more opportunities to score in transition.

The no big lineup allowed Gonzaga to fly up and down the floor in transition, and when in the halfcourt, the Zags ran a lot of side-to-side ball screen actions - giving the guards all kinds of room to operate without any big men taking up space down on the block.

Tyon ✈️ pic.twitter.com/Hlx79S2gpw

— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) January 18, 2026

While no one would call it a particularly good offensive night for Gonzaga, who shot 47% from the field and 33% from three, they were able to find gaps in Seattle's high-pressure defense by attacking the rim, and relied heavily on one player in particular when it mattered most down the stretch:

2. Mario Party in Seattle

The biggest beneficiary of this new look offense was Saint-Supery, who relentlessly attacked off-ball screens in the first half before going on an absolute heater from the perimeter.

Saint-Supery was Gonzaga's primary source of scoring when the Zags' offense stagnated midway through the second half, hitting a trio of threes in quick succession to keep Seattle from making a prolonged push. He ultimately finished with 20 points on 7-10 shooting, accounting for four of Gonzaga's six made threes on the night.

Consistency has been an issue for the Spanish freshman this season, but when he's playing at his best, opponents have really struggled to slow him down. With Huff out for the foreseeable future, Saint-Supery's scoring will be counted on in a big way for coach Few and the Zags.

3. Defense didn't skip a beat

While Gonzaga's offense looked quite a bit different on Saturday, the team's relentless ball pressure defense was largely the same. Seattle had as many turnovers (18) as made field goals with 2:42 remaining in the game, and they finished the contest shooting 14-32 (43.7%) on twos and 5-21 (24%) from three.

Diagne set the tone by blocking a dunk attempt by center Austin Maurer on the second possession of the game, but it was Gonzaga's active hands on the perimeter and in the passing lanes that sealed Seattle's fate.

Fogle hustle play pic.twitter.com/f6VSX25ZnY

— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) January 18, 2026

Gonzaga totaled a ridiculous 14 steals on the night, their second-highest total of the season after securing 18 thefts against Southern Utah in mid-November. Jalen Warley paced the Zags with four, while Davis Fogle had three and Innocenti, Saint-Supery, and Grant-Foster grabbed two each.

Ike is listed as day-to-day for Gonzaga, but the Zags showed what they are capable of even with their two highest scorers on the shelf - a scary proposition for the rest of the WCC.

Gonzaga hosts Pepperdine next, on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 6:00 PM on ESPN+.