Gonzaga Nation

In-game updates and analysis of Gonzaga vs. Campbell college basketball game

Bulldogs host the Camels in a nonconference tilt from the Kennel
Cole Forsman|
Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Braeden Smith (3).
Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Braeden Smith (3). | Photo by Mercedes Smith

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Gonzaga Bulldogs

Braden Huff scored a career-high 37 points, Graham Ike recorded his sixth double-double of the season and Gonzaga earned a 98-70 win over Campbell Wednesday night at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

The Bulldogs (11-1) had a hard time putting the Camels (5-6) away in front of a student-less crowd, but still managed to win their 11th by double-digits thanks in large part to a dominant showing from their frontcourt tandem.

Huff matched his previous career-high in just 17 minutes of action, as the 6-foot-10 post went into the halftime break with 26 points on 12-for-12 shooting from the field. He set his new personal best with his first basket of the second half while becoming the first player in the Mark Few era to make their first 13 shots from the field.

Huff finished 16-of-18 from the field, breaking Drew Timme’s McCarthey Athletic Center record of 15 made field goals in a single game. Huff’s 37 points also tied Timme’s performance against Texas in 2021 for the third-most points scored by a Gonzaga player in the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Despite that, as well as a big night from Ike (14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists), the Zags found themselves in a 10-point game with just under 10 minutes left in regulation.

Campbell hung around behind productive nights from Dovydas Butka (19 points) and D.J. Smith (18 points) and scored 14 points off 15 Gonzaga turnovers. 

Smith got the Camels back in the fight after they trailed by 21 earlier, fueling an 8-0 scoring run midway through the second half to make it 72-62 with 9:35 left in the half.

The Camels went on to make just two more field goals the rest of the way, as the Zags turned the dial on their defensive intensity back up after letting it and their focus on the offensive end slip in the second half.

Gonzaga, which outscored Campbell, 26-8, over the final 9 minutes of regulation, shot 38-for-66 from the field and scored 32 points off 20 turnovers from the Camels. The Zags also won the rebounding battle, 44-32, and outscored Campbell, 64-38, in the paint. Gonzaga entered the night leading the nation in paint points with 46 per game.

Here were the key moments and highlights from Wednesday's contest.

2ND HALF

Campbell not going down quietly

Gonzaga 75, Campbell 62 (7:27): Just when it seemed like the Zags were ready to pull away for good, the Camels ripped off an 8-0 scoring run to make it a 10-point game. D.J. Smith had five of those points, including another deep 3-pointer, his third of the night, and a couple of free throws. That brought Smith's total to 16 points on the night.

Zags slog their way through second half

Gonzaga 67, Campbell 51 (11:59): After starting hot from the field, Gonzaga missed seven of its first 12 looks from the field to start the second half, on top of committing five turnovers. Graham Ike had yet to get back in the scoring column 8 minutes into the half, while Braden Huff's streak of consecutive makes ended at 13.

Career milestone for Steele Venters

Gonzaga 61, Campbell 42 (15:41): Steele Venters got in the lane and threw down a powerful one-hand jam, extending Gonzaga's lead while crossing the 1,200-point threshold for his career.

Braden Huff sets new career benchmark

Gonzaga 57, Campbell 42 (17:53): Braden Huff scored the Zags' first points of the half and, with it, set a new career-high of 28 points on 13-for-13 shooting. The 6-foot-10 post needed three more made baskets to break Drew Timme's McCarthey Athletic Center record of 15 made field goals.

HALFTIME

Gonzaga 55, Campbell 36

Braden Huff tied his career-high with 26 first-half points, Graham Ike stuffed the statsheet and the Zags managed to widen their gap over the Camels over the final minutes of the half to lead by 19 at the break. Huff was 12-for-12 from the field — three field goals shy of Drew Timme's 2022 record (15) — while Ike had 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal in 17 minutes of action. Ike's five dimes matched his career-high, which he set against UCLA over the weekend. Dovydas Butka led Campbell with 10 points.

The only potential concern for the Zags was that Adam Miller and Tyon Grant-Foster exited the first half early due to apparent injuries. Otherwise, not much went wrong for the Bulldogs; they shot 62.9% from the field and scored 18 points off 12 turnovers by the Camels, who were 14-for-33 (42%) from the field through 20 minutes of play.

1ST HALF

Gonzaga's frontcourt dominates

Gonzaga 45, Campbell 29 (3:36): Gonzaga's duo of Braden Huff (22 points) and Graham Ike (12) was outscoring Campbell by themselves for a majority of the first half. Huff knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, improving his stat line to 10-for-10 from the field. Huff had never scored 22 points while making every shot from the floor in his career.

Zags can't shake the Camels

Gonzaga 30, Camels 22 (7:53): Despite making 13 of their first 19 from the field, including a 6-for-6 start from Braden Huff, the Zags couldn't quite shake the Camels through the first 12 minutes of play. Campbell's success in the paint helped it hang around, as the Camels scored 14 of their 22 points near the rim and were 5-for-7 on layup attempts. Dovydas Butka fueled Campbell from inside with six points, including a few jumphooks over Gonzaga's bigs.

Camels deliver a response

Gonzaga 19, Campbell 13 (11:50): The Camels took a 7-0 scoring run from the Zags and delivered one in return, cutting their 11-point deficit to just four after Chris Fields Jr. finished an alley-oop pass from D.J. Smith with an and-one layup over Adam Miller.

Brayden Huff gets right to work

Gonzaga 13, Campbell 4 (15:56): Braden Huff propelled the Zags to an early advantage, scoring eight while shooting 4-of-4 from the field through four minutes of play. Gonzaga's 6-foot-10 post, who entered Wednesday shooting 29-of-38 against mid-major opponents, took advantage of a Campbell team that didn't have a player taller than 6-foot-9 in its rotation.

PREGAME

Monitoring the Kennel's energy levels

With students gone for winter break, the energy inside the Kennel was tame in comparison to some of the Zags' other home nonconference games. A significant chunk of seats students usually watch the game from but typically don't sit in were empty about 30 minutes before tip off for different reasons, as fans slowly filed in for the Zags' tune-up game.

Christmas break for Gonzaga students officially began Dec. 15.

Gonzaga's uniforms

The Zags broke out their 90s-inspired digs for Wednesday's game against the Camels, marking the first time in the 2025-26 season they wore their "throwback" uniforms.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman is a reporter for Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI. Cole holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.

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