In the student body’s return to the Kennel in Spokane for the first time since Dec. 7, the No. 8 Gonzaga Bulldogs (20-1, 8-0 WCC) played it safe and sidelined graduate forward Graham Ike for the second straight game. He was seen in a boot on his right ankle on the bench once again.
It wasn’t necessary to ruin freshman forward Parker Jefferson’s redshirt against the last-placed Pepperdine Waves (6-16, 1-7 WCC) at home, who was suited up for his second straight game. That meant more minutes for walk-on redshirt senior forward Noah Haaland, who contributed a career-high 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting to go along with another career-high four rebounds. Those who wait and work hard are rewarded, even with the depth across coach Mark Few’s roster.
“This isn’t an out of body experience (for Noah Haaland). This is kind of what we’ve been seeing every day in practice. We have confidence in him. I think the players have confidence in him, and hopefully we’ll see a lot more of him.” – Gonzaga coach Mark Few on Noah Haaland
The small-ball lineup consistening of the young talent in freshman guard Mario Saint-Supery (12 points on a shooting split of 4-for-7 field goals/2-for-4 three-pointers/2-for-2 free throws) and freshman wing Davis Fogle (team-high 17 points on 4-of-8 from the field and 8-for-10 at the free throw line, four rebounds, three assists) created a quick pace to the Zags’ offense through fastbreak outlets and dribble drives.
The energetic pair brought length that helped cause turnovers and versatility that bothered coach Ed Schilling’s Waves continuously when they were on the floor together. Saint-Supery would start the offensive break with his five rebounds and five steals on the defensive side, while Fogle sliced and cut his way to the rim over and over again on the other end. Pepperdine’s defense had no chance of stopping the young 6-7 standout who put together multiple stretches of buckets, it seems like in the blink of an eye.
Fogle did have a scare as he left the court with 33 seconds left to play after going down on the baseline. Gonzaga Assistant Athletic Director/Health and Performance Josh Therrien attended to him on the baseline. Fogle did eventually stand up on his own accord and jogged back to the locker room. Few stated in the postgame media availability that it was just some cramping issues.
“He (Davis Fogle) was good, he was aggressive. I really liked that play where he dumped it down to Noah (Haaland) at the end. I think he needs to continue to work on his playmaking, as well as just his scoring… He’s one of our bigger guys, so he’s got to step up and do a little better job on the glass for us.” – Gonzaga coach Mark Few on Davis Fogle
Graduate wing Tyon Grant-Foster (12 points on 4-for-9 field goals, two steals in 16 minutes off the bench) has been riding this scoring confidence in West Coast Conference play. His former teammate with the Grand Canyon Antelopes last season, now Pepperdine sophomore guard Styles Phipps, leads his team in three different categories, and it showed. Phipps added 13 points on a perfect 7-for-7 free throws, four rebounds, three assists/three turnovers, plus a steal in the loss.
Outside of that, only one other Wave scored in double-digits. That was redshirt sophomore guard Aaron Clark with his 10 points on an ugly 4-for-13 shooting from the field to go along with four assists/one turnover, three rebounds, and a steal for Pepperdine. The team from Malibu as a whole struggled with shooting from beyond the arc on 3-for-22 (14 three-point percentage).
Former Zag, redshirt sophomore forward Pavle Stosic, put in nine points and five rebounds in just 13 minutes off Schelling’s bench.
A sign of development is coming from the likes of sophomore center Ismaila Diagne. In Ike and redshirt junior forward Braden Huff’s absence (out one to two months with a left knee injury), the seven-footer showcased the reason that Gonzaga’s coaching staff brought him on from Real Madrid. Diagne protected the rim with his three blocks and secured possessions on the glass with his season-high 10 rebounds.
With Huff out for the foreseeable future, the Senegal-born big man’s large presence at the rim is necessary when going up against the size that the Saint Mary’s Gaels will bring from top-to-bottom. It shows a lot that Diagne can weather the storm and still help his team win the battle on the boards (42-34 over the Waves) and aid with their 48 points in the paint to Pepperdine’s mere 24.
On the negative side, graduate guard Adam Miller and graduate wing Steele Venters keep being unsuccessful in finding any shooting rhythm or consistency. The supposed snipers combined for an abysmal 2-for-12 three-pointers versus Pepperdine, 5-for-20 (25 three-point percent) as a whole. That can’t happen when this team goes up against any of the Bay Area programs in the future.
The Zags’ bench scored 56 of their 84 total points in their 51st straight victory over the Waves, which dates back to 2002, the second-longest winning streak against one Division I opponent in college basketball history (first is the UCLA Bruins’ 52 straight over the California Golden Bears from 1961-1986).
With their 20th win of the 2025-26 season, Gonzaga has now won 20+ games in a single season a total of 29 straight times. The last time this program didn’t was in 1996-97.
Few’s group continues to find ways to triumph without Ike as well as Huff. All signs point to Ike returning to the lineup as the Zags welcome the San Francisco Dons (13-8, 5-3 WCC) to the McCarthey Athletic Center for the final time on Saturday, Jan. 24. Tip-off will be at 5 p.m. PT on the CBS Sports Network as Gonzaga looks to keep their undefeated record in conference play going as well as their 13-game winning streak, the fifth-longest winning streak in college basketball right now.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
