What Gonzaga players said after beating UCLA

Graham Ike and Braden Huff broke down the Zags' win over the Bruins

Dec 13, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (15). | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Roughly two years, following a double-digit loss to UConn at Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said that winning a battle of that magnitude required every one of his players' A-game.

The comment was notable given his leading scorer, Graham Ike, was held to just five points while playing 18 minutes of the Bulldogs' 76-63 defeat to the eventual national champions.

The following year, Ike delivered his biggest scoring output in a Gonzaga uniform, though his 28-point, 11-rebound performance wound up being a footnote of an overtime loss to Kentucky at Climate Pledge.

No one could've put all the blame for both losses on Ike's shoulders, though it was clear something different needed to happen for the Zags to snap their losing skid in the Emerald City heading into Saturday's showdown against UCLA from Climate Pledge.

Apparently, that something was a signature performance from Braden Huff, who scored 21 points and shot 7-of-12 from the field to help the Zags earn an impressive 82-72 victory over the Bruins on Saturday.

Ike got Gonzaga's wheels churning on the offensive end of the floor when it seemed like not much was going right early on. The 6-foot-9 forward who missed the previous game due to ankle soreness looked like his usual self out of the gate, scoring his team's first seven points to keep the Zags from sinking in the opening minutes.

Huff's turn to take charge came down the stretch of the first half. Caught in a heated back-and-forth, the 6-foot-10 post swung momentum in Gonzaga's favor with 12 straight points, including his first made 3-pointer since Nov. 25, putting the Zags up 33-25 with just over 5 minutes until halftime.

Gonzaga's efficient 58% shooting clip in the first half could be attributed to the dominant play from its starting frontcourt, which combined for 29 of the Zags' 45 points while shooting 12-of-14 from the field. Despite UCLA switching from zone to man and back and forth throughout, Ike and Huff picked their spots wisely and attacked the paint when it was warranted, preventing the Bruins from being able to lean on one tactic more than the other.

UCLA's Tyler Bilodeau did his best to match Gonzaga's bigs, though he couldn't quite finish regulation as strongly as he started the game. The Kennewick, Washington, native still finished with a season-high 24 points on 4-for-6 shooting from downtown, plus 6-for-7 from the charity strip, but only two of those points came in the final 16 minutes of the second half.

The Zags led the way for a majority of the night but never managed to deliver a surefire knockout punch, instead hitting the Bruins with well-executed jabs and uppercuts via Ike and Huff, who combined to score 46 points and shoot 16-of-28 from the field in their team's fifth head-to-head win over the Bruins since 2021.

The dominant effort from Gonzaga's frontcourt helped create another first for the Zags, who snapped the program's four-game losing streak in Seattle while securing its first win in Climate Pledge Arena, a venue that the Bulldogs had left empty-handed in their previous three trips to Seattle's state-of-the-art facility.

Huff was essentially a non-factor in the previous two trips to Seattle, scoring a combined three points on 1-for-8 shooting in those losses to UConn and Kentucky. He's yet to shy away from the spotlight this season, though, and Saturday was another example of the redshirt junior stepping up and giving his team a boost when it needed it the most.

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

Huff on how Gonzaga's experience played a role in crunch time

"We got a lot of old guys who've kind of been in situations like that. And then even like Mario. He plays like a vet and he's played professional overseas, so he's been in scenarios like that, too. So I think you saw with our subs, just different scenarios. Everybody's just kind of ready for their moment and just able to step up."

Ike on Huff's performance

"B-Huff kept delivering as usual, day in and day out. We know that's what we come to expect from him. No pressure for him. That's what he does."

"It's a great match between Bilodeau, though I knew I'd get a little more fight out of him this year after his performance last year, but kudos to him. He's a great player, great team and they did some great things. He tried to fight to keep them in the game, but it was a fun matchup at the end of the day."

Huff on the importance of snapping Gonzaga's losing streak in Seattle

"It was great. I think whenever we come to Seattle, the turnout is always awesome. So just to be able to deliver this time was a lot of fun, and it was a great environment."

Ike on what the Zags can take from this game moving forward

"The adversity was needed in this one. It was a close game, which we expected. It was good for us to be tested like that in that manner, to pull it out. I remember when it was like 56-54, we just doubled down on playing defense and that was huge for us."

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