Graham Ike's All-American statement among takeaways from Gonzaga's win over Saint Mary's

For what may be the final time in their rivalry series, Saint Mary’s traveled to Spokane to play the Gonzaga Bulldogs, a game with both WCC standings and NCAA Tournament implications. The home team had an early lead, but the Gaels went on a big run to take a halftime lead.

However, Gonzaga made a big run of its own to take back the lead and ultimately never relinquished, winning 73-65 to take a two-game lead over the Gaels in the WCC standings in the race for one more regular season title before the Bulldogs head to the rebuilt Pac-12 Conference. 

Here are some takeaways from the Bulldogs victory.

1. Graham Ike’s All-American moment

When Braden Huff was healthy, it was hard to separate him and Ike in terms of value for Gonzaga. And based on how much talent there is throughout the country, it was going to be nearly impossible for the team to get two players on the All-American lists at the end of the year. But Ike (18.7 ppg and 8.5 rpg) has the ability to make his own case.

He did so last night, scoring 30 points against the Gaels defense, including a trio of three-pointers. If he keeps putting up these kinds of stat lines for a top-10 team, look for the senior center to get more than just WCC Player of the Year at the end of the season.

2. Jalen Warley’s emergence as a major piece on the team

Replacing Huff in the lineup has been Warley, a defensive utility piece who has proven to be just as valuable a transfer pickup as Tyon Grant-Foster. On Saturday night, the former FSU/Virginia guard scored 33 points, producing 10 points and seven rebounds while playing stellar defense on whoever he guarded all night. 

While Ike has become the favorite for WCC Player of the Year, Warley may also have the edge for WCC Defensive Player of the Year.

3. Emmanuel Innocenti’s big 3 minutes

With around 17 minutes to go, Gonzaga was trailing by five points to the Gaels, with the offense outside of Ike sputtering. In comes Innocenti, who scores 10 straight points on his own to tie the game up. From then on, the Bulldogs would never trail again en route to the victory.

Those few minutes were the only time the junior wing would score in the game, and it was massive to prevent Saint Mary’s from gaining any more traction in the second half. The fact that he was tied for second in scoring on the team with just that sequence alone can be talked about for another day. But he proved to be the latest in a long line of notable X-Factor performances in this rivalry win.