What Mark Few Said Following Gonzaga's Win Over Pepperdine

2 jam yang lalu

With its prima large men retired of nan fold, Gonzaga turned to its plethora of perimeter players to sound disconnected Pepperdine, 84-60, in a West Coast Conference matter from McCarthey Athletic Center.

No Graham Ike (ankle) and nary Braden Huff (knee) meant nary problem for nan Bulldogs, who put together different awesome effort connected nan protect extremity of nan level while leaning connected a "small ball" lineup to get nan occupation done.

Davis Fogle led nan all-around effort pinch 17 points connected 4-for-8 shooting, providing nan Zags pinch immoderate changeable creation arsenic they continued to fig retired their violative accuracy without their 2 starring station players connected nan floor.

Fogle's beardown nighttime was astatine nan forefront of a chair portion that astir matched Pepperdine's full output connected nan scoreboard. With Fogle pacing nan charge, nan Zags' reserves mixed for 56 points, outmatching nan team's seasonal mean of 37.3 chair points per contest.

Tyon Grant-Foster and Mario Saint-Supéry helped create separation from nan Waves too, arsenic each chipped successful 12 points and made 4 section goals. Noah Haaland, a walk-on from Rathdrum, Idaho, chipped successful 10 points and 4 rebounds while shooting 4-for-4 from nan field.

Styles Phipps paced Pepperdine (6-15, 1-7 WCC) pinch 13 points connected 3-of-5 shooting. The Waves were held to 22-of-58 (37.9%) shooting from nan field, including 3-of-22 from 3, during their seventh nonaccomplishment successful their past 8 games.

Gonzaga's smaller lineups, which often featured players listed astatine 6-foot-7 aliases shorter, helped nan Zags propulsion distant from nan Waves down nan agelong of nan first half, turning what was a back-and-forth matter into a double-digit separator by nan clip nan 2 teams collapsed for intermission.

Despite having a size advantage, Pepperdine struggled offensively against nan Zags' smaller and quicker rotation, resulting successful a 4-minute scoring drought for nan Waves precocious successful nan first half. Meanwhile, Gonzaga rode an assertive Fogle and timely steals passim a 10-0 scoring tally that was kick-started by a thunderous two-hand jam from nan freshman pinch conscionable complete 7 minutes near successful nan half.

That was a microcosm of nan last 10 minutes of nan first half, arsenic nan Zags outscored nan Waves, 25-6, complete that agelong to return a 47-29 lead into nan locker room. Gonzaga's chair had 31 of nan team's first-half points, outscoring Pepperdine arsenic a full and showing disconnected nan Zags' heavy rotation.

Gonzaga (20-1, 8-1 WCC) didn't return its ft disconnected nan state successful nan 2nd half, cruising to its 12th 20-point triumph of nan play and its eight-straight triumph to unfastened convention play.

The Bulldogs scored 19 points disconnected 15 turnovers from nan Waves and vanished pinch 48 points successful nan overgarment without Ike and Huff successful nan picture. Gonzaga besides won nan conflict connected nan boards, 42-34.

Ike was ruled retired for nan 2nd consecutive crippled while wearing a footwear astir his correct ankle. The 6-foot-9 guardant missed Saturday's 71-50 triumph complete Seattle U owed to ankle soreness.

Huff was expected to miss 4-8 weeks owed to a knee wounded he sustained anterior to nan Zags' roadworthy triumph complete Washington State past Thursday.

Even without its stud frontcourt duo, Gonzaga was capable to widen a fewer triumph streaks pinch Wednesday's result. The Zags improved their tally of occurrence complete Pepperdine to 51 consecutive victories, nan second-longest streak betwixt Division I schools successful men's hoops history (UCLA's 52 consecutive wins complete Cal betwixt 1961 and 1985 stands arsenic nan longest), and improved their grounds against nan Waves nether Mark Few to 54-2.

Gonzaga besides pushed its winning streak connected nan play to 13, marking nan program's longest specified streak since nan 2021-22 play erstwhile nan Bulldogs rattled disconnected 17 consecutive wins from Dec. 9-Feb. 24. The 13-game triumph streak was nan fifth-longest progressive triumph streak successful Division I.

The Zags will purpose for triumph No. 14 successful a statement this Saturday arsenic they big San Francisco (13-8, 5-3 WCC) successful a 5 p.m. tipoff from nan Kennel.

Here's what Few had to opportunity aft Wednesday's game.

On Gonzaga's balanced violative attack

"Yeah, it's going to beryllium different. It comes successful a assortment of ways, depending connected nan day. But I thought for nan astir portion we figured it out, sewage to 84 points."

"It was a small spot smoother successful nan first half. But again, we had unfastened shots. We conscionable missed. We missed immoderate really bully looks successful nan 2nd half."

On nan team's extent coming done successful a large way

"We've needed nan extent now, and truthful now we're getting to spot immoderate guys and ... those are 1 of nan astir apt amended gifts immoderate of those guys person [is] coming disconnected nan bench."

"Obviously, Davis really likes to get it up, and he tin decidedly put up buckets. Tyon does a bully occupation attacking. Depending connected what we're doing astatine that 2 spot, Mario is being really aggressive, which is good."

On his team's protect effort

"Clearly this team, particularly erstwhile we put immoderate of those lineups retired there, and we've been doing it each year; we tin spell defense to discourtesy beautiful good. And I don't deliberation we were rather arsenic bully defensively arsenic we were against Seattle U. I thought we were making immoderate plays present and there, but we were conscionable disconnected conscionable a tick present there, and Pepperdine did a bully occupation of isolating america and sewage immoderate guys successful nan correct spots."

On Noah Haaland's nighttime and domiciled pinch nan team

"I mean, to beryllium honest, he's been doing that nan past 2 years, and he's very worthy of getting this time; he was conscionable playing down 2 All-Americans."

"This isn't an retired of assemblage experience. This is benignant of what we've been seeing each time successful practice. We person assurance successful him. I deliberation nan players person assurance successful him, and hopefully we'll presume we'll spot a batch much of him."

On Davis Fogle's performance

"He was good, he was aggressive. I really liked that play wherever he dumped it down to Noah astatine nan end. I deliberation he needs to proceed to activity connected his playmaking, arsenic good arsenic conscionable his scoring."

"He's 1 of our bigger guys, truthful he's sewage to measurement up and do a small amended occupation connected nan solid for us."