Gonzaga overpowers Campbell behind Braden Huff, Graham Ike
Three takeaways at the buzzer of No. 7 Gonzaga’s 98-70 win over Campbell on Wednesday at the McCarthey Athletic Center
Another inside job
It’s quite possible you’ve read this a time or two before: Braden Huff and Graham Ike overpowered another opposing frontcourt, setting or matching career highs in the process.
Huff hit all 12 of his shots in the first half en route to 26 points, equaling his career high set against San Diego in January 2024. Less than a minute into the second half, Huff connected on a layup to establish a new career best.
Huff missed his next shot about 45 seconds later but finished with 37 points on 16-of-18 shooting. Ben Gregg is the only Zag in the Mark Few era to go 10 of 10 from the field when he scored 24 points last season against Portland at the Chiles Center.
Ike, meanwhile, handed out five assists in the opening half, matching the career-high set against UCLA on Saturday. He only played five minutes in the second half after picking up his third foul and finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Huff is GU’s leading scorer at 19 points per game. He’s reached double figures in all 12 games.
Turnover trouble
Gonzaga had one of its sloppiest ballhandling and passing nights of the season. The Zags committed a season-high 15 turnovers. Their previous high was 14 in a 77-65 win over Arizona State in Tempe.
Ike finished with four turnovers while Jalen Warley, Mario Saint-Supery and Tyon Grant-Foster each had two.
The Zags still enjoyed a 32-14 advantage in points off turnovers, thanks to Campbell’s 20 turnovers.
Butka, Smith pace Camels
Campbell forward Dovydas Butka, who struggled in two appearances against the Zags last season when he was at Pepperdine, was more productive against GU this time around.
The 6-fot-9, 215-pound sophomore from Lithuania contributed 19 points. Butka has scored in double digits in all 11 games.
He made just 4 of 15 shots and scored 11 points in 59 minutes in a pair of losses to Gonzaga last year. He was 8 of 15 on Wednesday.
Point guard DJ Smith, who has led Campbell in scoring six times, didn’t have much luck for the first 28 minutes against the Zags, who used a variety of defenders on Smith, including 6-5 Emmanuel Innocenti, 6-3 Mario Saint-Supery and 6-0 Braeden Smith.
Smith was just 1 of 5 in the first half, but he did make all three free throws when fouled on a 3-point attempt. Smith’s shooting struggle continued in the second half until he banged in a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws in a 2-minute, 14-second span that cut Gonzaga’s lead to 72-62 with 9:35 remaining.
He finished with 18 points, hitting 4 of 14 shots. He entered the game averaging 19.5 points.
The fifth-year senior played two years at Little Rock, one at Bowling Green and one at Robert Morris before transferring to Campbell.