Graham Ike had game-high totals of 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting and 11 rebounds as No. 9 Gonzaga defeated Washington State 86-65 in a West Coast Conference game Thursday night in Pullman, Wash.
The Bulldogs (18-1, 6-0 WCC) won their first game without co-leading scorer Braden Huff (17.8 points per game), who sustained a left knee injury in practice earlier this week. School officials said the forward, who sat at the end of the bench with crutches at his side, is expected to miss four to eight weeks.
Adam Miller added 13 points and Jalen Warley scored 11 for Gonzaga, which shot 50% from the field (34 of 68). The Bulldogs outscored Washington State 52-12 in the paint, 27-8 off turnovers and 19-4 on second chances.
Simon Hildebrandt, Ace Glass and Jerone Morton scored 16 points apiece for the Cougars (8-11, 3-3), who shot 40.4% (21 of 52) but were outrebounded 43-29 and committed 17 turnovers while forcing just eight.
Washington State forward ND Okafor, second on the team with an average of 10.1 points per game, battled foul trouble and wasn’t a factor. Okafor played just 11 minutes and fouled out without a point and with just two rebounds.
Gonzaga held a 43-33 lead after a back-and-forth first half.
Washington State scored the game’s first five points before the Bulldogs went on a 15-0 run.
Hildebrandt answered with three consecutive 3-pointers to pull the Cougars within 15-14.
Washington State took a 22-21 lead on a 3-pointer by Glass with 8:10 left in the half, and he made two more from long distance to extend the margin to 28-23.
The Bulldogs closed the half with a 15-3 run over the final five minutes to extend their lead to double digits.
Gonzaga went up by as much as 24 points in the second half.
The Cougars were also short-handed without guard Tomas Thrastarson (broken foot) and wing Rihards Vavers, who combine to average 19.3 points per game.
