What Gonzaga players said about the Bulldogs' blowout win over Pepperdine

Gonzaga's depth and versatility have been on display this season; the Bulldogs are top 10 in the nation in bench points while putting together 10 different starting lineups through their first 20 games of the season.

Without two of the top post players in the country leading the charge for Wednesday night's West Coast Conference tilt against Pepperdine, another layer of the Zags' roster flexibility revealed itself — perhaps one of the unlikeliest ones so far this season, at that.

Noah Haaland, a redshirt junior who joined Gonzaga as a walk-on in 2024, underscored just how deep the Zags' rotation is during an inspiring 10-point performance from the Rathdrum, Idaho, native, as Gonzaga (20-1, 8-0 WCC) rode 56 bench points to an 84-60 victory over Pepperdine (6-15, 1-7 WCC) Wednesday night from McCarthey Athletic Center.

Haaland, whose role has increased with the absence of Graham Ike (ankle soreness) and Braden Huff (knee), was one of four reserves to score in double-figures for the Zags, along with Davis Fogle (17), Tyon Grant-Foster (12) and Mario Saint-Supéry (12).

Adam Miller chipped in 11 points for Gonzaga, which extended its win streak to 13 and improved to 51-0 in its last 51 meetings with Pepperdine thanks to Wednesday's result.

Here's what Haaland, Miller and Fogle had to say after the game.

Haaland on stepping up into a larger role over the past couple games

"I mean, it feels great. Obviously, the main thing is just be ready defensively. We got a ton of offensive weapons already, and even though we're down two of our main weapons, we still got people that can score."

"So, just being able to sub in and not be a liability on one end of the floor, and then be able to do my job on the offensive end is just the main thing I was focusing on."

Miller on rebounding from a quiet game in Seattle

"To me, it's easy. I wish every game was a good game, but the more you play this game, you know that that hasn't always happened, so you got to always be ready."

"I think preparation today was pretty good; didn't shoot it from 3 how I wanted to today, or the last game. At least I made one today; that's progress. Got to trust your work."

"I know my teammates got my back. I've been on teams where if I miss shots and I don't show up some games, it's like the world is over. So, that's just kudos to my teammates. I know they always got my back, and it's a sense of relief, honestly."

Fogle and Miller on Haaland's performance and what he's done to earn his new role

Fogle: "He's just always playing super hard, making it happen on both ends; on defense, obviously, just just staying his ground and then offensively, getting a lot of rebounds. He's always in the right spot for the dump down, so I knew when he went in there he was gonna do his thing."

Miller: "Noah's amazing man. We got a lot of guys who don't always get the shine some nights ... some guys will get in there, but this team doesn't run without those guys. So, kudos to him for being ready for the moment. We wouldn't be as good as we are without those guys. I'm happy that he had a good game today."

Fogle on creating offense without Huff and Ike

"[Coaches are] preaching a lot of paint touches and trying to get as many cuts as we can, and then just find open 3s. We can all put it on the floor, we can all get downhill, so I think we're all just trying to be more confident in ourselves. Obviously, terrible to see [Huff and Ike] go down, but we're gonna adjust to it, and we're going to figure it out."

Haaland on staying ready for his moment

"I think the main thing — I kind of got it from David Stockton, I talked to him briefly before last year — is taking all the reps in practice, even the scout team reps, very seriously, and playing hard and treating it like it's a game. Obviously, knowing when to back off so nobody gets hurt or anything like that, like before games and stuff; but that I think has been the most important thing, is just not sitting back into that role of being a scout team player the whole year and really taking advantage of the time being able to play with these really high-level guys has helped me improve so much."