What Gonzaga’s Mark Few said after the Nicholls game

On By Littum

The Gonzaga Bulldogs overcame a sluggish start Wednesday night to get back in the win column with a 102-72 rout of the Nicholls Colonels at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

After losing back-to-backs, the Zags didn’t exactly play with a sense of urgency out of the gate. The Colonels jumped out to an 11-5 lead after Gonzaga started 1-for-5 from the field and committed three turnovers on its first eight possessions. A transition score from Nolan Hickman fired up the Kennel crowd so it fell silent as the home side struggled to string together a couple of productive possessions in a row over the next few minutes.

“I think we’re a bit lethargic and obviously playing a team that’s excited to play,” Mark Few said of his side’s start after the game. “And I think their firmness shocked some of our guys.”

Then a switch flipped. Braden Huff came off the bench and scored six straight points, sparking a 17-2 run by the Bulldogs. Michael Ajayi, though not much of a factor offensively against Nicholls, logged some good minutes defensively toward the end of the first half as the Colonels missed seven of their last eight field goal attempts after Gonzaga’s 6-foot-7 forward checked in around at 5 minute mark.

The Zags rode their momentum into the second half and eventually pulled away late behind a season-high 25 points from Huff. Graham Ike rebounded with 20 points and six rebounds, while Ryan Nembhard recorded his sixth double-double in an 18-point, 10-assist outing for the senior.

Here’s more from Gonzaga’s head coach after the game.

On Braden Huff’s big night:

“He’s one of those guys when you throw him in a game like that, he gets it. Femere was kind of a hot receiver tonight and he gets it and he’ll put the ball in the hole for the most part. He struggled a little bit the other night (against UConn), but for the most part he’ll put it in the hole if he gets time. He’s got good hands and I thought he was pretty good defensively as well.”

On the Bulldogs’ red-hot second half:

“(Nicholls is) a pressure team and so it’s hard to swing the ball. It’s hard to actually run offense against them. So I think our guys settled in and did a better job of looking through it , finding the cutter, finding the drop guy, finding the post And our post was actually posted up for the most part, the ball would be in there. So I mean (we) ended up shooting a high percentage as we shot a lot of layups and a lot things around the rim But we also made some nice 3s, I thought our guys stepped up in the second half especially, it’s good to see Nolan made a couple all good signs going forward.”

On Gonzaga’s balanced offensive attack:

“If it’s not that guy’s night, it’s positive that there’s somebody waiting to come in. Like Huff or Ike — luckily, usually those guys, one of the two, are their night. And a of the two, whether it’s Nolan or (Khalif Battle), it’s their night. The “4s” have kind of been balanced with each other and Graham when you combine (Michael Ajayi) and Ben when you combine KB and regardless of whether it is dusty or KB and Nolan, it’s pretty solid. So that’s where the depth helps. We’re just trying to get him a little more comfortable on the offensive side of things because he’s so good defensively.”

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Continue to follow our Gonzaga coverage on social media by liking us Facebook and follows us on Instagram and Twitter.