Graham Ike leads No. 8 Gonzaga past No. 25 UCLA for 9th win of the season
Graham had 25 points and five assists and No. 8 Gonzaga beat No. 25 UCLA 82-72 on Saturday night to improve to 9-1.
Ike scored 15 points in the first half, highlighted by a tomahawk dunk with 8:02 remaining that gave Gonzaga a 23-19 advantage. The Bulldogs took their first lead shortly before Ike's dunk on a 3-pointer by Adam Miller, negating a 7-0 deficit.
Tyler Bilodeau led UCLA (7-3) with 22 points. He was 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
UCLA trailed 45-40 at halftime, then had a 9-0 run — capped by Donovan Dent's layup in transition — to take a 54-53 advantage.
The teams traded baskets until the Bulldogs went ahead for good on a 3-pointer by Braeden Smith with 10:37 remaining. That gave Gonzaga a 62-60 lead, and the Bulldogs scored 20 of the final 32 points.
Gonzaga could have won by a wider margin if it converted more of its free throws, as the Bulldogs went just 20 of 32 (62.5%) from the line.
The Bruins struggled to keep up with Ike, who scored a season-high 28 points in Gonzaga's most recent game, a 94-59 rout of then-No. 18 ranked Kentucky last week. Braden Huff added 21 points for the Bulldogs.
Dent had 12 points and a season-high 10 assists for UCLA. Xavier Booker also has 12 points. The Bruins lost for the third time in five games.
Up next
UCLA: Host Arizona State on Wednesday night.
Gonzaga: Host Campbell on Wednesday night.