With the No. 7 Gonzaga Bulldogs (11-1 overall) rocking the fashionable and fan-favorite throwback “Royal Blue” jerseys, redshirt junior forward Braden Huff put on a career-night showing in style. The key member of the frontcourt in Spokane went off for a career-high 37 points on a near-flawless 16-for-18 from the field to go along with eight rebounds and a block in 33 minutes of play.
Huff actually started 12-for-12 in the first half, joining Luka Garza in 2020 as the only Division I players in the last eight seasons to make 12 shots in a half without a miss, per ESPN Research. His 16th made field goal broke Drew Timme’s McCarthey Athletic Center record on a signature spin move to the rack.
Against one of the smallest rosters in all of college basketball, Huff separated his size and skill around the rim right from the start versus the Campbell Fighting Camels (5-6 overall) out of the Colonial Athletic Association (best mascot name in the NCAA?). He has even stretched out the floor in back-to-back games, drilling the two deep looks down with confidence on 2-for-3 three-point shooting against the UCLA Bruins this past Saturday, Dec. 13, and now Campbell.
That’s something that coach Mark Few’s group as a whole loves to see. The Zags have been much better in that department over the last four appearances; the team is shooting 30-for-63 from deep (47.6 three-point percentage).
Back to Huff, he’s been on a tear recently with 20+ points in six of his last eight games. The Glen Ellyn, Illinois, native has come onto the scene as one of the upper-class bigs around the sport. He needs more respect to his name in the larger scheme after his memorable night.
The other member of Gonzaga’s frontcourt duo, graduate forward Graham Ike, flirted with a triple-double before his night ended early. A “silent” near triple-double performance with 14 points, 11 rebounds, a tied career-high five assists, two blocks, and one steal in only 22 minutes. That can’t go unnoticed as the pair down-low for the Zags are one of the most talented duos across the country for a reason. They compete and feed off each other’s presence on the court together, especially in those continuous high-low passing situations.
In other news outside of Huff and Ike, a little confusion regarding the starting lineup for the Bulldogs occurred, as the word was that freshman wing Davis Fogle (seven points on 3-for-3 field goals in just four minutes off the bench) was set to receive his first starting assignment. That turned out not to be true as junior wing Emmanuel Innocenti took the spot.
Not sure if this was another miscommunication behind the scenes, similar to the one earlier in the season when graduate wing Tyon Grant-Foster was accidentally put in the starting five instead of graduate guard Adam Miller in the 2025-26 season opener versus the Texas Southern Tigers.
Speaking of Grant-Foster and Miller, the two had some injury scares at different points in the first half. They both left for the locker room, but the pair eventually made their way back on the Zag bench to start the second half against Campbell. It seems like nothing to worry about heading into the weekend.
“Came down weird when he got called for that foul on the three-pointer. Just had some ankle pain.” – Gonzaga coach Mark Few on Adam Miller injury
Congrats are also in order for graduate wing Steele Venters, throwing down his first slam while representing the Gonzaga uniform in front of a Spokane crowd, which was emotional to witness given the fact that he has sat out the last two seasons with injuries (torn ACL in 2023-24 and Achilles injury in 2024-25).
The pride of Eastern Washington finished with 13 points on 5-for-6 overall shooting and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the start from Few. Venters made an impact on both ends of the floor, contributing three steals coming in the passing lanes as well.
“We were not expecting that, just a one dribble punch.” – Gonzaga redshirt junior guard Braeden Smith on dunk from Steele Venters
For the first time this season, redshirt junior guard Braeden Smith and freshman guard Mario Saint-Supery shared the court together in the backcourt. This is mostly due to Miller going down with an ankle setback, but it could be a sign of things to come with West Coast Conference play nearby on Sunday, Dec. 28, at the Pepperdine Waves.
Before then, the Zags have what was expected to be a much more highly anticipated, Pacific Northwest matchup with the now-struggling Oregon Ducks (6-5 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) to deal with. Tip-off in Portland, Oregon, is set for Sunday, Dec. 21, at 3:00 p.m. PT on Peacock.
Because of Gonzaga’s Christmas break for the student body officially beginning this past Monday, this all-time performance from Huff brought life back into the quiet Kennel and ultimately secured an undefeated record at home during the non-conference schedule, going 6-0.
Expect the Moda Center to have much more overall energy than what was witnessed against Campbell. Let’s hope that Gonzaga’s ball security is improved during the practices leading up to the event with the Ducks on Sunday, after a season-high 15 turnovers were made by the Zags when facing the Fighting Camels.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
