What Mark Few said after Gonzaga's impressive win over UCLA

Bulldogs beat Bruins for win No. 10 on the season

Dec 13, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at Climate Pledge Arena. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few had seen his share of close battles with UCLA over the years.

He watched Jalen Suggs keep an undefeated season bid alive with a half-court heave to beat the Bruins in the 2021 Final Four. Few was on the sidelines for Julian Strawther's clutch 3-pointer in the 2023 Sweet 16 matchup in Las Vegas. He was there for Anton Watson's career day that spearheaded a gritty win over UCLA in the 2023 Maui Invitational.

The tradition of down-to-the-wire finishes between West Coast powerhouses stayed alive for Saturday's heated battle at Climate Pledge Arena, presenting Few and his staff an opportunity to witness for the first time how their squad of experienced and grizzled veterans would handle the pressure of a close game against a tough opponent.

The outcome? A similar fate to previous Gonzaga teams that buckled down to meet UCLA's physicality experienced — an impressive neutral site win, the Zags hope can lead to bigger things down the road.

"This was kind of a game where you just had to play," Few said after his Zags came away from Climate Pledge Arena with an 82-72 victory over the Bruins. "It wasn't something you kind of joystick from the bench. They did a great job of just making the right basketball play."

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 Graham Ike and Braden 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, snapping 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.

Gonzaga's trend of winning in double-digit fashion continued, though the Zags hadn't been challenged in the second half of a game this season until the Bruins made things interesting late, thanks in large part to a 24-point night from Tyler Bilodeau. The 6-foot-9 forward drilled four 3-pointers, including one that jump-started a 9-0 scoring run that put the Bruins back in front, 54-53, with 14:34 left in regulation.

The Zags responded moments later with a 7-0 scoring spurt, fueled by a 3-pointer from Braeden Smith and a couple of tough finishes at the rim from Ike and Tyon Grant-Foster. Some strong drives to the paint created easy scoring opportunities at the foul line, sparking another 7-0 run to make it a double-digit game with 4:21 remaining.

The Zags' ability to shoot 50% from the field and score 82 points on a team that allowed 80 just twice before on the season deserved attention, but the defensive end of the floor is where Gonzaga was able to turn the tide for good late in regulation.

After some careless mistakes on the part of Gonzaga allowed UCLA to score a couple of easy buckets in transition, making it 66-64 with 8:26 remaining, the Bruins missed nine of their final 12 looks from the field, opening the door for the Bulldogs to reclaim momentum down the stretch. Bilodeau was a non-factor late as well, scoring just two points over the final 16 minutes while dealing with foul trouble.

Here's what Few had to say after the game.

On Gonzaga's guard play

"I mean, I thought they did a great job of handling — that was a lot of pressure, and especially because our wings were not doing a great job making themselves available and getting open. So there was a lot of responsibility, and just a lot of heat put on those guys out there. They handled it well. They handled their press well. And then they had some very, very timely buckets."

On UCLA's defense

"I mean, like I told them at halftime. First half, we shot 58% and felt kind of rocky. But, I mean, come on, you shoot 58%, you're overjoyed in any game. So it's just one of those games when teams are doing that, or playing all zone or switching back and forth, sometimes they don't have the same feel, but it's all about being efficient and effective."

On playing UCLA on a regular basis

"It's a tough game. You're not like jumping over joy when you're getting ready for them, I tell you that much. But it's great for college basketball. I think it's great for both programs. There's the two of us and Arizona out west. And the games have been great, and they've helped both our programs. Fortunately, we've been lucky enough to come out on top."

On what the win can do for Gonzaga moving forward

"That's a very, very good team we beat tonight. I mean, that's a high, high level team. It's well coached, tough. It's got great length inside, obviously, great skill with Bilodeau and Clark. We get a lot out of that. We'll get a lot out of it the rest of the year."

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