What Gonzaga's players said after win vs. Arizona State

Ryan Nembhard, Khalif Battle and Braden Huff break down the Bulldogs' thrilling victory over the Sun Devils

Gonzaga's Khalif Battle and Ryan Nembhard. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Ryan Nembhard thought he threw the alley-oop pass too high for his teammate Khalif Battle. From just about every angle, it looked like the ball was sailing for the first few rows of the bleachers behind the basket.

Somehow the 6-foot-5 Battle not only got his hands on the ball, he finished off the alley-oop pass in emphatic fashion.

"It wasn't that high," Battle said casually after Gonzaga's 88-80 win over Arizona State on Sunday afternoon. "I told him throw it high all the time. It was fun. Pass was better than the dunk.

The dunk brought the McCarthey Athletic Center to its feet and provided the Zags the spark they needed to close out the Sun Devils late in the second half of a thrilling back-and-forth affair.

Here's more of what Battle and redshirt sophomore Braden Huff had to say after the game.

Huff on how Gonzaga's poise down the stretch compared to last season's team:

"We had points in that game where we struggled to score ... but at the end when we needed them we really locked in and got them. Last year's team it was bunch of new guys, so it took us a while to kind of get acclimated, get used to each other and our roles. But I think this year we got a lot of returners, and guys like KB and Mike, the new guys have kind of fitted in pretty seamlessly. So I think that transition has been pretty easy so far early in the season."

Battle on the difference for him between the first and second half:

"I mean, I don't really focus on scoring. I know I could score. I'm just more focused on playing defense right now and doing winning things. But I know I got a great point guard, I got great guys that's going to give me the ball if I make the right play. So I know I can score ... that's just second nature, but just doing the little things to contribute to winning is most important for me right now."

Nembhard on what Gonzaga needs to do defensively:

"I think we just got to take pride in, you know, one on one matchups. I think one of those teams kind of tried to pick on us a little bit at times. We just got to take pride in guarding your yard and just being a man about it."

Battle on Michael Ajayi's impact:

"Michael goes up for a lot of rebounds. I don't think that the opposition knows, like, how, how athletic he is because he kind of goes in there, like with no conscience. Like he just jumps over people and just to get a basketball. And I love it because it gives us more momentum. It gives us extra possessions. So guys like him and Ben Gregg, go at it a lot in practice, and they're both so talented at rebounding the basketball and doing other things. So without them we don't get this one tonight."

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