Graham Ike scored a season-high 34 points on 13-of-17 shooting and collected 11 rebounds to lead No. 8 Gonzaga to an 89-77 victory over Santa Clara on Thursday night in West Coast Conference play at Spokane, Wash.
Emmanuel Innocenti scored 13 points as the Bulldogs (17-1, 5-0 WCC) notched their 10th consecutive victory. Braden Huff added 12 points as Gonzaga won the showdown between two squads that were unbeaten in WCC play.
The Zags defeated Santa Clara to improve to 52-6 in the all-time series.
Allen Graves had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Broncos (13-5, 4-1), who won their first four conference games by an average of 22.8 points. Christian Hammond added 14 points, Bukky Oboye had 12 and Brenton Knapper tallied 11 points.
No. 12 Michigan State 76, Northwestern 66
Carson Cooper had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Spartans to a win over the Wildcats in a Big Ten contest in East Lansing, Mich.
Jaxon Kohler had 15 points and eight rebounds and Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 15 points for the Spartans (14-2, 4-1), who overcame 15 turnovers.
Nick Martinelli scored a game-high 28 points in defeat for the Wildcats (8-7, 0-4).
No. 16 Illinois 81, Rutgers 55
The Fighting Illini reeled off the final 20 points of the first half to fuel a Big Ten victory over the Scarlet Knights in Champaign, Ill.
The Illini (12-3, 3-1) held the Scarlet Knights (8-8, 1-4) scoreless for the final 8:11 of the first half – a stretch of 13 fruitless possessions – to seize a 43-16 halftime lead. Keaton Wagler paced a balanced Illinois attack with 17 points and seven rebounds. Tomislav Ivisic scored 14 points, while Jake Davis and Andrej Stojakovic added 12 points apiece. Stojakovic grabbed eight rebounds as the Illini owned a 45-32 advantage on the boards.
Freshman Kaden Powers led Rutgers with 12 points, one off his season high. Harun Zrno added 11 points and five rebounds as the Scarlet Knights shot 36.5% from the field and 37.5% at the line.
