What Mark Few said after Gonzaga's win over Arizona State

Bulldogs amped up the defensive intensity to outlast the Sun Devils in a thriller from Spokane

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga men's basketball team fended off Arizona State in a highly contested back-and-forth affair from the McCarthey Athletic Center on Sunday.

Redshirt sophomore Braden Huff led the charge with 21 points, including a two-hand dunk in the final minute to seal the Bulldogs' 88-80 victory over the Sun Devils. Sixth-year guard Khalif Battle added 19 points, two of which came on a highlight dunk in the second half, and knocked down three 3-pointers. Ryan Nembhard posted his second double-double in as many games to start the season, as he put up 13 points and dished out 11 assists.

"I mean we just lean on him so hard," Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said of Nembhard. "I mean, he has 11 assists and no turnovers. I mean, I think the other night, he had 11 assists, two turnovers, and it's just an incredible luxury to have. I mean, he's really, really good. I'm surprised. Hopefully he'll start getting a little more love and attention on the national scene, because he's something."

Here's more from coach Few following the Bulldogs' win over the Sun Devils.

On Gonzaga's resiliency in the second half:

Gonzaga senior Khalif Battle. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

"I think we did a good job of closing the game. After watching [the Sun Devils'] Santa Clara game — I think Santa Clara is going to be really good this year — we knew that they were starting to figure it out. They look tough and they look versatile, and they got a lot of guys and they all bring a little bit of something different. And I think Bobby [Hurley] has done a really, really nice job creating isos (isolation plays for his guards). We had troubles with those isos against USC and had some trouble tonight. But through it all, we kept playing good offense and closed really, really well."

On Braden Huff playing big minutes down the stretch:

Gonzaga forward Braden Huff. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

"He was good. He was good his first run, and we hung with him, and then went back to him in this into the first half and then he was really good. He was attacking their posts inside and he was finding the ball and for the most part, he wasn't hurting us too badly defensively. So that's why we just kind of let him go."

On Michael Ajayi's impact off the bench:

Gonzaga senior Michael Ajayi. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

"He was great. I mean think about that run in the first half, we were kind of in a little lull when he got in there and just did what Mike does, man, he just plays with just great energy and he just assumes every ball is his once they hit the rim and he goes flying in there. And that's another quality that we haven't had in these last couple of teams. And it's nice to have. He's still kind of learning everything. But I mean, he gets 12 boards in 20-something minutes. We need every one of them. And then he made a huge defensive stop down the stretch. They were really isolating number eight (Jihad Basheer) on us, and a lot of guys didn't have an answer. And he made a big stop there."

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