What Gonzaga's Braden Huff said after win vs. Pepperdine

The Bulldogs leaned heavily on their 6-foot-10 redshirt sophomore in the first half of their 89-82 win over the Waves

Mark Few Braden Huff Gonzaga Bulldogs / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

A dominant performance in the paint fueled the Gonzaga Bulldogs past the Pepperdine Waves in their West Coast Conference opener from Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California.

Led by a strong start from Braden Huff off the bench, the Zags hung on for an 89-82 win over the Waves on Saturday. The 6-foot-10 redshirt sophomore finished with 19 points, including 17 on a perfect 8-for-8 start in the first half, as his team prevailed down the stretch while scoring 64 points in the paint. Graham Ike punished the Waves in the second half to end with 16 points, while Khalif Battle had success driving to the rim to finish with a game-high 21 points.

Here's what Huff had to say after the game.

On how Gonzaga was success in the paint vs. Pepperdine

"I think we were shooting a lot of 3s early; they weren't really falling so we knew we had to deliver inside. We were able to do that for the most important part. There were a couple lapses at points, but I feel like we did a pretty good job defensively. I think we just got to stay on top of our coverages. Can't have any mental lapses.

On the pressures that come with playing road games in the WCC

"This game was good for us, and kinda like we talked about it before [the game], but just to be in it, see what that feels like, was good for everyone on the team. We know we gotta be better. We're going to get everyone's best shot, so we got to be better moving forward for sure."

On Khalif Battle's response from being ejected vs. UCLA

"I think it definitely hurt him that he wasn't able to finish out that game for us. Just to have him on the court for the full 40 minutes is a huge safety blanket whenever we need a big basket. He's gonna deliver."

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