Feb. 15—SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It was a streaky night for Gonzaga, but in the best way possible.
The Zags extended one of the most impressive streaks they have going under longtime coach Mark Few with a 94-86 win over Santa Clara at the Leavey Center.
Saturday's result clinched the 19th straight 25-win season for Gonzaga, which will now shoot for its ninth 30-win season under Few with six more games guaranteed — four in the regular season and at least one each at the West Coast Conference Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
With another exceptional performance, Graham Ike also added to his streak of 20-point games, giving him seven consecutive. Ike, who also had seven straight during his first season in Spokane, needs to hit that number on Wednesday against San Francisco to tie Derek Raivio for the most consecutive 20-point games by any Gonzaga player in the last 20 seasons.
It wasn't all Ike against the Broncos, though. We explore that and a few other topics in today's rewind.
Every dog's day
Posing a postgame question to Mark Few, a reporter ran through the various Gonzaga players that made contributions at different points of Saturday's victory.
Ike topped the list, scoring 21 points and 15 rebounds in another outstanding all-around performance for the All-American candidate who improved his case for WCC Player of the Year.
Tyon Grant-Foster picked up Gonzaga at both ends, chipping in with 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. Adam Miller came through when the Zags needed it, drilling a key 3-pointer and squeezing 16 of his 21 points into the final seven minutes of the second half.
Davis Fogle jump-started the Zags with a personal 4-0 run in the second half and fellow freshman Mario Saint-Supery operated smoothly at the point guard spot while finishing with eight points, five assists and four rebounds.
With so many contributors up and down the final stat sheet, it might have been easy to miss someone.
"Emmanuel," Mark Few added, reminding reporters junior forward Emmanuel Innocenti was also a factor in what the Zags were able to do on both sides of the floor, scoring 16 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and one steal. "Emmanuel was spectacular all game. Defensively, with his cuts, with his offensive rebounds, free throws. It took a village and that's what we've got.
"I tell these guys throughout the year, every dog has his day. Some of them, I think we've all been kind of waiting, waiting for Adam to bust out, for Tyon to bust out with something like that. It's certainly great to see when it happens."
Grant-Foster galvanized the Zags in the second half, particularly when they had to play without Ike down the stretch after the senior was whistled for his fourth foul. Grant-Foster attacked downhill and skied for rebounds, often outjumping two or three Santa Clara players. The senior had 13 of his 20 points and six of his seven rebounds in the second half.
"It was a heroic effort from Tyon, man. He was everywhere," Ike said. "On the boards, flying around on both ends of the floor. That's him, man, and he can do that every single night. We needed it tonight, so kudos to him, kudos to Ace for stepping up and holding it down, E (Innocenti) holding it down, our whole team holding it down, the young freshmen holding it down. Everybody held it down tonight, that's ultimately why we got the dub."
Made for March?
Few won't be in the room next month when NCAA Selection Committee members meet to handpick 37 at-large teams that fill out the 68-team bracket, but as someone who's participated in the last 27 editions of college basketball's premier postseason event, he has a unique feel for what an NCAA Tournament team looks like.
Few expressed last week that Santa Clara deserved a spot in the field and the Broncos passed the eye test for a second time on Saturday, hanging with the Zags for long stretches at the Leavey Center.
"Listen, Santa Clara's an NCAA Tournament team. We've played 28 straight and we've played a lot of games in the tournament," Few said. "They're an NCAA Tournament team. Not only a tournament team, but a team that can win a game or games in the tournament. That's why this is just a heckuva win. It took all we had. We were extremely resilient, but we had to dig probably as deep as we have all year, especially with this crowd and everything. Just a great college basketball game."
Santa Clara was firmly in the NCAA Tournament field prior to tipoff and only dropped one spot in the NET ratings, from No. 41 to 42, after absorbing its second WCC loss and first home loss of the season. The Broncos' next Quad 1 opportunity comes next Saturday against Saint Mary's in Moraga. That game will also be crucial for the Gaels, who sit third in the WCC standings and might require a victory over one of Gonzaga or Santa Clara to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
"Ultimately I don't know. That's for the committee to do, that's their job," Ike said when asked about Santa Clara's NCAA chances. "They're a great team, they're coached by a great coach that's been doing this for a long time and has had great players come through this program. They play the right way, kudos to them. I don't know if they're a tournament team or not. That's not up to me."
Warley the warrior
Senior wing Jalen Warley was Gonzaga's most impactful player during a five-game stretch without one or both of Ike and junior forward Braden Huff. The Virginia transfer who sat out last season had four double-digit scoring games during that period and averaged five rebounds to go with two steals while playing 30.4 minutes per game.
Warley's minutes have tailed off in recent games, mostly because of a severe thigh bruise he suffered inside the first two minutes of an 87-80 loss at Portland.
The senior hasn't played more than 23 minutes in the last four games and struggled to run down the floor after failing to make a layup in traffic midway through the first half on Saturday.
Warley checked out shortly after the play and spent most of the half pedaling on a stationary bike next to Gonzaga's bench to keep his legs warm.
"He's really hurting, he's not even practicing," Few said. "It's just one of those things that's going to take a while. He's in a lot of pain. He hasn't been able to practice. I think it's starting to affect his wind a little bit. He was so tired tonight, but he's a warrior."
Warley played just 13 minutes at Santa Clara, finishing with two points, two rebounds and two steals. The upcoming schedule gives the wing three full days to recover before Gonzaga takes the court Wednesday against San Francisco at Chase Center. The Zags have two more off days before returning home to play Pacific, then three more rest days before a home finale against Portland.