The Gonzaga Bulldogs went into Gill Coliseum at Oregon State looking to wipe away the stink of Wednesday's shocking loss to the Portland Pilots, while grabbing some revenge after losing to the Beavers in overtime last year.
Check and check, as the Zags pulled away in the final 12 minutes and secured a comfortable 81-61 victory on Saturday afternoon to move to 11-1 in conference play.
Graham Ike was the star, dropping a career-high 35 points on 13-18 shooting while playing 39 minutes. Tyon Grant-Foster chipped in 15 off the bench, shooting 5-8 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.
The two seniors spoke about Gonzaga's win, bouncing back from the Portland loss, and the upcoming home game against Washington State on Tuesday:
Graham Ike on the past three days
"A lot of great constructive criticism. I think we responded well. It's also been a lot of positive energy despite the loss. We got back to who we are tonight. We wanted to make sure we understood and remembered who we are and how we got to this point. I think we did a great job responding."
Graham Ike on his career scoring night
"I liked every single matchup that was on me tonight. I thought we could exploit mismatches in a lot of different areas and we did. I didn't know I played 39, I felt great honestly. I feel great right now. Can't wait to get some ice and some heat. But shout out to the guys for the relentless effort all 40 minutes."
Tyon Grant-Foster on playing the four
"I haven't really played the four position in a while with this team, but now that I'm back here playing I'm getting back comfortable playing, getting the dunk outs and everything."
Graham Ike on Gonzaga's two turnovers
"I wish I could take my one turnover away. It's great, we took great care of the ball and that ultimately helped us get that 20 point dub. We've been taking really good care of the ball this year and that's something we pride ourselves on. So kudos to the whole team for that."
On Gonzaga's improved defense in the second half
Ike: "Just be more connected, communicate more, be more aligned on both ends of the floor, especially defensively. We have to hang our hard hats on defense, we've been saying it since the beginning of the season. We had to be more locked in on that end, and we were."
Grant-Foster: "We got to play more confident, we were playing very timid for a minute, like we didn't want to make mistakes, but you have to play confident. Play hard, you're going to make up for the mistakes that you do have. That was my thing, just play more confident."
Tyon Grant-Foster on upcoming matchup with Washington State
"Just be confident. We are the Zags, you know what I'm saying? I feel like sometimes we shy away from actually knowing that. We just got to play with a different type of confidence than we have been playing with."
MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS
- What Mark Few said after Gonzaga's 20-point win over Oregon State
- Graham Ike powers Gonzaga to bounce-back win vs. Oregon State
- Gonzaga drops in latest ESPN Bracketology following loss to Portland
- Point spread, betting odds for Gonzaga vs. Oregon State men's basketball game
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/gonzaga as What Gonzaga players said after key road win over Oregon State.