Graham Ike recorded 23 points and nine rebounds to help No. 3 Gonzaga post an 80-67 nonconference road victory over San Diego State on Monday night.
Ryan Nembhard added 19 points and 10 assists and Braden Huff scored 10 points for the Bulldogs (4-0), who never trailed.
Nick Boyd recorded 23 points and nine rebounds and BJ Davis added 15 points for the Aztecs (2-1). Wayne McKinney III had 11 points and Magoon Gwath blocked five shots before fouling out for San Diego State.
The showdown featured programs that are both among the top three in winning percentage in the sport since the start of the 2019-20 season.
Gonzaga’s leading percentage increased to .879 (152-21 record) with the Monday win. Houston (.843, 150-28) is second, with San Diego State (136-35) third as its mark fell to .795.
Gonzaga shot 42.1 percent from the field, including 5 of 20 from 3-point range.
The Aztecs connected on 37.7 percent of their attempts and were 8 of 25 from behind the arc.
Gonzaga led by nine at the break before opening the second half with an 11-4 push to take a 51-35 lead.
Ike scored five points in the first 48 seconds of the half. Nolan Hickman capped the flurry by sinking a jumper with 17:10 remaining.
San Diego State answered with a 10-2 run. Davis scored eight points during the burst to help cut Gonzaga’s lead to 53-45 with 14:26 left.
Ike scored the next four points to move the Bulldogs’ lead to 12 with 11:58 to play.
The Aztecs moved back within eight again on McKinney’s layup with 9:27 remaining.
Ryan Nembhard and Ike each hit two free throws to make it 68-55 with 5:58 left.
Nembhard made a jumper with 3:26 to go and Ike added a turnaround jumper 2:11 left to increase the Gonzaga lead to 74-60 and effectively sew up the victory.
Huff scored all of his points in the first half to help the Bulldogs build a 40-31 advantage. Boyd had 11 in the half for the Aztecs.
Ike’s basket capped a 12-2 surge that saw Gonzaga pull away from a tie to take a 24-14 lead with 8:45 left in the half.
The Bulldogs led 38-25 after a 3-pointer by Huff with 1:59 left before San Diego State scored six of the final eight in the half to move within nine.
–Field Level Media
