What Gonzaga's Michael Ajayi said after win vs. LMU

Bulldogs senior played a key role on both ends of the floor in Saturday's blowout over the Lions

Gonzaga Bulldogs senior guard Michael Ajayi. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Michael Ajayi turned in one of his better offensive performances of the season to help Gonzaga blow past Loyola Marymount in an 86-68 blowout on Saturday.

The 6-foot-7 forward tied his season-high with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field in 18 minutes off the bench. Ajayi had 11 points before the halftime break, including a 3-pointer — his first since Nov. 27 against West Virginia — as the Bulldogs (12-4, 3-0 WCC) raced away from the Lions (9-7, 1-3 WCC) in the second half to come away victorious for a third game in a row.

"I'm not trying to get too high on this," Ajayi said in response to his 3-pointer in the first half. "Still got a long way to go, but, I'm working on my 3-ball every day. I'm still confident in my shot. I'm not hesitating, so that's good news."

Here's more from Ajayi following Gonzaga's win.

On his mindset going into the game:

"I just started off confident; different mindset. Just be more aggressive from the jump and that's what I did. At the end of the day, this is my last year and I'm trying to make a statement."

On what clicked for him offensively in the first half:

"I think just once again my mindset. My dad told me before the game, 'Don't be scared.' Like if you miss a shot, that's one shot, if you make a shot that goes to zero. So just being aggressive from the jump and trying to attack every play."

On the team's defensive effort:

"They're a very, really aggressive team, so we have to be aggressive back. Jevon [Porter], he's trying to get shots up, get to the paint, 3 balls, pull-ups. So just contesting every shot, making it difficult for him to get 20 points. At the end of the day, as a team, we collectively just pound the glass, run our offense through and just got good looks at the rim."

On Khalif Battle's 26-point night:

"Once he's hot, you can't stop him. All he needs is one, two shots to go in and then after that, he just blacks out. From there he goes off. I already know, he's my best friend on the team, and we do a lot, and we get in the gym together so I already know what he's capable of."

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